Buying a used graphics card: Whatever you do, don’t buy a used graphics card under any circumstances right now

Whatever you do, don’t buy a used graphics card under any circumstances right now

(Image credit: Gland Computers)

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We’ve all been waiting for graphics cards to make their way into our hands for a while now, and even though it might be tempting, whatever you do, resist the urge to buy a cheap graphics card right now on a resale site, even if it claims to be new.

With the recent bursting of the crypto bubble, there is now a flood of the best graphics cards on the market hitting major resale sites and even live-streamed auctions, according to Wccftech . The scrupulous sellers, as far as resellers go, are at least telling you that these cards are used. Many, though, will claim that they are new and they might even package them up as if they are brand new.

In any case, you absolutely need to stay away from these cards, no matter how cheap they appear to be. Whatever the price is, it isn’t worth it. Here’s why.

These cards are burnt-out pieces of trash at this point

A lot of these graphics cards have been grinding out hashing algorithms nearly non-stop for months or even years. They’ve been «rode hard and put away wet ,» and a substantial amount of their usable life has been used up.

Graphics cards aren’t meant to be run at the rate that these cards have been run at and under these conditions. In many cases, it’s in a dusty open warehouse next to dozens of other similarly burnt-out graphics cards, all of them generating heat and frying their own and their neighbors’ silicon transistors, plastic PCB, and soldering.

By the time you get your hands on this card, there’s no telling how much more it can handle or how long it’s been serving time in the crypto mines. We wouldn’t even compare this to a used graphics card that you bought off some gamer friend who managed to upgrade her own rig and is looking to recoup some of the cost. That is a legitimate purchase, especially if your friend has been doing nothing but gaming on it. Hell, even if they’ve been mining some crypto on it, that’s nothing compared to what’s been going on in some of these large-scale crypto operations.

Will that new card last six more months? A year? Who can say, but by then, the new Nvidia RTX 4090 and other Nvidia Lovelace and AMD RDNA 3 graphics cards will be available, so prices for the Ampere and RDNA 2 graphics cards should plummet. That’s especially true if we teach crypto miners that there won’t be any «recouping» of their investments when the next bubble pops.

Don’t let them off the hook, make cryptominers eat the costs

(Image credit: Yevhen Vitte / Shutterstock)

Cryptominers have been buying up an obscene amount of graphics cards in the past two years, with some estimates indicating that they bought up as much as $15 billion in just the GPUs.

They’ve made gamers’ lives hell as they try to buy the latest graphics cards, and worse still, they’ve absolutely wrecked the environment in the process. Crypto mining’s only proven use cases are criminal exchange and hastening a climate catastrophe. In no way, shape, or form should that behavior be rewarded.

Crypto miners, especially those who jumped in halfway or later in the bubble, are very likely to still be in the «recouping» phase of their operation. They very likely haven’t made enough off crypto to justify buying up all the graphics cards out there at inflated prices, and are probably right now desperate to at least break even on their investments.

That’s where we all come in. They denied us graphics cards and spread troll face memes amongst themselves on their shady little Discord channels at gamers’ expense. Well, turnabout is fair play. As they freak out that they’re thousands of dollars in the red on their «investments,» it’s gamers’ turn to rub it in their faces. Make them eat all those costs as they stare at their two or three RTX 3090 Ti’s that they bought at $3,000 apiece and that no one will buy at any price.

Teach them to leave our graphics cards alone in the only way we can, by making it as financially painful as possible to gamble on crypto the next time around. Maybe then the next generation of graphics cards won’t be a lost generation the way this one was.

John (He/Him) is the US Computing Editor here at TechRadar and he is also a programmer, gamer, activist, and Brooklyn College alum currently living in Brooklyn, NY.

Named by the CTA as a CES 2020 Media Trailblazer for his science and technology reporting, John specializes in all areas of computer science, including industry news, hardware reviews, PC gaming, as well as general science writing and the social impact of the tech industry.

You can find him online on Twitter at @thisdotjohn

Currently playing: The Last Stand: Aftermath, Cartel Tycoon

Should I buy a used GPU? 7 questions to ask yourself to decide.

If you’re an average PC gamer, you’ve likely been watching the price of components skyrocket for the past two years, wondering when things will finally calm down a bit.

But while the chip shortage shows no signs of letting up in the short-term, the cratering value of cryptocurrency (and therefore the profitability of crypto mining) has caused many crypto miners to sell off their older GPUs.

