Where do you buy YOUR computer components from?

Originally Posted by Bear

My remarks about "refurbished" items was in no way intended to ruffle anyone's feathers, but it apparently has. It must be used by some of those to sell their dusty wares. The only valid use of the word I can think of in terms of computers or their parts is where a computer has been returned to the maker for reasons of being faulty, or maybe no fault at all, and has been run through an extensive diagnostics line, having any faulty parts repaired or replaced, given thorough pre-sale tests, and then labeled "refurbished".
It seems people on Ebay caught on to that term quite readily, and I knew the first time I saw it there that the use of it on their item was total BS. You can buy their "refurbished" parts all day long if you like, but I can promise you that a "refurbishment" will be the absolute least of what they've had

I kind of agree with Bear. When I hear "refurbished" I immediately think of things like automotive parts where you can take a water pump, master cylinder, break caliper, take them apart, clean the core, replace moving parts and seals, which results in a product this is not "new" but pretty close to the original part and factory specs. Most business that do this offer a very generous warranty.

I am unclear how you can do this with electronic components. Because you test RAM or a motherboard doesn't make it refurbished, it just means you "tested" it at home which at best would be a used part. Just because an electronic component powers up and works properly does not mean it has the correct voltages. Many different parts will still work even though they are out of manufacture specs until a component finally dies killing the whole item. Does anyone pull out an oscilloscope and test the MB to see if it is up to factory specs? I'm very sure the answer is no.