Graphics Card Health vs Performance

[jhearn13]

Hello Community,

 

I’ve been contemplating upgrading my video card this year and have spent many hours searching eBay and other sites recently.  The LTT video today was perfect timing!  Like many, I’m concerned with what level of quality I’m going to receive if I buy used even I try to follow all the “pro tips” from the video.

 

Once I do acquire a new-to-me card, is there a reliable method to test the status of its health?  Is gathering benchmark data the same thing?  My meaning is that if there is a way to tell if my card has been abused during its life with the previous owner(s).  Be it with extensive crypto farming or intense overclocking, is there a way for a computer novice like me to figure out what kind of shape my card is in?  If I run benchmarks and compare my data to that of other testers, will that tell me all that I need to know?

 

Also, does anyone know the name of the program they were using at the end of the video today?

 

Thanks for reading and I appreciate the help!

[Hinjima]

5 minutes ago, jhearn13 said:

Hello Community,

 

I’ve been contemplating upgrading my video card this year and have spent many hours searching eBay and other sites recently.  The LTT video today was perfect timing!  Like many, I’m concerned with what level of quality I’m going to receive if I buy used even I try to follow all the “pro tips” from the video.

 

Once I do acquire a new-to-me card, is there a reliable method to test the status of its health?  Is gathering benchmark data the same thing?  My meaning is that if there is a way to tell if my card has been abused during its life with the previous owner(s).  Be it with extensive crypto farming or intense overclocking, is there a way for a computer novice like me to figure out what kind of shape my card is in?  If I run benchmarks and compare my data to that of other testers, will that tell me all that I need to know?

 

Also, does anyone know the name of the program they were using at the end of the video today?

 

Thanks for reading and I appreciate the help!

Run a few game benchmarks, check if the FPS adds up to other similar benchmarks online, check if temperatures are in within reason and that all fans are working. Thats about it I guess. You can run 'unigine heaven benchmark' for a loop for a couple of hours to see if anything crashes.  Remember that scores may differ due to your CPU and RAM.
There is no real way to tell if a GPU has been abused.  If the GPU is covered in dust or similar that means its not been cleaned properly / taken good care of and that might be a warning sign, check the screws at the back and see if the warranty sticker is still there or has been removed. If so, the card has been opened and you can ask the seller about that.

[Supersonicwolfe]

25 minutes ago, jhearn13 said:

Hello Community,

 

I’ve been contemplating upgrading my video card this year and have spent many hours searching eBay and other sites recently.  The LTT video today was perfect timing!  Like many, I’m concerned with what level of quality I’m going to receive if I buy used even I try to follow all the “pro tips” from the video.

 

Once I do acquire a new-to-me card, is there a reliable method to test the status of its health?  Is gathering benchmark data the same thing?  My meaning is that if there is a way to tell if my card has been abused during its life with the previous owner(s).  Be it with extensive crypto farming or intense overclocking, is there a way for a computer novice like me to figure out what kind of shape my card is in?  If I run benchmarks and compare my data to that of other testers, will that tell me all that I need to know?

 

Also, does anyone know the name of the program they were using at the end of the video today?

 

Thanks for reading and I appreciate the help!

Aside from Unigine heaven. You can also try 3Dmark time spy, it will show you how other system with similar hardware performed. if the score number is close (+- 400 points) then it should be fine.

 

You can also monitor gpu/memory core frequency gpu/memory temp and other parameters to see if the temperate is within reasonable/boosting behavior. HWinfo or HWmonitor both can give you these information.

 

*The program they used in video is batch command for testing GPU without manual monitoring. Essentially it's just running those benchmarks built into games at the same settings. (Cyberpunk/Forza Horizon all have a built-in benchmark mode, you can access that by going into graphics settings)

And just like you said yourself, you can try match benchmark conditions from reviews and see if your numbers are close to those.

[johnno23]

^^^ HWinfo64 is pretty much my go to for even brand new products. check temps via the sensor panel when idle running a test etc etc. if it conforms to review articles good to go

[AI_Must_Di3]

I wouldnt go Nvidia if you do, the new plugs are a pita fire hazard. IMO, they changed the plugs, put them in the middle of the card and then used smaller pins to pump loads of power thru. The stupid in that setup is on another level. So hopefully the next gen series will see a revamp of this plug or they bring back the proper pci-e power plugs. You dont want to buy into that nonsense, its not worth it.

