Is a used GTX 780 worth $140?

[Aereldor]

Greetings.

Reasonable prices on GPUs are rare where I live, and I often have to persuade friends to bring me parts from the US when they come to visit. However, I spotted what seems like a decent deal on a reference GTX 780- for approximately $150, but the seller's willing to negotiate, which should give at least $10.

I was wondering if a card like the GTX 780 was worth the money at that price, and if the deal was worth the added risk of buying a used GPU.

http://www.olx.in/item/zotac-geforce-gtx-780-zt-70201-ID13x9tL.html#ec32d01a67

Regards,
Aereldor.

[givingtnt]

lol totally !

@Pugs501

[Maxxtraxx]

Thats a good price for a good card. That card could be sold for 200-250 USD.

[shadowbyte]

fuck yeah

buy it now

[Aereldor]

Just now, Maxxtraxx said:

Thats a good price for a good card. That card could be sold for 200-250 USD.

How common is it, on average, for used cards to fail? It looks great, but I'd hate for it to just give up after I buy it, and it's no longer under warranty, which means it was bought quite some time ago and that I've got nothing to cover me if the card blows.

Sorry, I'm just really cautious about this stuff.

[The Salt Is REAL]

3 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

How common is it, on average, for used cards to fail? It looks great, but I'd hate for it to just give up after I buy it, and it's no longer under warranty, which means it was bought quite some time ago and that I've got nothing to cover me if the card blows.

Sorry, I'm just really cautious about this stuff.

Well considering it came out 1-2 years ago it should still go for around 2-3 years. That's a great deal, I would snatch it A.S.A.P.

[SteveGrabowski0]

That almost borders on a too good to be true deal.

[Aereldor]

Just now, SteveGrabowski0 said:

That almost borders on a too good to be true deal.

Which is what concerns me- if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true.

[Maxxtraxx]

The card should have no issues lasting for years. If it's not dead on arrival and makes it through 30minutes of stress testing it should be good.

 

Is there no form of buyer protection with this purchase? Something should say you can return/refund if the card is doa or defective. I assume the sight is like ebay.

[The_KIASER]

Where are you buying it from???

 

Gaming forum like here, or Craigslist?

[Aereldor]

3 minutes ago, The_KIASER said:

Where are you buying it from???

 

Gaming forum like here, or Craigslist?

 

3 minutes ago, Maxxtraxx said:

The card should have no issues lasting for years. If it's not dead on arrival and makes it through 30minutes of stress testing it should be good.

 

Is there no form of buyer protection with this purchase? Something should say you can return/refund if the card is doa or defective. I assume the sight is like ebay.

Not that I'm aware of- it's pretty much just an open selling site. People post classifieds and you meet them and complete the transaction in person- like Craigslist, yes. Since the transaction isn't done through the site, there's no buyer protection.

From his description, he seems to be willing to let buyers see for themselves that it works. Given the low safety levels in my city, I'd prefer to arrange a public meetingplace, but my PSU doesn't even support the 780, so I can't drag my computer to a cafe and test it there.

[The_KIASER]

If it CL, I'd be careful, but a place like here I'd be more prone to buying... I have a 390 that is awesome, but if someone told me they'd give me $300 right now (thats with me shipping it) I'd sell it probably. Would even be happy to help them, even if for what ever reason it would have to go back for RMA. Although I hate fucking people over and most others don't give two shits about having morals, so there is that too

[Lilithty]

I woudl say that is a great deal.... but not necessarily too good to be true. There are several high end GTX 780s for sale near me for as low as 200$ or less. I would go for it but make sure to be as careful as possible. Luke did a video on used hardware. His opinions on it may surprise you.  Video --> 

 

 

Basically. Bottom line: go for it, but be careful

[Lilithty]

Id say have him bring his PC to a public shope like starbucks or whatever. Just somewhere you can have him plug his PC into and have run for 30 minutes or something. 

[The_KIASER]

Just now, Aereldor said:

 

Not that I'm aware of- it's pretty much just an open selling site. People post classifieds and you meet them and complete the transaction in person- like Craigslist, yes. Since the transaction isn't done through the site, there's no buyer protection.

From his description, he seems to be willing to let buyers see for themselves that it works. Given the low safety levels in my city, I'd prefer to arrange a public meetingplace, but my PSU doesn't even support the 780, so I can't drag my computer to a cafe and test it there.