I’m here to tell you that while the low prices on platforms like eBay might be tempting, buying a used GPU from a stranger is very much a dice roll — one that might leave you paying hundreds of dollars for a defective GPU. Before you click that “buy now” button, here are seven questions you should ask yourself before you buy a used GPU.

Think before buying a used GPU that may have been used for crypto mining.Shutterstock

1. What does the GPU market look like right now?

The first thing you should consider before buying any used GPU is whether or not the price is actually a good deal or not. That might sound like obvious advice — and it is — but component prices are quite fickle, and they vary from retailer to retailer. As such, it’s worth shopping around.

Based on my own research, generally speaking, while the availability of graphics cards still isn’t great right now, you can find the latest generation of Nvidia GPUs (the 30-series) new at sites like Newegg for $100 to $200 north of MSRP. For example, this 3080 RTX (10GB version) usually retails for $800, and you can get it for $880 from Newegg at the moment.

The deals are even better the further up the chain you go. Right now, you can even get the RTX 3090 Ti for several hundred dollars below the MSRP, presumably due to the lack of demand at the top-end. Of course, it’s still a GPU that costs $1,650, so if you’re in the market for that, you definitely shouldn’t buy a used GPU, Uncle Moneybags.

2. How much are used GPUs selling for on the secondhand market?

You don’t have to look very far on sites like eBay to find desirable GPUs like the 3070 RTX or the 3060 Ti listed for several hundred dollars less than MSRP, but you’ll have to work for your (apparent) savings. The vast majority of used GPU listings that I found online were eBay auctions with dozens of bids that ended with a final price surprisingly close to the MSRP.

The RTX 3080 was impossible to find only a few months ago, but you can find it in stock at many online retailers these days. Nvidia

Most buyers ended up paying around $150 to $250 less than the price you can find on Newegg right now, but that doesn’t include shipping costs. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised if the number of GPUs on the market continues to balloon in the coming weeks as the crypto winter deepens, which might depress prices further. However, at the moment, the savings that you get from buying a used GPU are significant, but not that impressive on average. Of course, if you’re willing to put in the time, you can probably find a screaming deal — assuming that the used GPU actually works, of course.

3. What are the risks of buying a used GPU?

The number one problem with buying a used GPU is the possibility that it was used for crypto mining for any significant period of time. Over the past few years, crypto miners have bought desirable GPUs in bulk in order to pump out as much coin as possible while prices soared.

GPUs used in mining rigs are run under full load for weeks at a time, and they often lack the ventilation and cooling necessary for a GPU to thrive. The conclusion is pretty clear: If you end up buying a GPU from a miner, it probably won’t run well, and it’s likely to fail on you way faster than a newer GPU, leaving you high and dry.

4. Is there a way to tell if I’m buying a blown-out mining GPU?

Unfortunately, no, not really. The only real way to discern if a GPU was used for mining is by testing it under load with a benchmark program like Furmark. (And even then, it still might look okay until it fails three months later.) While it would be nice to see the results of such testing before making a purchase, you’re probably not going to get one of these eBay sellers to give you such results before you fork over the cash. As such, you should consider it a major risk.

If you can coax the seller into sending you high-resolution photos of the GPU, you can look for signs of wear, such as discoloration on the PCB. This is probably more feasible on Facebook Marketplace than eBay, however.

5. Who should I buy a used GPU from?

Frankly, if you’re considering a used GPU, the best thing to do is to research the seller. A lot of the crypto miners on eBay aren’t shy about putting six, eight, or even a dozen of the same GPUs up for sale at the same time. If you look at the seller’s page and see rows and rows of dusty-looking RTX 3080s for sale for cheap, you should stay away. Those are all lemons.

The RTX 3070 is often considered the most desirable of the 30-series cards for its price-to-power ratio, but it’s still hard to find for MSRP.Nvidia

Additionally, you’ll often see sellers advertising their GPUs as «open box» or «barely used.» Given the current state of the market, it’s possible that those claims are true, but there’s no way to know for sure. Regardless of what the seller tells you, you should consider a used GPU a calculated risk at best. If you can somehow finagle a deal where you can return the GPU within a time period, it’s a bit safer, though not foolproof.

6. What will the GPU market look six months from now?

When upgrading your computer, like with all tech products, it’s important to consider your timeframe. The current rumor is that Nvidia will reveal and release its next-generation 40-series GPUs by the end of the year, likely in September. Generally, generational jumps are a big deal, and they tend to reduce the price of last generation GPUs by a significant amount. (That is, of course, assuming that the crypto sell-off continues.) If you aren’t absolutely committed to building a gaming PC right damn now, it might be worth it to wait for the 40-series GPUs to land before buying.

