what do you do with your old CPU when you upgrade?

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philb2

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So what do you guys do with your old CPU when you upgrade? Toss it in the recycle bin? Seriously, how easy is it to sell an older AMD CPU on eBay?
 
Depends on the CPU, if its prior gen it sells just fine but if your old CPU is a decade old it won't move as easy. Sometimes I just keep them for nostalgia, assuming they aren't worth a bunch.

I've got some older hardware I repurposed for retro gaming, NAS/server duties, etc. Semi-retired can still be useful, so what are you upgrading from?
 
I usually just repurpose like rhkcommander959 said. I tend to keep my stuff so long it isn't worth to sell :D
I now have a 1700X after my 5700X upgrade and am wondering what to do. Hell it can't be worth much by now so maybe in the drawer with the others!
 
I will save it because I hate throwing stuff away.
Then after getting tired of looking at it, I try and sell it or give it away.
Then after the shipping cost is worth more then the item, I chunk it.
Then a week or so later I find someone that could have used it.

I have repeated this process over and over for decades.
 
When I upgrade it's usually cpu/mobo/ram, so I'll keep that setup as a backup that is available for sale.
I recently upgraded my dads 3770k setup with a Ryzen 5500 setup and sold his 3770k/mobo/ram to a friend. the 3770k was 4x faster than the Pentium dual core my friend was using.
Even though the 3770k is 11 years old, it still runs Windows 10 great.

One of my friends has bought 3 of my complete machines when I upgraded over the past 15 years.
He got my i7 875, Dual Xeon E5-2670, and just the other day my 5800X RTX 3080 setup.
 
Well for me it's dependent on two factors
-How attached is that CPU to it's specific platform? (am I going to end up with a useless mobo+RAM if I sell the CPU, etc?)
-How much value has that CPU retained at that point?

I'm currently on my 3rd AM4 CPU, on the same motherboard. I started out with a 3900X, moved to a 5900X, and then a 5800X3D. I sold both the 3900X and 5900X and in both cases got enough to pay for the majority of the cost of the upgrade. I really benefited from the longevity and upgradability of the AM4 platform in that regard.

Prior to that, I have to go quite a ways back to when I was running a Core2Quad Q9650 overclocked to 4.4Ghz, and then upgraded to an i5-2500K. The Q9650 had still retained a lot of value since it was one of the top-end Socket-775 CPUs and very overclockable, so I sold it, and replaced that CPU with a Q9550 from another system, and then put a Q6600 into the system that I took the Q9550 out of.

But there have also been times when I've taken the guts of an old system (CPU+Mobo+RAM), re-constructed it with a new case and sold it as an office system or similar.

Other systems I've kept for various reasons. The i5-2500K had so much longevity to it that I kept it as a primary and then secondary system until it didn't have enough value left to justify selling. My i7-5820k and x99 system got me through the first wave of overpriced GPUs by allowing me to run 3 older GTX680s in SLI in order to get good GPU performance, but sort of locked me into that platform for a while as a result. I strongly considered upgrading to a 5960x or 6950x, in which case I probably would have tried to sell the 5820k, but I never did.

In all of the cases where I sold my CPU, I did so on eBay. Love/Hate. Lots of negatives as a seller obviously but hard to beat the huge market of buyers. Thankfully there were no issues with any transaction, but each time still felt like a gamble.
 
No broke ass children to pass it down to? My boys love it when new hardware comes out as they also get newer stuff.
 
In the box on a shelf. Kiddo is nearing the age he'll be using a PC. Build him something with the 3600 and 6gb 1060.
 
In my younger years I used to flip hardware to upgrade to the next. I lost out more than a few times, but back then I did what I had to do. These days I have my 2 boys that are old enough to use them. My oldest boy is basically running my original AM4 system that I built at the dawn of Zen 3. My plan was to do 3 AM4 setups as I have 3 CPUs.. but I have an LGA1700 board coming from a buddy down in the states. I have some G.Skill DDR5 picked out, just not sure on a CPU for it.. probably a 13sixer.
 
freeagentt said:
In my younger years I used to flip hardware to upgrade to the next. I lost out more than a few times, but back then I did what I had to do. These days I have my 2 boys that are old enough to use them. My oldest boy is basically running my original AM4 system that I built at the dawn of Zen 3. My plan was to do 3 AM4 setups as I have 3 CPUs.. but I have an LGA1700 board coming from a buddy down in the states. I have some G.Skill DDR5 picked out, just not sure on a CPU for it.. probably a 13sixer.
Click to expand...
My kids are "off the payroll." They are responsible for their own systems, just as they are for their own groceries or car payments. Of course the "Bank of Mom and Dad" still provides some IT consulting.
 
My bro's first in line for any hand-me-downs. Built a 12700K system, set him up with my stopgap 7700K build not long after giving him my 4770K build to begin with, and now I have to figure out who's gonna get the latter.

