Graphics Card Manufacturer Warns of the Dangers of Buying Used Graphics for Mining

The used market today is a minefield more than ever.

With China’s active attack on cryptocurrency, we have heard many times that video cards previously involved in cryptocurrency mining are being sold second-hand. However, if the idea of ​​getting a graphics card at a bargain price seems tempting to you – or at least a reasonable price – one graphics card manufacturer decided to clarify the dangers associated with buying a graphics card from a miner.

Palit discusses this situation with the Polish tech site Benchmark.pl and reports that as a result of independent testing conducted on video cards used for crypto mining, GPU performance can be expected to decrease by 10% every year while the video card was used for crypto mining 24 /7 (that is, about 9000 hours of continuous use equals a 10% drop).

Of course, the nuance is significant, but it fits into the average performance expectations of a used graphics card for mining. Of course, there is no reliable way to really know how long a miner has been using the graphics card and, as PC Gamer points out, some people are more careful than others to operate – and perhaps some people even lowered the voltage to increase efficiency and support the graphics card.

However, it is more than likely that graphics cards involved in crypto mining operations have been abused and run 24/7, often overheated in poorly ventilated environments, so their shape leaves much to be desired.

Another problem is that miners understand the reluctance of users to buy video cards from crypto, so the obvious way out is to lie and not admit that the video card worked in the dust of a digital mine. They claim they are practically brand new custom cards and also repackage them to pass off as brand new products.

In other words, as we have stated before, with the influx of used GPUs for mining, you should be more careful with the used GPU market. In particular, look out for suspicious things, like a video card for sale that comes with a non-standard cooler (this is a very unusual sight indeed).

ANALYZING THE SITUATION

Naturally, Palit’s position on this issue is biased, the company convinces users to buy new rather than used video cards, since this is its direct profit. But we warned about the dangers associated with the acquisition of such a video card in the past, and then the risks are obvious.

Buying a used graphics card is a bit of a minefield in any situation, but with huge mining farms shutting down, if they need to replace their used graphics cards, it’s obviously in their best interest to do so quickly before the market continues to correct. (while extortionate prices and availability issues remain a thorn in the side of users – a reality that seems to be changing, slowly but surely). So right now, you should pay attention to what second-hand video cards offer – and even to seemingly new video cards of large Internet sites.

Of course, the decline in cryptocurrency mining is good news, as it promises a decrease in the price of new video cards, at the same time as the price of crypto in this demand equation falls. All this means is that if you are really desperate without a graphics card, instead of buying a new graphics card, you should probably consider the aftermarket, but you should be very careful and aware of the risks.

Here are the best Nvidia graphics cards for you.