I ran 1500 tests to prove The Media wrong - Testing 19 Used Mining GPUs

[AdamFromLTT]

Don’t buy used GPUs! A warning we’ve heard far too many times. But does mining actually harm your GPU? We think not. So we tested 19 different used GPUs from AMD and NVIDIA to determine if cryptomining will make your PC Hardware purchase die on arrival.
 

 

[ProngsOldGuy]

I'm and work on PC shop, and often working on Mining Rigs. in some case indeed The GPU degrade, majority of them was from Improper storing (Dust + Humidity). Rust corrosion. also from Faulty Capacitor, yes your Core is okay, your Vram is okay, but power component is usually broken, it's repairable tough.

[AndreiArgeanu]

There's also another point. Mining really pushes the memory controller and memory itself and can often lead to it being significantly degraded as a result and therefore having a significantly shorter life then it should. This isn't something that's easy to test for but is worth mentioning, especially given that higher end 30 series cards were notorious for their high temperature, so if you're buying used it's worth avoiding cards that use GDDR6X and HBM memory unless you know with confidence that the card wasn't mined on since they are the ones that typically see the greatest wear when it comes to mining.

 

There's this video from Actually Hardcore Overclocking that goes over this.

 

[dogwitch]

7 minutes ago, AndreiArgeanu said:

There's also another point. Mining really pushes the memory controller and memory itself and can often lead to it being significantly degraded as a result and therefore having a significantly shorter life then it should. This isn't something that's easy to test for but is worth mentioning, especially given that higher end 30 series cards were notorious for their high temperature, so if you're buying used it's worth avoiding cards that use GDDR6X and HBM memory unless you know with confidence that the card wasn't mined on since they are the ones that typically see the greatest wear when it comes to mining.

 

There's this video from Actually Hardcore Overclocking that goes over this.

 

most vram is underclock in mining.

[Senzelian]

Some used GPUs cost almost as much as new ones here in Germany and yet people buy them.

The used market here if simply f*cked up.

[Jerakl]

I bought a 980ti used a long time ago, and used it for many years. It still runs in my GFs pc.
I bought it used very lightly and this was before mining was really a big thing, but still.

As long as you do your homework with used PC parts generally fine.

[TeenX]

The RTX 3070 Eagle OC being sold second hand are mostly broken. I purchased a used one recently and it was artifacting and overheating. I couldn't get a refund and searched forever for a diy fix couldn't find one but found that a large amount of people are getting scammed with these cards.

[darwastaken]

Hey Adam and everyone in the LTT community.

This video had been perfect timing for me as I had considered buying a new GPU after holding off for quite sometime. Not sure what the case was but BestBuy Canada shipped my 3090ti in a completely half eaten box I could quite literally stick my whole arm in there.. mind you, this was right before Christmas in December and this was my first build after saving up coming from a second hand pre built gtx 780 which seems to be a decade old now.. I went with my gut and returned it to my local store here in Saskatchewan. I'm fine with using the gtx780 for what I need until I find a great GPU with now a direction to go. Could not have asked for anything more thanks you to everyone that made the video

[CyberneticTitan]

4 hours ago, dogwitch said:

most vram is underclock in mining.

That might be true in today's era with the death of ETH mining. Since the start of ETH mining to end of 2022, miners got ~20% gain in hashrate (i.e. profitability) from overclocking the memory and downclocking the core.

[xnamkcor]

Kombustor sounds like laundry detergent a mother would use to get stubborn substances out of her teenage son's socks.

[dogwitch]

2 hours ago, xnamkcor said:

Kombustor sounds like laundry detergent a mother would use to get stubborn substances out of her teenage son's socks.

 

[DarkSwordsman]

Was it really just 3000 series and 5700 XTs? Where are the 6000 series AMD, or 2000 series Nvidia? At least the 2000 series is much more affordable. It makes no sense to buy a 3000 series used when its gonna be nearly the same price as new, at least from what I've checked.

[CyberneticTitan]

24 minutes ago, DarkSwordsman said:

Was it really just 3000 series and 5700 XTs? Where are the 6000 series AMD, or 2000 series Nvidia? At least the 2000 series is much more affordable. It makes no sense to buy a 3000 series used when its gonna be nearly the same price as new, at least from what I've checked.

I'm sure we'd all like to know where the 6000 series were during the pandemic lol.

 

Jokes aside, 6000 series were less desirable for mining because of their lower memory bandwidth compared to Nvidia at the same price tier. The only exceptions may be the RX 6800/XT. Would have been nice to include one or two cards though, totally agree.

