Auction winner gets $8,000 surprise after buying $23 computer case

https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/user-gets-8000-surprise-after-buying-23-computer-case-at-auction-3250071/

Dylan Horetski Sep 11, 2025 · 1 min read
Auction winner gets $8,000 surprise after buying $23 computer case
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A Reddit user scored a massive surprise after walking away with a high-end workstation worth around $8,000 for only $23.

The system was listed on Capital City Online Auctions as a Fractal Design Define 7 XL case, with stock images showing only the chassis. But when Reddit user LlamadeusGame picked it up, they discovered a full build inside, including a 24-core Threadripper 3960X, 256GB of memory, and an RTX 3080 Ti.

Even if it had been just the case, the purchase would have been a bargain, since the model still retails for around $250. Instead, the auction winner walked away with a complete workstation originally built by Puget Systems. A commenter claiming to be a Puget staffer said the machine likely sold in 2021 for about $8,000.

“Just as an FYI, that system was likely sold in late 2021 / early 2022, and would have been around $8k at the time,” said Reddit user Puget_MattBach. “A lot of those systems had 2-4 NVMe drives, so you probably have a good 4-8TB of fast storage as well!”

Complete system hidden inside computer case

Other Reddit users quickly spotted clues that the computer came from Puget, including a custom graphics card support bracket. The machine appears to have been a photo editor’s work PC, and the redditor reported that the system still contained the previous owner’s files when they received it.