It is no secret that gaming computers come equipped with exceptionally powerful hardware components. As a result, a gaming PC can usually get pretty expensive, especially if you want to invest in extra RAM and increase your storage size. But what about a used gaming device? For those asking themselves, “How much should I sell my old gaming pc for” we might have answers.
This post will analyze key factors that affect the resale value of an older used gaming computer, check some current resale offers, and research places to sell used PCs.
So How Much Should I Sell My Old Gaming PC For?
When setting a resale price for your old gaming PC, please consider the following factors.
Determining a Resale Value of an Old Gaming PC
Here are the most important elements that dictate a value of a used computer on a resale market.
Brand
Unsurprisingly, certain gaming brands have better resale value than others. Some of those better ones would be Alienware, Origin PC, MSI, Razer, Asus ROG, to name just a few. Gaming PCs made by these manufacturers are expensive high-end, and as a result, they tend to hold better resale prices as time goes by.
Model and Configuration
Depending on your gaming PC model, year, and configuration, you can get more or less money when it’s time to sell. For example, if your computer is powered by an Intel processor, you will likely score more cash. Also, if you add more RAM and storage, the resale value of the computer will increase, although not by much. Even though RAM and SSD/HDD updates are costly, practice shows that graphics and processors primarily determine the price of a used gaming device.
Cosmetic and Functional Condition
Of course, it is important to factor in the state your used gaming PC is in when setting an asking price. Be fair when assessing its overall functional and cosmetic condition.
So, please check if your old computer has any scratches, dents, fractures, or other wear. As for functionality, make notes of the following:
- Does the device boots up normally?
- Will it come with an original operative system installed?
- If it has a display, does it work fine, free of bad pixels, pressure spots, etc.?
- Test all I/O ports, network adapter, sound (both speakers and mic), check the battery, if applicable.
Depreciation
Electronics depreciate, and gaming PCs are no exception. Rapid depreciation is caused by the frequent release of newer and updated products. As a result, the gadgets market gets saturated pretty quickly, causing items to become significantly cheaper almost right after their initial release. For example, according to a study, laptops released at the beginning of 2020 have lost nearly 33% of resale value by the end of the year. And computer monitors lose about the same: 32.5% a year.
In general, if you are not using your gaming PC or a laptop much, it is best to sell them as soon as possible. Otherwise, they will become obsolete much sooner than you think.
Offers Comparison
Finally, we arrived at the question of how much should I sell my old gaming PC for? Once you have figured out your PC model, specs, and condition, we suggest getting a few offers from online buyback sites and comparing them to recently sold similar models on eBay or checking on platforms like Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp.
But to give you a general idea of how much a used gaming computer could go for, we calculated a few examples:
- A used Alienware Aurora R10 gaming desktop with an AMD Ryzen 7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 graphics can be resold for up to $566 used.*
- CyberpowerPC SLC7000BST gaming desktop with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU can get you up to a $433 offer.*
- A used HP Omen 875 gaming PC, Intel Core i7 8th generation, and RTX 2080 GPU-based may yield approximately $269.*
- An older Alienware Area-51 R2 PC with Intel Core i7 5th generation CPU is still worth up to $198.*
Where to Sell Your Old Gaming PC?
As we already mentioned above, there are plenty of platforms for reselling older gaming PCs out there. You just need to consider how much effort you are willing to put into this process. We generally recommend picking an online buyback because it is fast and easy to use.
For instance, we at Gadget Salvation accept a number of gaming PC models, including towers. We also offer instant payouts via Zelle, Venmo, and PayPal. Some trade-in platforms, like Best Buy Trade-in, also accept PCs, but their trade-in values seem to be pretty low.
Bottom Line
We hope we were able to address the “How much should I sell my old gaming PC for?” question in this post. To sum up, the brand, model, configuration, and condition (both working and cosmetic) determine the value of a used gaming computer. And if your computer is a particular configuration or custom-built, it might take longer to sell it, and the offer is likely to be lower. So that is definitely something to keep in mind when picking a re-commerce platform.
