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Testing used GPUs

IanDrexP
By IanDrexP
in Graphics Cards
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I was thinking of buying a used GPU and people said to test the card with real games and like Unigine Valley. My question is how do I know it passed with flying colors? Should I look out for something while testing & benchmarking? I know I should look at temps, clock speeds, etc (using like afterburner). What else?

Echelon Mk 2.11 

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  • Cooler: Cryorig H7 (With a 120 mm Thermaltake Riing RGB)
  • Motherboard: MSI B150M Bazooka Plus
  • Memory: 16 (2x8) GB DDR4 Kingston HyperX Fury (Black)
  • Video Card: Sapphire NITRO R9 390 (Stock)
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  • Power Supply: 520 W Seasonic M12II Evo (with custom extensions and cable combs)
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  • Fans: 2x 120 mm & 3x 140 mm Thermaltake Riing RGB
  • Display: 22 " LG Flatron L227WTG-PF LCD (OCed to 76 Hz)
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Look at temps, artifacts and make sure its actually the GPU that you wanted not a custom bios'ed gpu set to be named as another and you end up getting scammed, download gpu-z and flash the gpu's bios to make sure, also check if the fans are working properly underload if its one of the newer cards 

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Look at temps, artifacts and make sure its actually the GPU that you wanted not a custom bios'ed gpu set to be named as another and you end up getting scammed, download gpu-z and flash the gpu's bios to make sure, also check if the fans are working properly underload if its one of the newer cards

Thanks for the info! NVIDIA or/and GPU distributors openly give BIOS for GPUs? Or is there like a site with all BIOSes. Didnt know that. :D

Echelon Mk 2.11 

Spoiler
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-6500
  • Cooler: Cryorig H7 (With a 120 mm Thermaltake Riing RGB)
  • Motherboard: MSI B150M Bazooka Plus
  • Memory: 16 (2x8) GB DDR4 Kingston HyperX Fury (Black)
  • Video Card: Sapphire NITRO R9 390 (Stock)
  • Storage:  1 TB Western Digital Blue
  • Power Supply: 520 W Seasonic M12II Evo (with custom extensions and cable combs)
  • Casing: NZXT S340 Elite (Matte Black)
  • Fans: 2x 120 mm & 3x 140 mm Thermaltake Riing RGB
  • Display: 22 " LG Flatron L227WTG-PF LCD (OCed to 76 Hz)
  • Keyboard: Logitech K120
  • Mouse: Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury
  • Mousepad: SteelSeries QcK
  • Operating System: Windows 10 Pro (64-bit)

 

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Thanks for the info! NVIDIA or/and GPU distributors openly give BIOS for GPUs? Or is there like a site with all BIOSes. Didnt know that. :D

 

I'm not sure, but I've seen people sell GTX 780 Ti, but they were actually like really old nVidia graphics cards on eBay, there's a topic about it too in the forums, I can't look for it right now tho 

Early 2020 Build : Intel i7 8700k // MSI Krait Z370 // Corsair LPX 8x2 16GB // Aorus 5700 XT // NZXT H500 

Early 2019 Build : Ryzen 2600X // Asus Tuff X470 // G.Skill Trident Z RGB 8x2 16GB // MSI RTX 2070 // NZXT H500 

Late 2017 Build : Intel i7 8700k // Asus Prime Z370-A // G.Skill Trident Z 8x2 16GB // EVGA GTX 1080 Ti  // NZXT S320 Elite 

Late 2015 Build : Intel i7 6700k // Asus Maximus VI Gene Z170 //  Corsair LPX 8x2 16GB // Gigabyte GTX 970 // Corsair Air 240

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I'm not sure, but I've seen people sell GTX 780 Ti, but they were actually like really old nVidia graphics cards on eBay, there's a topic about it too in the forums, I can't look for it right now tho

I will be buying from local listings and local craigslist. So I will be the one personally testing and benchmarking each GPU to see if it is in 100% mint condition before making a purchase. Sounds like a very dirty scam.

Echelon Mk 2.11 

Spoiler
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-6500
  • Cooler: Cryorig H7 (With a 120 mm Thermaltake Riing RGB)
  • Motherboard: MSI B150M Bazooka Plus
  • Memory: 16 (2x8) GB DDR4 Kingston HyperX Fury (Black)
  • Video Card: Sapphire NITRO R9 390 (Stock)
  • Storage:  1 TB Western Digital Blue
  • Power Supply: 520 W Seasonic M12II Evo (with custom extensions and cable combs)
  • Casing: NZXT S340 Elite (Matte Black)
  • Fans: 2x 120 mm & 3x 140 mm Thermaltake Riing RGB
  • Display: 22 " LG Flatron L227WTG-PF LCD (OCed to 76 Hz)
  • Keyboard: Logitech K120
  • Mouse: Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury
  • Mousepad: SteelSeries QcK
  • Operating System: Windows 10 Pro (64-bit)

 

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I'm not sure, but I've seen people sell GTX 780 Ti, but they were actually like really old nVidia graphics cards on eBay, there's a topic about it too in the forums, I can't look for it right now tho 

That's usually where they swap a modern cooler onto an older card. There's usually dead giveaways like "1GB DDR3!" on a 7970 that should have 3GB GDDR5. Small things like that usually point out the bad apples.

 

I will be buying from local listings and local craigslist. So I will be the one personally testing and benchmarking each GPU to see if it is in 100% mint condition before making a purchase. Sounds like a very dirty scam.

I've bought cards used and sold them as well. It's easy to tell if the seller is honest because they'll let you at least see the card in a running system before buying. If they refuse to show you or let you test it, walk away. The BIOS changed cards are usually 7870s with R9 280X BIOS loaded in or a 7970 with the R9 290 BIOS. Not all cards can have a BIOS easily changed to make it show up as something else. And besides the marketing stickers on the coolers or the misalignment of the PCB underneath the heatsink are good giveaways too.

 

If the card shows flickering, strange lines or multicolored blotches at all on the screen, walk away. If it has temps spiking all over the place, walk away.

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I will be buying from local listings and local craigslist. So I will be the one personally testing and benchmarking each GPU to see if it is in 100% mint condition before making a purchase. Sounds like a very dirty scam.

 

yeah it is :/

Early 2020 Build : Intel i7 8700k // MSI Krait Z370 // Corsair LPX 8x2 16GB // Aorus 5700 XT // NZXT H500 

Early 2019 Build : Ryzen 2600X // Asus Tuff X470 // G.Skill Trident Z RGB 8x2 16GB // MSI RTX 2070 // NZXT H500 

Late 2017 Build : Intel i7 8700k // Asus Prime Z370-A // G.Skill Trident Z 8x2 16GB // EVGA GTX 1080 Ti  // NZXT S320 Elite 

Late 2015 Build : Intel i7 6700k // Asus Maximus VI Gene Z170 //  Corsair LPX 8x2 16GB // Gigabyte GTX 970 // Corsair Air 240

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