Buying used GPU

[Mr_Random_Guy]

So I am contemplating buying a used graphics card, a tian x maxwell to be exact because of how cheap it is (£250). However I am wondering how I am meant to test the GPU without entering the guys home and so thought I would ask how people who have bought used GPUs have done it

 

Thanks in advance

[Oshino Shinobu]

I would be very careful buying a Titan X for £250. That's extremely cheap. 

 

To be honest, at that price, if they refuse to allow you to test it or refuse to show you it working, I wouldn't buy it. They're worth a lot more than £250, so it seems a little too good to be true

[i_build_nanosuits]

well...you pick the card take it back home and test it and in case it doesnt work you have the adress to his home so you head back there and tell him ''here's your POS it doesnt work where's my money''

[tarfeef101]

I generally DO test it at their house. At least in Canada, in my experience what generally happens is the seller will have a rig set up with the component installed, you go over, you stress test, and if it doesn't die you buy it. And of course since it is Canada say sorry about 8 times each, grab some tims, and become best friends

 

Actually though do test it at their house because afterwards there is no guarantee they aren't a jerk and won't accept a return.

[Mr_Random_Guy]

@Oshino Shinobu I am thinking it may be too good to be true. Do you think a picture of gpu-z will be sufficient to go on?

@i_build_nanosuits The guy lives quite far away, I would hope to avoid buying a dud and having to drive back - also I probably wouldn't meet at his house for obvious reasons

[corrado33]

I've bought 3 GPUs used. Each one we met in a parking lot and I said "It works right" and they said "Yeah it's all good".

 

Then I brought it home and tested it and they worked fine.

 

People are nice in my town.

[Oshino Shinobu]

2 minutes ago, Mr_Random_Guy said:

@Oshino Shinobu I am thinking it may be too good to be true. Do you think a picture of gpu-z will be sufficient to go on?

@i_build_nanosuits The guy lives quite far away, I would hope to avoid buying a dud and having to drive back - also I probably wouldn't meet at his house for obvious reasons

Nope. A screenshot of GPU-Z really means nothing. 

 

Here's a screenshot of my GTX 980 on GPU-Z

 

 

(I don't own a GTX 980)

[i_build_nanosuits]

1 minute ago, Mr_Random_Guy said:

 

@i_build_nanosuits The guy lives quite far away, I would hope to avoid buying a dud and having to drive back - also I probably wouldn't meet at his house for obvious reasons

obvious reasons being?!

here in canada driving do someone's home, entering, testing a graphics card and heading back home with the hardware is not ''that crazy'' or anything hard or hazardous to do...if it is for you where you live i would recommend you try to find a new country or something...

 

[Mr_Random_Guy]

@tarfeef101 That's what I think I may have to do. Everyone thinks it is just TOO cheap but if I test it and it works then... Hell at that price i'm considering buying it and selling again at a higher price

[tarfeef101]

1 minute ago, Mr_Random_Guy said:

@tarfeef101 That's what I think I may have to do. Everyone thinks it is just TOO cheap but if I test it and it works then... Hell at that price i'm considering buying it and selling again at a higher price

Yeah, I strongly advise testing at their house. It is the most secure way to handle things. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but there's no reason to shoulder unnecessary risk. Good luck! (Try deciding in advance what tests you want to use so he/she can have the installed when you arrive. Saves time).

[Mr_Random_Guy]

@tarfeef101 Probably just be gpu-z and heaven

[tarfeef101]

1 minute ago, Mr_Random_Guy said:

@tarfeef101 Probably just be gpu-z and heaven

Well heaven is a fairly large program, so just let them know to have it installed before you arrive. It saves a lot of time, especially if they have slow internet.

[pwn_intended]

I would never buy hardware without testing it. If he thinks its too much to ask for you to come in and confirm it works, then I would say pass up on the deal. If he agrees to it, I would carry a USB key in your pocket with GPU-z, Heaven (or whatever other benchmark you wanna use) along with the most recent copy of the NVidia drivers, just to be on the safe side in case he doesn't have the computer connected to the internet or doesn't want you downloading stuff on hit connection.

[Mr_Random_Guy]

@pwn_intended Great idea

[Cyracus]

26 minutes ago, Mr_Random_Guy said:

I probably wouldn't meet at his house for obvious reasons

It's a weird British thing isn't it?

[Mr_Random_Guy]

@Cyracus Couldn't have said it better myself