Computer Value Degradation

[Gabb]

I just wanted to see how much my computer has technically depreciated in value ( i know the real numbers are harder to calculate and actually the value is technically even less since theres newer models out and such ) anyways for your possible entertainment and my own ( already much recieved ). Also the numbers aren't perfect but it didn't exactly matter, so about a 10% margin of error if I haven't messed up anything real bad. Also I used newegg prices for the most part but at the time bought some of my components elsewhere.

Q6600: $260 to $185, 29% drop in price

Tuniq Tower + MX-1: $65 to $55, 16% drop in price

Corsair 650 Watt PSU: $125 to $80, 36% drop in price

Thermaltake armor Case: $125 to $135, 8% increase in price!

EVGA 8800 GTX: $530 to $110, 80% drop in price!!!

X-fi Gamer Sound Card: $90 and still at $90, no change in price

Gigabyte P35-DS3R: $130 to $110, 16% drop in price!

G.Skill 2 gigs of ddr2 800: $105 to $35, 66% drop in price!!!

WD 150 Gig Raptor HD: $175 to $160, 9% drop in price

Seagate 320 gig HD: $80 to $60, 25% drop in price

Optical drives x2 + burner: $54 to $46, 15% drop in price

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total computer value 1.5 years ago: $1739
total computer value now: $1066

39% total drop in value

one thing that I guess saved my droppage in value was the ferarri type parts I had like the WD Raptor 150 gig I still don't regret it! kind of amusing to see how the ram and GPU got hit the hardest in terms of degradation, as to be expected

 

[ricanflow]

That computer is actually worth less than that.

You have to go by newegg prices, plus you gotta take off even more since everything is used. The system as it looks right now is still solid but only worth maybe around $600-$750.

I dont even wanna calculate how much mine is worth cause i spent over a grand a year ago and its gonna hurt to see how much it dropped.

 

[Gabb]

That computer is actually worth less than that.

You have to go by newegg prices, plus you gotta take off even more since everything is used. The system as it looks right now is still solid but only worth maybe around $600-$750.

I dont even wanna calculate how much mine is worth cause i spent over a grand a year ago and its gonna hurt to see how much it dropped.

Read my first paragraph I wrote concerning margin of error and how I knew the value was less

obviously I know I can't sell the computer for $1,066 and have no plans to sell the computer, I just calculated the change in price with the older inferior components. A newegg direct item comparison was hard because some of the items are listed as discontinued or have slightly different models.

The post really didn't make me feel too sad, computers to me are one of the best values out there along with video games cost when I factor in my subjective entertainment vs cost imho ( especially when compared to cars, paintballing, go karting ) . I just don't really see how its worth it to sell my system for less then $500 when I took so much time to build it and research all of the components. I still have my old pentium 4 2.8 ghz with a agp 256mb x800 xl thats sitting around in my room doing nothing...I doubt I can even get $100 for that. Better just to keep it around if the old relatives ever need to use it and such.

 

[ricanflow]

I read it man...trust me i feel your pain.

Thats why we upgrade frequently so everything holds value.

I dont build full systems over and over, i upgrade parts individually so i can get the most back. Ill be using the same psu, mobo, cpu, and hard drive for a bit longer. Just gonna upgrade the case and cpu cooler soon...then the gpu.

Once deneb comes out if it doesnt run right on my board, ill just sell off the board and my dual core and grab me a new mobo to run the phenom.

If you wait to long...everything depreciates quickly. Never sell your system as a whole...parting out you get more back.

I still have my old pentium 4 2.8 ghz with a agp 256mb x800 xl thats sitting around in my room doing nothing...I doubt I can even get $100 for that

You would be surprised. I sold a pc chips mobo with an Athlon XP 2800+ for $90 shipped on ebay. I paid $150 for that bundle new and used it for over a year.

I bought a 2GB G-Skill DDR ram kit from a member here for $30 and sold it for $55 on ebay..after i used it for a couple months. I sold an x1650xt on ebay for almost the same price i bought it for, and it was used a couple months as well.

