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Buying a used CPU? Would a 2500k be a reliable purchase?

Jelly

Jelly

Jelly

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3 Nov 2008
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31
Hey all, I'm looking to upgrade my Athlon x4 750k but the options on socket FM2 are limited-to-dire for my purposes (getting good framerates in csgo). I've been looking at used CPUs as a way to minimize my spending, getting a cheap LGA1155/1150 mobo to make things fit.

I've come across some good deals on ebay (missed an i5-4430 for £75 yesterday :( ) but some of the CPUs are quite aged by now. An i5 2500k looks to be hovering at £70-90, but those were released in 2010.

Is the 2500k worth getting used, or are there any good (intel preferably) cpus from the past few years that will be discounted to around the £70 mark?
 
A 2500K is still a decent chip even by today's standards but the problem with it is that it's LGA1155 and finding a half-decent overclocking motherboard for it at a sensible price will be difficult.

I'd just aim for anything LGA1150 personally. Boards are still in good supply and affordable and even if you do end up having to spend a bit more on the CPU the chances are you'll save on the cost of the board anyway.
 
Good point about the mobo cost - does anyone have some lga1155 mobo recommendations? I'm gonna be searching used boards and I'll probably overclock modestly if at all, budget around £40.

It's annoying how Google cuts out hardware articles from a couple years back - those older bits are perfectly good and cheap but I have no clue what was a good deal then vs a good deal now.
 
I wouldn't pay £70 now for a 2500K and I have two of them! They are good but I'm sure you can do better with something a bit newer. If you could get one around £50 or less then I would say yes, think I paid £150 each when I bought mine in 2011.
 
Troezar said:
I wouldn't pay £70 now for a 2500K and I have two of them! They are good but I'm sure you can do better with something a bit newer. If you could get one around £50 or less then I would say yes, think I paid £150 each when I bought mine in 2011.
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I'm very out of the loop for hardware; I remember the 2500k because a friend bought one way back when, and I found the 4430 recommended in an article from 2014.
I'm not sure what else represents a good deal, there's a lot of suffixes to dig through (S, T models?).
 
The 2500k is still a great chip, no doubt. Mine still chews through everything I throw at it. CPUs have barely improved in performance since this was released.

If you can find a second hand one with motherboard for a decent price then go for it.
 
£50-60 wouldn't be bad i suppose but most will of been oc to death and from my experience and what i see after about 3 years issues start to crop up in oc cpus.

unless its a bargin in long run best just buying something fast new having 3-4 yrs out of it.
 
They are very good chips - especially when overclocked. Mine has been sat at 4.6Ghz for 3 years without a hitch and even now I still only have to think about graphics upgrades. Currently debating upgrading my titan for a 980ti!

The issue you will have is finding a motherboard. Most of the ones on that popular auction site are either very expensive or dead.
 
If you get a good deal, then sure used processors are never a bad idea because they last for years. Motherboards on the other hand are a bit more delicate, and often a lot more expensive when they become older (unless its super ancient like 775).

I'd only ever buy used if its considerable cheaper than brand new. In your case, the 2500k is still 4 generations old, but if you can get the whole bundle (cpu, motherboard and memory) for less than the cost of a new retail chip then I'd call that a win.
 
i've had 3 2500k and 1 2550K, the worst one did 4.7ghz on 1.4v and that was ok. best one does 5.2ghz on 1.4v :p. they are really good cpu's and well worth £60-80, a newer cpu does not feel twice as fast and also they run hotter as after sandy they all need delids to run as cool.
 
As somebody has already mentioned a 2500K is only a great buy if you can find a motherboard, especially if you want an overclocking one (Z67,68,77).
 
Re Motherboards. I bought an Asrock Extreme 4 Z77 late last year which was about £100 new. Stuck in an old i5 3470 or something like that and crossfired 2 270X 4gb. Goes wel at 1080 on most games so if you look around you can still get 1155. I would mirror the comments above though - 1150 is a better bet if you can stretch to it.
 
boosfuk said:
As somebody has already mentioned a 2500K is only a great buy if you can find a motherboard, especially if you want an overclocking one (Z67,68,77).
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This is the issue I'm having haha, you guys were very prescient.

I'm gonna either get a used lga1150 i5 followed by a new mobo, or a good used lga1155 mobo followed by a used 2500k. Just depends which turns up cheap first.

I was reading the Xeon x5650 thread as well earlier, but x58 motherboards are even rarer apparently.
 
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