I made an experiment of building a computer with a used CPU
by newbiesforever from LinuxQuestions.org on (#5KV9H)
From about 2014 to spring 2021, I didn't use a desktop computer. After my last one failed, I started using an old ThinkPad T61 that I had bought not long prior, because it was all I had. It ran fine and met my needs perfectly well; so for most of the next seven years, I used only these. They always failed within a year and a half, so I kept buying replacements--various ThinkPad T models.--and I didn't mind, because they were cheap and it was just easier than putting the time, effort and energy into building myself a new desktop computer. It wasn't hard to find one that looked in good shape for $75. (Less than that, and it was probably junk.)
Anyway, it's just that in fall 2020, I got tired of buying a new laptop sometimes as frequently as every six months, and so decided to finally build myself a new desktop computer. But my success running these used laptops taught me that I don't need new technology or even close thereto; so I decided to build one with used parts to see how well I could get away with it.
Well, some used parts: besides having kept various old components from my last desktop--keyboard, optical drive, wireless access point, the CPU fan--I especially wanted to try a used CPU. Not a used motherboard, though: I thought there were too many things that could be failing but hard to detect failure in. (The capacitors, perhaps.) I just wanted a new motherboard with a CPU socket design old enough to fit a CPU from the timeframe when my last desktop was fairly current. So I went to eBay and bought an old CPU from the AMD Athlon X2 series. Actually several: they cost almost nothing, so I bought several in case one failed. And found a new motherboard at Newegg with an AM2/AM3 socket.
So, I am currently running an Athlon X2 B26 CPU in an AMD M5A78L-M+ motherboard. The old CPU seems to run fine, and shows no sign of being near failure at this time. I wish the board had more than one PCI slot, but...I took what I could find for the money I was willing to spend. What didn't work out at all, so that I wouldn't try it again, is re-using the old fan. I had bought it not very long before my last motherboard failed in 2013, so I thought it would be in acceptable shape; but between the noise it made and the temperature seeming higher than it should be, it was obviously failing; and I had to buy a new one. And it doesn't reflect on my experiment that I chose a lousy CPU case that I now regret choosing. That could have happened if I had bought all new components.
Other than that...I'd do this again. Years ago, I knew a guy who stridently said, "You should use the latest and greatest technology, damn it." I have made him look foolish.
Anyway, it's just that in fall 2020, I got tired of buying a new laptop sometimes as frequently as every six months, and so decided to finally build myself a new desktop computer. But my success running these used laptops taught me that I don't need new technology or even close thereto; so I decided to build one with used parts to see how well I could get away with it.
Well, some used parts: besides having kept various old components from my last desktop--keyboard, optical drive, wireless access point, the CPU fan--I especially wanted to try a used CPU. Not a used motherboard, though: I thought there were too many things that could be failing but hard to detect failure in. (The capacitors, perhaps.) I just wanted a new motherboard with a CPU socket design old enough to fit a CPU from the timeframe when my last desktop was fairly current. So I went to eBay and bought an old CPU from the AMD Athlon X2 series. Actually several: they cost almost nothing, so I bought several in case one failed. And found a new motherboard at Newegg with an AM2/AM3 socket.
So, I am currently running an Athlon X2 B26 CPU in an AMD M5A78L-M+ motherboard. The old CPU seems to run fine, and shows no sign of being near failure at this time. I wish the board had more than one PCI slot, but...I took what I could find for the money I was willing to spend. What didn't work out at all, so that I wouldn't try it again, is re-using the old fan. I had bought it not very long before my last motherboard failed in 2013, so I thought it would be in acceptable shape; but between the noise it made and the temperature seeming higher than it should be, it was obviously failing; and I had to buy a new one. And it doesn't reflect on my experiment that I chose a lousy CPU case that I now regret choosing. That could have happened if I had bought all new components.
Other than that...I'd do this again. Years ago, I knew a guy who stridently said, "You should use the latest and greatest technology, damn it." I have made him look foolish.