 

[saltynay]

I spent £300x2 ($1200) on graphics card nearly two years ago and now they are worth £100 if sold as a pair. I have 2 Ipod mini's both are 4gb variants (in there prime £140 each) its better for me to use them as thumb flash drives then to sell them as they will only fetch £10 each if that, given the state they are in. Tech is like a premium rate phoneline it costs you money from the time you start it.

 

[Gabb]

I read it man...trust me i feel your pain.

Thats why we upgrade frequently so everything holds value.

I dont build full systems over and over, i upgrade parts individually so i can get the most back. Ill be using the same psu, mobo, cpu, and hard drive for a bit longer. Just gonna upgrade the case and cpu cooler soon...then the gpu.

Once deneb comes out if it doesnt run right on my board, ill just sell off the board and my dual core and grab me a new mobo to run the phenom.

If you wait to long...everything depreciates quickly. Never sell your system as a whole...parting out you get more back.

You would be surprised. I sold a pc chips mobo with an Athlon XP 2800+ for $90 shipped on ebay. I paid $150 for that bundle new and used it for over a year.

I bought a 2GB G-Skill DDR ram kit from a member here for $30 and sold it for $55 on ebay..after i sued it for a couple months. I sold an x1650xt on ebay for almost the same price i bought it for, and it was used a couple months as well.

not a bad motto to go by, what methods do you usually use to sell your stuff? ebay? craigslist?

I guess I like that whole "wow everything is brand new and awesome" in my system kind of feel as opposed to the constant trading out new and old parts although thats a lot more economically beneficial as you said. I personally would never buy any used computer component that didn't offer a warranty or that it wasn't an already low end part I didn't care much for.

 

[ricanflow]

not a bad motto to go by, what methods do you usually use to sell your stuff? ebay? craigslist?

I guess I like that whole "wow everything is brand new and awesome" in my system kind of feel as opposed to the constant trading out new and old parts although thats a lot more economically beneficial as you said. I personally would never buy any used computer component that didn't offer a warranty or that it wasn't an already low end part I didn't care much for.

I use ebay but theyre charging too much now so im gonna branch off into craigslist.

Best thing to do though is find a nice case and power supply you like cause they can last through two-three builds.

GPU's are the easiest to upgrade and drop in value the quickest. They also affect gaming the most as opposed to the cpu. You dont need to sell anything from your system if you want, just by upgrading the GPU your performance will shoot up.

The psu you have is great and can last another year. If i had youre rig all i would do is upgrade the GPU and wait for new stuff to come out and drop in price..then do a mobo/cpu/ram upgrade and keep everything else.

You can sell that raptor though for around $100 and buy a 640gb western digital which is actually similar in performance but only costs $70.

 

[veg1992]

Honestly.. I couldn't careless.. All PC Parts decrease, and in a couple of months and spending more than 1k on a build becomes futile in a short time period

 

[Gabb]

I use ebay but theyre charging too much now so im gonna branch off into craigslist.

Best thing to do though is find a nice case and power supply you like cause they can last through two-three builds.

GPU's are the easiest to upgrade and drop in value the quickest. They also affect gaming the most as opposed to the cpu. You dont need to sell anything from your system if you want, just by upgrading the GPU your performance will shoot up.

The psu you have is great and can last another year. If i had youre rig all i would do is upgrade the GPU and wait for new stuff to come out and drop in price..then do a mobo/cpu/ram upgrade and keep everything else.

You can sell that raptor though for around $100 and buy a 640gb western digital which is actually similar in performance but only costs $70.

I was under the impressions that PSUs last as long until they break down. Also do you really think anyone would buy a used 150 gig raptor drive when a brand new one runs for $160? Size of the hard drives was never really an issue for me but I bought a seagate 320 gig drive for the data storage option and the raptor purely for games and the OS. I personally like to keep my hard drives relatively clean and not clogged with junk and like to reformat every year or so ( although I'm 3 months past my reformat schedule ).

 

[AP4LIFETN]

These last two years' innovations in performance per dollar have made degradation even worse. You have "mid range" that can beat the high end 6 months/1 year ago, for 1/3 or 1/4 of the price.

I remember i spent over 1500 for my dual core rig...and then the q6600 dropped to 266 (paid 230 for my E6600), man was i bummed.