GPU used for mining

[Deividziuen]

Hello guys quick question is it safe to buy GPU which was used for mining ?

What's the CONS

[Vek1313]

It depends on how the original user stretched out the card. You don’t know the condition of the card, how it may have been overclocked, how much longer it will perform, and you don’t have a warranty, generally. In the current GPU market, looking at used GPUs is sometimes a better option tho.

[Deividziuen]

11 minutes ago, UnleashedPride said:

It depends on how the original user stretched out the card. You don’t know the condition of the card, how it may have been overclocked, how much longer it will perform, and you don’t have a warranty, generally. In the current GPU market, looking at used GPUs is sometimes a better option tho.

That's why I am asking because new GPU are too much expensive so Im planning to buy used one

[Crunchy Dragon]

22 minutes ago, Deividziuen said:

Hello guys quick question is it safe to buy GPU which was used for mining ?

What's the CONS

It would depend on how far the miner pushed the card. Most miners will undervolt to keep temperatures from going too high, so thermal damage usually isn't a concern.

 

Overall, buying a used mining GPU for gaming is fine and you most likely will not have any problems with it.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

17 minutes ago, Deividziuen said:

Hello guys quick question is it safe to buy GPU which was used for mining ?

As safe as buying any other product.

17 minutes ago, Deividziuen said:

What's the CONS

The cons are the expected lifetime of a few components. Several components of a GPU (fans, capacitors) have a rated lifetime due to degradation with use. They don't automatically die after said time, but is in an indication of how long the manufacturer expects them to last. Ultimately, their exact lifetime will be a matter of luck.

 

This expected lifetime is not measure in calendar time, but in use time. For example, a component may be rated for 20,000 hours. That's 20,000 hours in use. If the card was used for mining, it was likely on and under load 24/7 during that time (but more casual miners may have been mining just some hours per week, when not using the computer for something else). Gamers are less likely to use their GPUs continuously (but professional gamers/ streamers won't be that far off). Hence, in general a 2-year old mining GPU will have more accumulated power on hours than a 2-year old card used just for gaming. That means that, other things equal, you are more likely to face a dying capacitor or fan when going with the mining card... that is, if the accumulated hours are that large, and you plan to keep the card that long. A GPU used two months for mining may have a longer expected lifetime than a GPU used 4 years for gaming, and the life left on either a mining or a gaming GPU can be way longer than you plan on keeping them anyway, depending on the components used (following the previous example, a 20,000 hours rating means 2.3 years of non-stop used. If you buy a card used for mining since, let's say, January 2018, that's barely a concern to you).

 

It's a bit like buying a used car: if you buy a car from a taxi driver or from someone who loves to do route 66 back and forth, it will have a higher mileage and wear per year than your average household's car. However, a 1-year old taxi may still be in a better condition than a 10-year old family car.

 

Bottom line: for a relatively "young card" (which the seller can more or less prove with an invoice), there isn't much to worry about. For a release-day reference RX 480, or a 290 used for mining since the days of the first mining craze, that's a different story.

[Mick Naughty]

If it was kept in check temp and voltage wise, why not. I have one that was mined on for a year. I mined on it for a few months and used it to game for over a year. And it was a deal refurbished card from the start. Overclocks better then and other card I have with the same gpu. 

 

Its being used as intended tended so there’s no reason using it would degrade it. I have cards that I’ve used from launch date, overclclocked, overvoltage for years. Fans still work as silent as ever and zero issues. Even custom bios’s. Comes down to the user and quality. Don’t buy crap and you won’t have issues, except the unlucky 1%. 

[MANDINGO]

Remember everybody is using the term "IF" 

[Mick Naughty]

Yea. Comes down to being used correctly. Just like hardware in general. People kill components everyday, no different with miners. Someone them got into it not knowing a thing. 

 

End result is the same regardless.