Newegg "open box" desktop computer purchased

LampShade · 2012-08-14, 06:24 PM

My current gaming rig is about seven years old so I decided to purchase a new one for Planetside 2. I was planning on spending about $1500 on a machine when I came across a "open box" gaming PC that had exactly the same specs as I was going to buy for $1500 but for only $1100 because it is "open box". So I started researching these "open box" Products from Newegg and I found many success stories and several horror stories.

The short story behind new eggs "open box" products is that it's a product that someone purchased and then return that is back on the shelf or resale. Several of the "open box" success stories were from people saying they got a brand-new item or an easily fixable item for significantly cheaper than a brand-new one. If in fact you do get a broken or defective item there is a 30 day return policy to fall back on. The only catch there is you have to pay the shipping to return the item so you're out the cost of the shipping both ways( in my case thats $25 x 2).

In my case the item brand-new is around $1500 and I paid $1100 for the "open box" product. So I am risking the cost of shipping to potentially save $400. This to me seems worth the risk, riskin $50 worth of shipping to save $400....

Here is the product as "open box": http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...tent-_-text-_-

And here is the product new: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...20gamer%201336

Comments anyone? Has anyone had any experience with "open box" products from new egg? I plan on returning this computer if it's majorly broken but plan on fixing it if it's only minorly broken. And of course I could receive a brand-new product that someone just purchased and returned in perfect condition.

Does anyone have any advice on checking the video card to make sure it is 100% intact and untampered with? I plan on benchmarking it and running it through some tests, but aside from that I'm not really sure how to check it over... Any advice on checking the power supply to make sure it's fully functional? I know computers tend to do weird things when power supply start to die, so there's a small chance I could get a working machine with the dying power supply...