I have about $500 to spend on a complete gaming PC. I don't need anything extremely powerful, but I'd like to avoid constant lag. My previous graphics card was an RX 580, so my expectations are pretty modest. I'm in the United States, so I can shop online or locally. I'd mainly like to play games such as Arma 3 and the newer Spider-Man titles at around medium settings. Is buying a used PC through eBay reliable, or would I be better off looking elsewhere?
3 Answers
For a complete PC, local listings are probably your best value. People regularly sell AM4 systems with a Ryzen 3600 or better, 16GB of RAM, and a GTX 1660 or RTX 2060 for around your budget. You can search listings around $600–650 and negotiate, especially if they’ve been sitting for a while. Test that it boots, check temperatures, and confirm the storage and power supply before paying.
eBay itself is reasonably safe because buyer protection usually covers a system that arrives dead or significantly different from the listing. The bigger risk is buying an office tower with a proprietary motherboard, a weak power supply, or no room for a full-size graphics card. Before buying, ask for the exact CPU model, a photo of the power-supply label, and pictures of the inside. A used system in a standard ATX or mATX case will be much easier to upgrade later.
Your current CPU matters just as much as the RX 580. An unspecified i5 could be fairly modern or so old that a new graphics card would be held back, and some prebuilt systems also need a power-supply upgrade. Try to find the full specifications before deciding. Ideally, look for at least a Ryzen 3600-class processor, 16GB of RAM, an SSD, and a standard power supply. That should handle medium settings much better, with room to upgrade the graphics card later.
I only remember that it has an i5 and an RX 580, so I’ll find the exact model before comparing prices. I’m mainly looking for a complete replacement system rather than just a GPU.
That makes sense. I’ll definitely check the power supply and case instead of just looking at the graphics card.