One thing that's quickly dawning on me is that ordinary people are used to using desktops and laptops with hardware we'd consider ancient nowadays - I'm talking Core 2 or even Athlon 64-era setups that my 4770K setup would run rings around without hassle. Those people would benefit from me handing 'em a more modern system with an SSD for a boot drive so they know how a modern computer is supposed to feel.

Instead, I'm usually on the buying end of depreciated hardware flipping.

Threadripper 1950X in an ROG Strix X399-E board for $350? Sure, why not, I need something with lots of PCIe lanes and ECC support even though my 12700K setup would run rings around it in any CPU-based workload for about the same price new from the local Micro Center, but Z690 means no ECC, fewer PCIe lanes, and for some reason, an inability to recognize one of my video capture cards that comes up just fine in older PCIe 3.0-era systems. (I have a suspicion it's related to the card in question using a PCIe to PCI-X bridge chip.)

Also note that this applies strictly to the post-Vista era, where I don't need to keep older hardware around for game compatibility. I won't ever part with my P4EE build because that's my 98SE/XP dual-boot system, with a single ISA slot for whatever sound card or anything else I need to cram into it that I couldn't just emulate on PCem or 86Box.
 
I keep them all... PC's get repurposed, eventually stored after about 2 or 3 generations of "hand-me-down" moves. I have a horrible habit of keeping all of my electronics anymore... lol. My last gaming PC goes to my Wife, then that PC she had get hooked up to our entertainment center for light gaming or shows, etc.

However, it is kind of fun for me if I get really bored to bring out an old system and just tinker around or try some overclocking tricks as the risk of killing it means nothing to me anymore.
 
I'll be keeping one or two and selling the rest, mostly in hopes that they will actually get used rather than sitting in a box.
 
I am having the same dilemma of what to do with stuff that still is useful, bit just ain't the best.

For example...

An fx-8320 paired with an rx 570. That is still a very capable desktop workstation for email and office. It could even handle some games like minecraft.

Something like that would be a great machine for a grandma when the kids come over.
 
I once attended a teaching class that required my developing a training session a-z. My choice was a hands on class consisting of turning old pc hardware into wall clocks. The hands on aspect earned me kudos.
 
Daisy chain, upgrade one computer and they all get upgraded. AM4 was a godsend. Give them away and sometimes sell them. Also if no real use, e-waste it becomes.
 
I think I finally figured out a solution for some of my old stuff and I'm pretty excited!

I have a vega 56 that I picked up like 18 months ago that has a waterblock. However, when i got it, the oem air cooler could not be found.
I have a 280mm rad that I got for a project that couldn't fit into the case I was working with, but I think it will fit into another that I have.
I have a mobo and fx-8350
I (think) I have a a waterblock that only fits am3+ lying around someplace
I have a DDC pump that has a separated impeller and found someone selling a DDC pump with a toasted PCB last night on ebay for $15.

Put it all together and sell it locally. What would that one be worth?
 
Well, crap. The case I had doesn't support a 280mm rad. Call me crazy, but I'm not interested in spending a bunch extra for a different rad or case.
 
Chunks0 said:
I once attended a teaching class that required my developing a training session a-z. My choice was a hands on class consisting of turning old pc hardware into wall clocks. The hands on aspect earned me kudos.
Click to expand...

Hands on is a must for wall clocks.
 
If it is still a modern CPU with value of some sort, I will sell it. If it is an old CPU that has no value, I will most likely toss it away.
 
I typically post something on FB initially. I have other techie friends who will snatch up anything that isn't old and useless. If I don't get any bites, I go to Craigslist. I've been able to move most anything I've ever needed to there. You have to deal with the occasional bot or person who acts "offended" by your initial price, but it's a good way to get rid of stuff you no longer want. Most of my stuff gets sold in 2-3 days, tops.
 
Depends. If there's a need elsewhere in the house it goes to that. Then I look at friends having hard times and if they need upgrades. Then I sell it. Things tend to move downstream here for ~10 years before they're too old to be used for anything anymore.
 
philb2 said:
Never heard of this outfit.


Not trustworthy? Bad buyers?
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jawa
jawas_42e63e07.jpg

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theyre thieving bastards...
 
I have all off this in the basement in boxes:
3770/p67(?)
4770k/z87
4790/h97
2700x/x470
So for me they seem to collect dust.
 
philb2 said:
So what do you guys do with your old CPU when you upgrade? Toss it in the recycle bin? Seriously, how easy is it to sell an older AMD CPU on eBay?
Click to expand...
all my stuff gets handed down to my friends kids then what ever is the oldest piece of hardware is given away for free on facebook since at that point it's usually 4-5 years old and not worth my time selling but still good enough for some one else to use.
 
I give all of my replaced hardware to my nephews. They usually are a gen or two behind what I give them.
 
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