Microcenter CPU deals: R they selling the sub-standard parts?

magellan said:

The thing is, I've never, ever seen "refurbished" CPU's for sale anywhere. How come there aren't any
other B&M companies having similar deals on CPU's? Why is it only MC?

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Refurbished CPU's:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007671 4016

I had no idea either!

ATMINSIDE said:

Refurbished CPU's:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&IsNodeId=1&N=100007671 4016

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Most of those CPU's are hardly current. I'd bet "refurbished" in this sense means nothing less than used. The i5-2400 is retailing here for more than Intel's recommended customer price:
http://ark.intel.com/products/52207/Intel-Core-i5-2400-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_40-GHz

I could find most all the CPU's retailing @ Newegg as "refurbished" off of Ebay.

I was more interested in what happens to returned high end current CPU's.

magellan said:

Most of those CPU's are hardly current. I'd bet "refurbished" in this sense means nothing less than used. The i5-2400 is retailing here for more than Intel's recommended customer price:
http://ark.intel.com/products/52207/Intel-Core-i5-2400-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_40-GHz

I could find most all the CPU's retailing @ Newegg as "refurbished" off of Ebay.

I was more interested in what happens to returned high end current CPU's.

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Probably recycled or sold in bulk.

You said you had never seen refurbished CPUs for sale, so I linked it for you. I never said they were incredibly current.

NCIX and the EGG Canada both use EBay to sell off used returns. Both have numerous deals available sometimes they do real well in there auctions sometimes not. I have an MSI 290X here I bought on Auction for $300 yet I have seen some of their auctions that people have paid more for the item then I could get a new one for. Sometimes you win sometimes you loose a little in the end they come out on top with a profit.

magellan said:

Most of those CPU's are hardly current. I'd bet "refurbished" in this sense means nothing less than used. The i5-2400 is retailing here for more than Intel's recommended customer price:
http://ark.intel.com/products/52207/Intel-Core-i5-2400-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_40-GHz

I could find most all the CPU's retailing @ Newegg as "refurbished" off of Ebay.

I was more interested in what happens to returned high end current CPU's.

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Well, how would you 'refurbish' a CPU? Its not like you can replace any parts on one if its broken and sell it. I would imagine they simply test it at stock speeds and voltages, run a stress test or two against it, and it goes up as refurb. I think that is newegg's term for 'used'......... though they do have 'open box'. perhaps look up what those differences mean.

As far as the pricing, ATM was correct. That is the price for 1,000 of them (notice it says "tray"). And if you clicked on it:

Recommended Customer Price (RCP) is pricing guidance only for Intel products. Prices are for direct Intel customers, typically represent 1,000-unit purchase quantities, and are subject to change without notice. Prices may vary for other package types and shipment quantities. Listing of RCP does not constitute a formal pricing offer from Intel.

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If you are interested in what happens to returned high end current CPUs (thanks for now qualifying that point), maybe you should email newegg.com and ask... then let us know. All anyone here will do is continue to speculate. Let us know what you find!