 

Here in Canada, RTX 3080s are non-existent brand new. 3060s are about $500 CAD new, and about 300 CAD used. 3070 is about 750 CAD new, and $550 used. We also have to pay 12-13% sales tax too, so there is a very compelling reason to buy used.

[DarkSwordsman]

Just a note to everyone. Literally right around the time this video released, eBay changed their filtering.

"Used" now encompasses "Parts Only", so you can not exclude listings that are "Parts Only".

[xnamkcor]

7 minutes ago, DarkSwordsman said:

Just a note to everyone. Literally right around the time this video released, eBay changed their filtering.

"Used" now encompasses "Parts Only", so you can not exclude listings that are "Parts Only".

"Parts Only" means "completely broken"/"non-working", right?

[DarkSwordsman]

16 minutes ago, xnamkcor said:

"Parts Only" means "completely broken"/"non-working", right?

Pretty much completely, yes.

[Ales Sladovsky]

Linus, is the profit from the used junk shop worth more than your honor? This "tutorial" doesn't say that it's not the crystal mostly wears out, but the rest of the components and cooling system. Industrial usage and gaming are different cases. Better to stay on an integrated one than to buy garbage that has worked hard in a mining farm for 3-4 years 24/7 and will break down in a year.

Also even after the mining gold rush is over video card prices are absolutely ridiculous. It is a crime against the consumer to support the silent price collusion of manufacturers and resellers.

[Radium_Angel]

Buying a used mining card depends heavily on one thing:

 

That the miner knew what he was doing in the care and maintenance of the card.

This is not always the case, and I am not willing to risk my money in finding out.

[Ales Sladovsky]

1 hour ago, Radium_Angel said:

That the miner knew what he was doing in the care and maintenance of the card.

It works only to minority who had one or couple cards and no money to replace them. Most of the offers on the market are waste material from huge farms where the main concern was profit, and the cards were expendable

[DarkSwordsman]

Why is this outlined in white? My eyeballs

[OhioYJ]

On 2/4/2023 at 5:01 PM, Senzelian said:

Some used GPUs cost almost as much as new ones here in Germany and yet people buy them.

The used market here if simply f*cked up.

Even in the video I think his argument fell apart when it boils down to you can save 19% buying used. Maybe just me, but for only a ~20% savings, I'd rather not gamble, I'll pay extra to have something that is new, has a warranty, is coming from a definitely reputable source and that I know it will be good. It's worth the peace of mind.  Used / Refurbished etc, it needs to be considerably cheaper, 10-20% savings, isn't worth it.

[Senzelian]

14 minutes ago, OhioYJ said:

Even in the video I think his argument fell apart when it boils down to you can save 19% buying used. Maybe just me, but for only a ~20% savings, I'd rather not gamble, I'll pay extra to have something that is new, has a warranty, is coming from a definitely reputable source and that I know it will be good. It's worth the peace of mind.  Used / Refurbished etc, it needs to be considerably cheaper, 10-20% savings, isn't worth it.

I agree. I won't even look at cards that aren't at least 40% off when they're used, but I don't think his argument fell apart. In relation to the current market situation it's the best you can get. 

[OhioYJ]

Just now, Senzelian said:

I agree. I won't even look at cards that aren't at least 40% off when they're used, but I don't think his argument fell apart. In relation to the current market situation it's the best you can get. 

Fair if it's all you can get. However it's eased up quite a bit. Generally right now you can get a GPU without much hassle. 4090s being the roughest to get, but generally even those are obtainable, especially if you aren't being super picky on the model. I've been seeing stuff routinely in stock especially if I can wait a week or so.

[dogwitch]

5 hours ago, OhioYJ said:

Fair if it's all you can get. However it's eased up quite a bit. Generally right now you can get a GPU without much hassle. 4090s being the roughest to get, but generally even those are obtainable, especially if you aren't being super picky on the model. I've been seeing stuff routinely in stock especially if I can wait a week or so.

in store. that not true.

but micro center.... fun fact about that company. their user bases thinks they are everywhere.. they are not. and  very small amount of store they have.

then online. it reall depended on what state you live in to. some tax more for 1 online store compare to another.

[sailsman63]

6 hours ago, OhioYJ said:

Even in the video I think his argument fell apart when it boils down to you can save 19% buying used.

He did point out that this is if you grab the Buy-It-Now pricing for whichever one came up first. I've been seeing some listings that are... either "Aspirational" or or waiting for someone to put in an counter-offer, at best.