So, that leaves you AMD, which is fine they have a bunch of good competitive cards, but i would stay away from Gigabyte for sure. Other than that, just make a list of the needs you have and what you cant compromise on and work from there with prices.

[Wh0_Am_1]

Hello welcome to the LTT forums! Performance alone is generally not a very good indicator of the health of the card, unless something is very very wrong, or a previous user went in and went ham on the voltage. (which most modern cards will not let you do anymore). the best way to tell if a card has been abused is a visual inspection, generally the areas that see significant levels of heat will turn glossy and look like they have gunk around them, a relatively new PCB will usually have a flat matte like finish

 

 

[Hinjima]

1 minute ago, AI_Must_Di3 said:

I wouldnt go Nvidia if you do, the new plugs are a pita fire hazard. IMO, they changed the plugs, put them in the middle of the card and then used smaller pins to pump loads of power thru. The stupid in that setup is on another level. So hopefully the next gen series will see a revamp of this plug or they bring back the proper pci-e power plugs. You dont want to buy into that nonsense, its not worth it.

So, that leaves you AMD, which is fine they have a bunch of good competitive cards, but i would stay away from Gigabyte for sure. Other than that, just make a list of the needs you have and what you cant compromise on and work from there with prices.

The fire issue is slightly over hyped. Yes its happening but its mainly down to user error.  I run an RTX 4080 and I am not afraid at all, using the supplied adapter.  It might seem like a lot of cards but its more in the range of 0.1% that has had this issue, if that.

[AI_Must_Di3]

4 minutes ago, Hinjima said:

The fire issue is slightly over hyped. Yes its happening but its mainly down to user error.  I run an RTX 4080 and I am not afraid at all, using the supplied adapter.  It might seem like a lot of cards but its more in the range of 0.1% that has had this issue, if that.

Agreed, but my concern is that this doesnt sound like a very knowledgeable user and these plugs need to be handled correctly or you end up with all the issues. Yeah, for guys that know what they are doing and have surmounted other issues over the years it may be easy to deal with but for the "i want to plug it in a go" people its not going to be that easy and they WILL have to keep a eye on the wiring and feel it to see if its getting warm/hot to stop it from ruining the whole card.

[Hinjima]

11 minutes ago, AI_Must_Di3 said:

Agreed, but my concern is that this doesnt sound like a very knowledgeable user and these plugs need to be handled correctly or you end up with all the issues. Yeah, for guys that know what they are doing and have surmounted other issues over the years it may be easy to deal with but for the "i want to plug it in a go" people its not going to be that easy and they WILL have to keep a eye on the wiring and feel it to see if its getting warm/hot to stop it from ruining the whole card.

It absolutely is a real concern and it needs to be dealt with to remove the ability for users to 'make a mistake' so easily that it will melt the adapter and be a hazard in someones home.. I leave my PC running 24/7 for weeks at a time.  It most definitely is a terrible solution to something that did not need fixing.  JayzTwoCents released a video today about Cablemods adapters having this issue as well, I was shocked to hear that they sold over 40.000 of these tiny adapters... That kinda shows how many people bought the 4000 series, as I think only a small amount of the owners actually bought an adapter from cable mod.  I do agree with you, its a horrible adapter and they can't keep using this for the 5000 series. But I don't believe that one should be afraid of buying a 4000 series and using these adapters, just pay attention and you should be fine.

 

[johnno23]

if going second hand and wanting an Nvidea I would suggest a 3080 as it is faster than a 4070 and much lower cost of entry.

if you want raw performance for FPS then AMD have some very good options but overall anything used has an element of risk.

Also note that when things go wrong people scream when things go right majority of people are silent so for every bad purchase there are an unknown number of people that have had perfect value for their money.

[Supersonicwolfe]

18 hours ago, AI_Must_Di3 said:

I wouldnt go Nvidia if you do, the new plugs are a pita fire hazard. IMO, they changed the plugs, put them in the middle of the card and then used smaller pins to pump loads of power thru. The stupid in that setup is on another level. So hopefully the next gen series will see a revamp of this plug or they bring back the proper pci-e power plugs. You dont want to buy into that nonsense, its not worth it.

So, that leaves you AMD, which is fine they have a bunch of good competitive cards, but i would stay away from Gigabyte for sure. Other than that, just make a list of the needs you have and what you cant compromise on and work from there with prices.

