AMD dishes out more Zen 5 details — compact core is 25% smaller than the normal core, new SoC and chip architecture with dual CCXs
RTX 3050 vs Arc A750 GPU faceoff — Intel Alchemist goes head to head with Nvidia's budget Ampere
- Thread starterhoorhay
- Start dateJul 31, 2015
Toggle sidebarToggle sidebar
- Home
- Forums
- Hardware
- Components
H
hoorhay
Reputable
- Sep 9, 2014
- 399
- 0
- 4,810
- Jul 31, 2015
- #1
I'm piecing together a build now where I need everything besides a GPU and an HDD, for $700 or less INCLUDING TAX.
I've got so far
i7-4790K (New)
212 Evo (New)
Asrock PRO 4 (Open Box)
Corsair 400R (Refurb)
Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB (New)
EVGA 750W B2 (New)
Including tax it comes to $627.42
I'm purchasing 16GB of G. Skill 1600mhz from a friend for $45 as he just upgraded.
$672.42
That leaves me money to spare(I also had an additional $50 reserve budget for replacement fans and other things) so I'm pretty happy. I'm just curious if Micro Center has a good reputation for their open box and refurb'd items? I know it's hard to gauge overall, but maybe some individual experiences would help ease my mind.
Also side note.
I'm retaining my 290X and WD Blue 1TB(windows 10 installed) for the new build. What steps would I need to take to remove windows 10 from my current computer, so that I can use my windows 8.1 install disk and key on the new? I asked a question very similar to this once before here, but got VERY mixed answers from various people with Windows, Mobo & Storage badges next to their names.
Some said I couldn't reuse the same key and would have to purchase new. Others said if I uninstalled it from my current system, fully, I could reuse is as long as the new computer is the ONLY computer it's on.
Thoughts on both topics?
Thanks!
Sort by dateSort by votes
USAFRet
Titan
Moderator
- Mar 16, 2013
- 173,252
- 18,824
- 184,590
- Jul 31, 2015
- #2
1. Microcenter. I've never had a problem with their refurb or open box things.
2. The OS.
You just need to remove/delete/wipe the partition the OS is on
Install clean on the new system. It may choke at activation. In which case, you go through the phone robot to activate.
There is no real 'deactivation'. Some will say "Yes, cmd blah blah". But all that does is tell that particular PC and Registry it has no OS. It does not phone home and tell the activation servers. So it really does nothing.
Same key or new? That depends a lot on what license you actually have. If it is a Retail license, then you can install on new hardware no problem. Only one at a time, of course.
If it is an OEM license, it is licensed to that original motherboard. Activation may choke. In which case you go with the phone robot. MS is usually lenient on this, but they are under no obligation to allow it.
Upvote0Downvote
mudpuppet
Honorable
- Jun 20, 2012
- 747
- 0
- 11,360
- Jul 31, 2015
- #3
I'm not too familiar with their openbox/refurb policy on paper, but generally they'll return or exchange parts that have a problem (like something is DoA or crashes right away).
Side note, I've had amazing luck with openbox (Warehouse Deals) at Amazon. Click on the item and where it shows the price, under that you should see a link for new and used. Click used and see if any of them have a Warehouse Deals stamp on it. It's still shipped from Amazon, and it gives a short description of the item... damaged packaging, opened packaging, small scratch, etc. If microcenter is near you, then awesome, but with me it's a 3 hour drive. Amazon will accept returns for anything not working and you can send it back and get a new one if needed. It's just another option to consider ;-)
Upvote0Downvote
J
jitpublisher
Splendid
- May 16, 2006
- 8,747
- 2
- 31,960
- Jul 31, 2015
- #4
OEM Windows Software-May only ever be installed on 1 PC. Once installed its license cannot be transferred to another machine. (you can call Microsoft and plead with them, they might give you a new activation string on the new PC, they might not.)
Retail Windows Software- This is why it costs more than OEM software. Can be installed as many times as you like, on as many different PC's as you like, as long as it is only ever activated and in use on 1 PC at at time. When you install to a new PC and reactivate it, that license information is basically updated to the new machine. The old license on the old machine is marked as "invalid" on the Microsoft Servers.
As far as open box items, I have never had much luck with any of it, from anywhere. Cannot remember if I ever bought anything from MicroCenter open box or not, but I gave up on that stuff years ago. I only buy new.
Upvote0Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
TRENDING THREADS
NewsIntel finally announces a solution for CPU crashing errors — claims elevated voltages are the root cause; fix coming by mid-August
- Started by Admin
- Replies: 215
News Comments
NewsUnreal Engine supervisor blasts 50% failure rate with Intel chips — company switching to Ryzen 9 9900X, praises AMD's praises AMD's single-threade...
- Started by Admin
- Replies: 58
News Comments
NewsAMD delays its Ryzen 9000 launch due to unspecified quality issue — new launch in August; chipmaker pulls back all units shipped globally for quali...
- Started by Admin
- Replies: 24
News Comments
Tom's Hardware Member System Gallery
- Started by tecmo34
- Replies: 5K
Systems
QuestionMemory leak - - cannot perform Windows updates - - FPS drops ?
- Started by Camfred30
- Replies: 2
Memory
T
QuestionNew CPU not supported ?
- Started by tom424371
- Replies: 2
CPUs
QuestionGPU crashes within 30 seconds of starting a game, I've tried almost everything ?
- Started by GamerlinkOG
- Replies: 1
Graphics Cards
Latest posts
QuestionB550M Steel Legend - Out of the box support and other questions
- Latest: Hikari_9000
Motherboards
QuestionNew CPU not supported ?
- Latest: geofelt
CPUs
QuestionInverted case - what are my options?
- Latest: MEMOFLEX
Cases
Question10GB RJ45-connector(plug) connection to an sfp+ switch
- Latest: kanewolf
Networking
L
QuestionHP Network Printer won't print through OpenVPN connection.
- Latest: lantis3
Networking
QuestionUpgrading to new computer - old computer hard drive in USB3.0 external enclosure
- Latest: rgd1101
Storage
QuestionNewly replaced RMA Ram unable to boot
- Latest: COLGeek
Memory
Moderators online
Share this page
COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
TopBottom