Yea, I hear you on being able to test it... IDK at the moment what id do about that

[Lilithty]

Just now, The_KIASER said:

2 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

 

Not that I'm aware of- it's pretty much just an open selling site. People post classifieds and you meet them and complete the transaction in person- like Craigslist, yes. Since the transaction isn't done through the site, there's no buyer protection.

From his description, he seems to be willing to let buyers see for themselves that it works. Given the low safety levels in my city, I'd prefer to arrange a public meetingplace, but my PSU doesn't even support the 780, so I can't drag my computer to a cafe and test it there.

Yea, I hear you on being able to test it... IDK at the moment what id do about that

Yea. Have him bring the PC and have him run a stress test on it for 30 mins or so while you eat lunch. If it can do that then it should be good.

[The_KIASER]

1 minute ago, Lilithty said:

Id say have him bring his PC to a public shope like starbucks or whatever. Just somewhere you can have him plug his PC into and have run for 30 minutes or something. 

Maybe even have him run a game or two. Don't know any free gpu benchmark programs he could download and run for you though. That would be nice if you could find something though

[SteveGrabowski0]

I would steer clear. If it was working well he'd probably be selling it for more. No one is going to bring his desktop PC and monitor to Starbucks or McDonalds or something to show you it running Valley for 30 minutes. With no recourse if the card is a dog, and it probably is at that price, I would not do it. I'd rather have a fully working GTX 950 with warranty than a sketchy GTX 780 with none that overheats or artifacts.

[Aereldor]

2 minutes ago, The_KIASER said:

Maybe even have him run a game or two. Don't know any free gpu benchmark programs he could download and run for you though. That would be nice if you could find something though

I can bring along 3DMark FireStrike and Unigine Heaven. Should I take a torture test like FurMark just to push the card?

[Lilithty]

1 minute ago, The_KIASER said:

Maybe even have him run a game or two. Don't know any free gpu benchmark programs he could download and run for you though. That would be nice if you could find something though

Yea games would be a good idea. 

 

As for a free GPU stressing program Valley Benchmark works pretty damn well.

[The_KIASER]

Also might have to try and base this off judging his character, which hopefully your decent at if that ends up being the case lol... Look at it this way though, it's only 170 bucks in the end... had a guy fuck me on a DRZ400 supermoto that ran for a 100 miles then seized because the guy decided to not tell me about the issues it had, and that was 3500 $$$. Hope it makes you feel a little better, lord knows it still pisses me off. Good fucking thing I'm a mechanic

[Aereldor]

Alright, gents. Thanks for your help. If you don't mind, I have one final question.

If I'm to get the GTX 780, I'd have to upgrade my existing 430w power supply. Not only is 430 watts just barely enough to even run the GTX 780; it has two 12-volt rails that don't allow for a whole 250W to go to the GPU at once, and it doesn't have a second 6-pin PCI-e connector.

Is it worth the risk of instability to adapter the 2nd connector off the molex chain?

Power supplies are limited and overpriced where I live, and buying one used seems like a bad idea to me. My options are-

A used Antec Earthwatts 500 (for about $40)
http://www.olx.in/item/antec-earthwatts-ea-500d-psu-IDZOpQ7.html#2197103920

And an Antec VP-650, for about $75
http://www.flipkart.com/antec-vp650p-650-watts-psu/p/itmdcxzu4snkuumg

[Aereldor]

7 minutes ago, The_KIASER said:

Also might have to try and base this off judging his character, which hopefully your decent at if that ends up being the case lol... Look at it this way though, it's only 170 bucks in the end... had a guy fuck me on a DRZ400 supermoto that ran for a 100 miles then seized because the guy decided to not tell me about the issues it had, and that was 3500 $$$. Hope it makes you feel a little better, lord knows it still pisses me off. Good fucking thing I'm a mechanic

Sorry to hear that happened to you. Doesn't make me feel any better to know someone else got swindled, but I do appreciate the advice. 

I'm alright reading people, but I have a knack for knowing when something's up- you get used to identifying deceit when you haggle.

[SteveGrabowski0]

1 hour ago, Aereldor said:

Is it worth the risk of instability to adapter the 2nd connector off the molex chain?

Absolutely not. A couple of days ago someone posted a pic of that molex catching on fire in his computer, luckily it didn't take his whole system down.

[MegaDave91]

I sold a reference 780 to a friend for $150. To think I paid $649 at launch...