Buying Dead X79 Motherboard on Ebay??
 

I saw a X79A MSI GD-45 on ebay that is dead (being sold for parts), but has no visible damage. It was supposedly a customer return. What are the chances that I could RMA a board from the states in Canada? They don't know what the problem is and don't provide any details of the issues with the board. Just trying to get a sense if it is worth the effort and risk.

I think it would be worth the risk for $20 or so.

Board is probably only worth ~ 80 bucks since the Z77-G45 goes on sale for about that much. hmm...

Since there is no physical damage its a good sign. I emailed the seller to see if the serial numbers and stickers were still on the board. Could have been a bad bios flash too. Would that void the warranty?

Yeah, its not exactly a high end board but a new one goes for about $185 new. I was thinking of maybe changing my rig up and going for a 8 or 10 core xeon. I'm not really gaming much these days.

edit: hmm.. this is an older revision. maybe its not worth that much...

MSI is pretty good with RMA, and they have a Canadian center in Markham (just north of Toronto). I've RMA'd a board I bought second hand and it was done no problem, no receipt needed. MSI is among the best RMA experiences I've had and one of the reasons I buy lots of stuff from them and I work right near their office. Last time I dropped it off and it was in the mail return before I got home from work! The cheapest x79 board on Newegg is more than $200.

If I can confirm that the appropriate labels are still intact I may pursue the board if the price stays reasonable. I've heard that MSI RMA is pretty good and I bet since this is an older revision they might bump me up to the current v3.0 if the board is indeed kapoot.

I'll bet it goes for $75, I'm watching it now, interested to see how this goes.

went for 81, did u get it DE? does it work?

Customer return ? Could be a DOA or mishandling / bad bios flash ! Problems are not always VISIBLE physically. I hope it works for you and the customer just had a bad PSU, bad RAM, bad vibes ;) etc.

I picked up an ASUS 9x79 deluxe the other night. for 140 shipped. It will be interesting to see what state the board is in. Could be a bad bios flash or an incompetent builder. RMA should be easy i would think if troubleshooting is unsuccessful.