Most non-founder version 30 series card still used PCIe 8 pin connectors. 

And 12VHPWR melting issue had concluded that it's an user error caused by a bad design. You don't encounter this problem if you are not using a 4090 and if you properly plugged in the 12VHPWR connector.

I hope more PSU maker would adopt MSI's method of using some yellow plastic on the connector. So in case the connector isn't fully plugged in, you can see the yellow part.

 

Oh and every major brand fucked up recently or in the past. So no need to avoid a brand, instead the read/research model of the Graphics Cards (Motherboard) model you want to buy and see if there is any reported problem with them. 

[AI_Must_Di3]

18 hours ago, Supersonicwolfe said:

Most non-founder version 30 series card still used PCIe 8 pin connectors. 

And 12VHPWR melting issue had concluded that it's an user error caused by a bad design. You don't encounter this problem if you are not using a 4090 and if you properly plugged in the 12VHPWR connector.

I hope more PSU maker would adopt MSI's method of using some yellow plastic on the connector. So in case the connector isn't fully plugged in, you can see the yellow part.

 

Oh and every major brand fucked up recently or in the past. So no need to avoid a brand, instead the read/research model of the Graphics Cards (Motherboard) model you want to buy and see if there is any reported problem with them. 

I dont have any problems with companies fucking up, where the problem lies is when they fuck up, try to deflect it, then have to deal with it and then wipe their RMA database and say it was a accident etc... That right there tells you everything you need to know about the company and how they are going to treat your rma. The customer warranty and after purchase support is AS, if not more, important than the actual product. The best case scenario for that example would be EVGA. 

[Supersonicwolfe]

1 hour ago, AI_Must_Di3 said:

I dont have any problems with companies fucking up, where the problem lies is when they fuck up, try to deflect it, then have to deal with it and then wipe their RMA database and say it was a accident etc... That right there tells you everything you need to know about the company and how they are going to treat your rma. The customer warranty and after purchase support is AS, if not more, important than the actual product. The best case scenario for that example would be EVGA. 

Only EVGA actually.

Corsuar RMA isn’t bad too, I used their RMA twice (and I brought the RAM from China, moved to Sweden and the Ram chip broke causing BSOD. Then replacement have broken RBG after few month so it went through RMA again…)

NONE of MSI, Asus, Gigabyte had good RMA…

Just look at how defensive Asus went when their AM5 boards barbecued 5800X3D CPUs

and Gigabytes kept saying: return it to retailer for RMA, very unfriendly to the used market…

[AI_Must_Di3]

Agreed for the most part. Although, i will say ive had good after purchase dealings with Antec, Cooler Master, Kingston and Western Digital. Thats about it, besides evga of course, and yeah, its a short list, lol. Ive heard from many people over the years that Corsair was good to deal with and so is Gskill too. Thankfully, for my own parts i havent had to do a bunch of rmas ever cause i take care of my stuff and i try to build as cool as possible all the time and its payed off for all these years.

[rilwanu]

there is a "special marks" to identify mining gpu, because gpu mostly use your vram module 24/7, dont worry about your gpu core, usually miner underclock it due to electricity and heat, they abuse vram memory. 

tear down your gpu and you will see there is a "oil" in thermal pad memory caused by nonstop used vram module.

 

 

[jhearn13]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and suggestions!  I appreciate the info.  I’m still shopping, but I will post back here once I have some luck.  I went ahead and bought a new psu (old was only 460w) so hopefully I can plug and play once I find a card.

[WallacEngineering]

On 6/20/2023 at 6:52 PM, jhearn13 said:

Hello Community,

 

I’ve been contemplating upgrading my video card this year and have spent many hours searching eBay and other sites recently.

 

What card do you have now and what do you want to play at what settings and resolution?

 

I will tell you if you should or shouldn't upgrade depending on what you have and what you want to aim for.

 

Its easy to recommend upgrading right now, last-gen AMD Radeon cards are an insane value like the 6700-XT for $300-ish brand new with a warranty thanks to the tank in GPU sales. Even current-gen cards are starting to get discounts already.

 

If its a good value - the recommendation will be to go ahead and get the upgrade. Bad value - forget it.

 

6700-XT is a VERY powerful 1440p card with 12GB of VRAM that is ready for next-gen gaming. Its quite hard not to recommend it.