• 6 Posts
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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: June 17th, 2023

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  • Most of the time I think getting used stuff is worth it, but you do have to be extra discerning. It helps if you have experience buying used and have developed a sense of when you’re getting a good deal and when you’re getting scammed.

    I’ve bought about 3-4 computer parts over EBay, and only got burned once: an old $25 SAS card that ended was listed as the wrong model and didn’t work for my use case. The model that’s recommended is usually around $75, so it was one of those “too good to be true” kind of deals. Though I complained to the seller and got a refund.

    If you buy over Craigslist or Facebook and arrange an in-person pickup, you can ask to have them power on the system to confirm everything is working before buying.

    I personally don’t trust used storage, particularly hard drives, since it’s hard to completely erase what’s on them and you have no idea what’s on there. My policy is to always buy storage either new or manufacturer refurbished.

    Also, if you’re looking at 1080p 60fps, most new PC’s will handle that fairly well


  • Slightly lower ram speeds, which might result in slightly slower load times, but I doubt you’d notice it.

    The minimum amount of ram you can find on a single stick is lowered from 16gb > 8gb, which gives you the option of a 2 x 8gb kit for a total of 16gb total in dual channel. You always want dual channel (aka sticks in some multiple of 2) since it increases bandwidth. You can still get 2 x16gb kits for a total of 32gb in DDR4 if you need it, but you at least have the option for less. And if you get a 4 slot motherboard you can start with a 2x8gb and buy a second kit later.

    And new production of DDR4 hardware is starting to ramp up to help get around the prices od DDR5. AMD is about to rerelease the Ryzen 5800X3D, which is the top gaming CPU for DDR4.

    If it helps, here’s my current system:

    • CPU - Ryzen 5800X (not 3D)
    • RAM - 32gb DDR4
    • GPU - Radeon RX 9070XT

    I play on a 1440p 144hz monitor and while not everything runs at max frames, I don’t recall anything going below 60fps. That being said, I don’t have or play BL4.

    I’m happy with my system, but it might not fit your exact use case. I just wanted to let you know about potential options that might work for you. Always check the requirements for the specific games you want to run.