7. Should I buy a used GPU?

Ultimately, in most cases, I do not think it’s worth it to buy a used GPU right now. The savings that I’m seeing on secondhand sites (as of this writing, at least) just simply aren’t worth the risk presented by the onslaught of busted crypto mining casualties. Most of the desirable GPUs are still in stock at online retailers if you’re willing to shop around. While they’re still significantly more expensive than MSRP, you know what you’re actually getting for your money, and I think that’s worth it. Also, let’s not forget that these new GPUs include a warranty that’ll prevent you from forking over hundreds of dollars to replace a defective model.

I do not think it’s worth it to buy a used GPU right now.

If you have a trusted friend or acquaintance that takes good care of their hardware and is willing to offer you a fair price, used GPUs can be a good deal — I’ve been on both sides of such exchanges myself. But when it comes to strangers on the internet, the crypto collapse has fueled a flood of lemon GPUs that often look identical to the real thing. As such, until prices come down even further, I recommend steering clear.

Useful tips when buying a used video card

When buying a personal computer, you always want to save money. You won’t save much on the processor, RAM and hard drive. It remains an expensive video card. Many simply do not buy it and work on the built-in one. This is true for those who do not play games. For those who indulge in computer entertainment and do not want to overpay, our advice is below.

Now after the mining boom in 2018, the prices of video cards have stabilized, but still remain high. At the end of 2018, new NVIDIA RTX series graphics cards were introduced with prices starting at $400, and a little later in 2019they were updated (improved) and began to be sold with the Super prefix. AMD also did not sit still and released competitors of the RTX series in the face of the RX 5700/5700 XT price ($400), the prices of which also remained at a high level. What if you want to buy a powerful video card, but you are not ready to spend $400-900 on it?

Now mining on video cards has ceased to be profitable, so many «entrepreneurs» began to get rid of unnecessary video cards. It’s time to consider buying a used video card that has seriously fallen in price. What to look for when buying?

Model selection

We recommend that you choose NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, 1070 and AMD Radeon RX 570, 580.

Why 900? These are modern video cards with a good level of performance. Now they are optimal in terms of price-quality ratio on the market for used components. In 99% of modern games, they will provide sufficient performance for a comfortable game at maximum and close to maximum settings. Here are some test results of these video cards in popular games:

Another plus is that they are popular and a lot of them are sold at flea markets.

We recommend buying video cards from famous brands: MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, Palit. Brands like Manli, Maxsun, etc. are bad because the experience of using them is small and the chance of getting a bad copy increases. The price of the above models is about $115 for a used video card, which is significantly less than the prices in stores that start from $170. What amount of video memory is better to take now? Of course, the more the better, but even 3 GB will be enough for you to play on a regular Full HD monitor.

Before buying a video card, check that you have a power supply suitable for its power consumption (550 W is enough).

Seller

Choose large sites with private ads. There are not so many of them in Belarus. We enter the model of the video card we need in the search bar and see what offers are there and from which sellers. A seller who has recently been on the site is a reason to be wary. Check out other listings he has on offer.

If he sells several video cards at once — a reason for additional verification. An ordinary gamer does not need 5 video cards, which means that the seller (outbid) sells refurbished video cards, or he was engaged in mining in the past. We recommend avoiding these sellers.

Video card appearance and packaging

The video card must have seals on the screws that fix the cooling system. If there are no seals, this video card has been opened. An exception may be Gigabyte video cards, on which there are no seals initially.

If the seller writes that he changed the thermal paste on the video card, this should alert. Even after 2 years of daily use of the video card, this makes little sense. In the photo you can see if there are changes in the color of the textolite. If so, it may have been overheating.

After overheating:

Ask the seller if there is a box, documents for the video card and a warranty. If there is, great, most likely the video card will be in good condition. And with a guarantee, you don’t have to worry about anything at all. A neat appearance and cleanliness of the video card is a sign of the trustworthiness of the seller.

Call

After choosing a seller, we recommend that you clarify his number and ask a few questions by phone. For example, with what motherboard the video card was used and what games were run on it. Outbid it can put in a stupor. The real owner will quickly answer everything. And he will even tell you what his favorite tank in WoT is. As a rule, they give 3 days to test the video card. If the seller refuses a test drive, then you need to find another one. Already on the phone, ask when the video card was bought and whether it participated in mining. Video cards after mining are not a sentence, but a reason for bargaining and deeper testing.

