Sometimes, the second-hand market hides treasures that even the most experienced buyers would not expect. One user experienced this firsthand after seeing how a damaged motherboard turned into the biggest bargain of the year so far.
A Stroke Of Luck With SSD Storage On A Damaged Motherboard
The story, which has gone viral on Reddit (thanks Tom’s Hardware), begins with a user who decided to take a risk by buying an MSI Pro Z690-A WiFi motherboard for just $50 on eBay. The seller stated that the board had a bent pin, which explained the low price. However, the buyer noticed a small detail: the four M.2 heatsinks were still installed. Hoping the original owner had forgotten to remove something, he decided to make the 30-minute drive to complete the deal.
Once home, what he found was a real gold mine. After removing the heatsinks, he discovered that all four M.2 slots were filled. The damaged motherboard included a total of 12 TB of high-speed storage. Based on either their original retail price or current value, the components would exceed $1,500. The SSDs installed were:
- Two WD Black SN850X 4TB (valued at around $450 each).
- One Intel 670p 2TB (with a launch price of about $300).
- One Corsair Force MP600 2TB (which once cost over $370).
As expected, reactions quickly followed on the popular forum. While some praised the incredible bargain, others questioned the seller. In fact, some suggested the board may have been stolen, given the “urgency” to sell it. Others simply believe the seller had no idea what was included.
In a time when NAND memory prices are rising due to the AI boom, finding 12 TB of storage for the price of a tank of gas is, quite literally, like winning the lottery.
