Used Graphics Cards?

[BlindGam3r]

Hi guys,

 

A friend of mine is looking to buy a second hand Sapphire R9 280x Toxic from a shop that had got them from someone who had used them for bit coin mining. He has been given a fair price of 140 when the cards are 260 new.

 

I just want to know your thoughts on this and weather you think its a good idea or not, I just think that it wont last long as the card has been running at 100% load for a long time while mining.

 

Thanks

[FloRolf]

Depens on how long he mined with them. I'd say better get a different card

[jkraghify]

Mining doesn't really hurt the cards much (many miners undervolt)

 

The biggest problem will be the fans, those can suffer quite a bit from mining.

If you are buying through eBay though, you have nothing to worry about with eBay Buyer protection. You will get your money back if the card is broken, but sold to you as if it were working.

[QueenDemetria]

I personally don't recommend cards used for mining. Sometimes they are used harder than what the seller is advertising, usually really low prices give this away.

[Flatoutnos]

It's a gamble with cards that were used for mining. Buying used cards though is fine. I bought a 660 used from hardware swap for $50 and it works fine.

[dragoon20005]

if it still under warranty

 

i will just send it in for repairs for a piece of mind

 

but the warranty may differ from region and country

 

so check that first

[Badger906]

mining for bit coins is no more stressful than gaming. if your gpu isn't working near 100% all of the time while playing games it means there's a bottleneck or you're playing on really low settings.

you could just as easily buy a second hand card that's had hundred and hundred of hours of gaming.

[SuperPug]

Hi guys,

 

A friend of mine is looking to buy a second hand Sapphire R9 280x Toxic from a shop that had got them from someone who had used them for bit coin mining. He has been given a fair price of 140 when the cards are 260 new.

 

I just want to know your thoughts on this and weather you think its a good idea or not, I just think that it wont last long as the card has been running at 100% load for a long time while mining.

 

Thanks

 

Mining doesn't really hurt the Chip itself if anything it puts strain on the fans since they're probably running at pretty high RPM 24/7. I was considering getting a preiously owned mining card at some point and calculated that even the worst fan-bearings should last way beyond useful life of the card after mining for about 12 Months.