Price

Always bargain — sometimes you can drop another $5-10. Don’t be fooled by too low prices. Read ads carefully. Sometimes, for the price of a serviceable video card, they openly sell a faulty one. If a used video card is only 5% cheaper than the same new one in the store, there is not much point in buying.

Testing and Troubleshooting

If possible, test the video card at the dealer’s home. 5-10 minutes in a high-tech game (Battlefield 5, Metro Exodus) will say a lot more than dozens of photos.

You need to test the video card in Furmark and 3DMark tests. They will also load it to 100%. In this mode, you can evaluate the noise level, the performance of the cooling system and the stability of the video chip. Under load and without, you should not hear the “whistle of the chokes” and the crackle of the cooler.

Use the GPU-Z program to find out all the technical specifications of the video card and identify a fake. To do this, open the program and compare all the data from it with the official specifications from the NVIDIA website.

If the video card passed all the tests successfully, you can take it.

Happy shopping and high FPS in games!

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Is it worth it to buy a used video card in the midst of the mining boom 2021

This material was written by a site visitor and has been rewarded.

We all remember the release of the PTX3000 / RX6000 with a pomp … to nowhere (more precisely, into the clutches of miners and outbids). And we also remember many promotions from «market enthusiasts» who organized «sales of unprecedented generosity» … Let’s try to look at Avito and check if we can buy a normal used video card in good condition and at an adequate price. After all, if you believe some «news heralds», then thanks to «generous promotions» prices both in retail and in the secondary market should have collapsed.

Prepare popcorn (nuts / dumplings / chips) and seagulls, turn on the «atmosphere» — we begin our «analysis». We will conduct it in the outback — on the territory of the Kemerovo region (also known as Kuzbass).

recommendations

Let’s start with «adequate» offers

Both offers are quite profitable and have quite adequate (for these models) price. Well, almost adequate. No matter how much they blame the 970, but as a plug for 15k, this card looks much more profitable than the offered 1060 3GB for 20-26k or 1060 6GB / 1660 for 40k.

Not quite adequate offers

In addition, as a former owner of «Mad», namely 970Strix OC (and a very successful copy), I can say that the price is overpriced by an average of 30-35%. About the 10-year-old 7850, most of you can write freely. And I think many will agree that the red price of this card is 3 rubles per market day (if the card is in excellent condition). Buying this fossil for a high price is the same as getting yourself a referral to a psychiatric dispensary (moreover, to a forced one with a lobotomy).

Trash, waste and sodomy

In the ad, the afftor indicates that the card is in excellent condition, the PC is cleaned regularly, but looking at his photo, Stanislavsky’s immortal phrase — «I don’t believe it!» (if THIS is a PC cleaned from dust and dirt, then what kind of crap is it then ?!)

A sound card with an image output mode created for CS-GO and MOBA. With 2GB of video memory, used — and «only» for 12t. r.!

Fury — the ancestor of AMD HBM video cards with 4GB of onboard memory — for just a miserable 30k! And this despite the fact that back in October-December it could be bought for 9-13t.r., And with a water block! And the comparison of the mammoth AMD with the included new technology against Nvidia stock cards is just SHYDEVAR !!! At one time, the author went to Metro Exodus on Ultra settings at a resolution of 2560×1440 on a bunch of 4790K + 1080Ti — in the Caspian Sea, the minimum fps was 85, the maximum — 130. This Fury in the same game at 1080p / Ultra has a maximum of 80fps. Non-fans — what to take from them.

You definitely cannot deny the author of this ad a sense of humor.

Does anyone else believe this?

The very description of the ad looks like a joke from the cycle about Armenian Radio.

And how much this dinosaur eats!

Only there is one «BUT»

Offering a used video card at the price of a new one is worthy of the Prize.

Average price RX5700 — 90,000

RX580 8Gb 35-52 tr.

3060-3060Ti — 90-115t.r.

For all the «tarik-like» I specially saved this announcement

The fact that the data was worked in / to the «mine» is clear to any adequate reader. At the same time, this ad clearly shows us WHAT high-quality products 100% should not be bought on the secondary market under any pretext. And especially — on Avito.

The purchase of GTX 400-700 series and older Nvidia video cards is especially not recommended. AMD cards are not recommended for purchase on the secondary market at all.

And what choice do we have? Either integration into the processor, or buying a new one in / in the store (if you are very unbearable). It is recommended to forget about the secondary.

If you are tired of this Brazilian carnival with video cards (and not only) — write to our «news heralds». They’ll think of something. For example — a new super-generous promotion for the sale of a super-secret stock of new video cards at especially reduced prices on special conditions for the most dedicated.