B-grade stock, would you?

I avoid B-grade purchases unless it's vastly cheaper, even then CPU/Motherboard/RAM always go new.

Built a full system B Grade from OcUK and had zero issues.

Was looking at the phanteks evolv atx glass on b grade but it's only £10 cheaper than brand new :S.

I still have in use a Samsung SyncMaster 245T which I purchased B-Grade, as well as a Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 7 motherboard. Both great. Only issue was the motherboard didn't come with a backplate.

modd1uk said:

Was looking at the phanteks evolv atx glass on b grade but it's only £10 cheaper than brand new :S.

Click to expand...

Wonder what's wrong with it, no glass?

I used to do rma testing for a motherboard manufacturer.
I wouldn't buy a B grade motherboard.

But as long as you trust the retailer and it's a good discount you will probably be fine wwit most stuff.
Especially things that are easily inspected and tested.

Motherboard B Grade yes everytime bought a few off OCUK and been a bargain. Used to get B grade GPU's then had a few that were a bad experience so never again.

One thing I would never ever buy b grade is a monitor.

Bgrade Motherboard not working bad experience so never again

B-grade is always a bit of a toss-up, but if the reductions are right then it's worth a punt. Worst case scenario you have to pay a bit for return delivery. It would be nice if OCUK did a bit more to describe why it is being sold as B-Grade (e.g. missing cables, cosmetic damage, etc), but that take time.
My only issue is that the savings are never high enough on the products i want

Had a couple of B grade A10-5800Ks, both were boxed with coolers but clearly used (paste on both IHS and cooler), they're still going strong with zero issues.
Really took a risk and bought a B grade Seagate 3TB HDD. SMART reported <300hrs powered on when I received it, now at 30151 hours and counting.

Did have a faulty B grade headset, but the return process was fine.

Buy B grade all the time with no issues. Probably maybe 10-20 items over the years? Only had one issue a long time ago with a 5900XT Gpu that immediately black screened with artefacts after the driver was loaded, looked like someone shaved the pcie connector too!

Bought a gfx card b-grade absolutely bare bones not so much as a pack of screws. Died after about 6 months. Waited an entire month for a replacement and that was faulty too. I'd have to think very hard before trying b-grade again.

i use lots of B-grade and 99% of the time i find no problems, i have had more problem with new items

Well my B-grade motherboard (Asus z170-p) CPU (i5) and gpu (RX 480) arrived yesterday and for the saving I could not be happier!!

Havnt done it for a while. My best memory of that was when i ordered a ati 9700 B-grade. It arrived looking as good as new in a 9700 box. Once I installed it became clear it wasnt a 9700 at all but infact a 9800pro. Best. Day. Ever.

Got a B-grade mouse, box was opened but everything was present - happy enough with that.

IMHO it depends what you're after. I'd dodge anything that might be returned due to quality control issues but is still considered 'working', but things which have a clearer 'it's broken' state are safer bets.


Monitors? I wouldn't. Too much chance that they were returned due to BLB or dead pixels.

CPUs? Probably didn't overclock as much as someone hoped... I wouldn't expect to find a gem in B-grade unless it's one of 8-Pack's ex's

GPUs? Could just be they were too big for someone's case, or buyers' remorse over the price. Unless you're set on overclocking the nuts off it, probably not much risk here. If it works, I can't see a reason why it's more likely to fail than any other off-the-shelf sample.

Hard drive/motherboard/RAM/peripherals? They work, or they don't... be prepared to supply your own mounting screws, cables or adapters.

It really depends on what it is, given you're effectively giving up a meaningful warranty.

online shops and in store shops i use do have grades for products, but i also buy private so obviously you make your own mind up, its not all bad, you can get some pretty good stuff at bargain basement prices.


2 things i will never buy for sure is a motherboard or graphics card without backplate/bracket, but if given to me like couple examples i had years ago then fine.

Ordered a Phanteks Enthoo Evolv TG in Black on Monday, arrived Tuesday in original boxes and I cant see any damage or accessories missing. Haven't built in it just yet so unsure what the built in LED's will be like nor the power button and USB3 but assume they'd be covered under warranty if they're faulty.

Got it for £115 so pretty happy with the price as had my eye on this case for a while. Main concern was the glass panels but they were fine.