Buyers Guide to Used GPUs

With everyone focusing on the new RTX 4000 series I want to take a look at the Used Market. Is it Okay to buy a used GPU? in this video we answer that question and give you some tips and tricks of what to do and look out for when buying used Graphics Cards. Featured today is a ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 2070 Super. I hope you found this video entertaining or useful if you did don't forget to subscribe.
Big Love
-Cable

[@CablesTech]

I just want to say thank you everyone for watching and sharing your experiences with used parts for everyone to learn from. Used parts can be a great way to get the performance you want at a lower price or get a faster part than you previously could for the same price. If you have experiences with used graphics cards feel free to share them on this comment. Next weeks video is going to be about buying used systems. If you want to see that video or more like it consider subscribing to the channel. Big Love -Cable

[@laowai2000]

Love the 2nd hand market. That's where your value is in building your own system. Would much rather have a higher spec 2nd hand component than buy the latest and greatest at release. Just scored 16gb of RAM for system for $33. Good time to be making 2nd hand systems. Have a 2nd hand TUF gaming X570, and still running a GTX1080ti 2nd hand. Years ago when clueless purchased a new GTX1050ti regretted that almost immediately. Moved onto a 2nd hand RX580. Great card!

[@Dexion845]

You absolutely do not have to replace the whole card if a fan fails. You buy the fan, open up the sucker, grab your Philips head screwdriver and replace that fan.

[@laowai2000]

Or if on an older card get a 2nd hand gpu water block, some tubing, cheap pump and a reservior. Verge zip ties to hold it together and you are good to go. Have the jankiest loop in my computer, so proud of it!

[@namecannotbeblank8920]

Got a RX 6800 that mined for 3 years a couple days ago, dude was super chill, he let me benchmark it in his kitchen for an hour and a half while he was doing laundry lmao. It's doing fine so far, knock on wood, nothing more than a slight coil whine from time to time.

[@laowai2000]

Pull the power limit back a little in MSI Afterburner and stress the card a little less for longevity!

[@Thor847200]

NOTICE: Please note... If the fans die, as long as the rest of the GPU is fine and didn't kill the card, it is actually easy to change the fans on most GPUs. The only super annoying GPUs to change the fans on in the past several years are the Nvidia Founders Editions. Those usually force you to dismantle the entire thing while cards like the TUFF series usually let you take off the shroud and fans without having to also take the cooler off as well.

[@perckmalice70]

Memory chips can also get burned out. It’s pretty surprising not many people talk about this. Sometimes it does really well in benchmarks and or mining but then behaves erratically in games by causing stutters etc- from an ex miner.

[@Roidstack]

You can always remove the plastic part and leave the heatsink exposed, ziptie 2x 120mm fans and it'll work just fine, and also if u dont want to do that you can either buy replacement fans or but a liquid block on the gpu.

[@Roidstack]

atleast thats what ill do on my 980 Ti since the fan blades are broken and 1fan is loose, since i recently upgraded to a 3080 Ti ill just put that 980Ti into my moms pc which ill build whilst upgrading my pc slowly.

[@fapcorn9000]

As someone who perceives value in different ways depending on the situation, I appreciate this video. As you’ve mentioned, mining cards are usually taken care off, miners wouldn’t want to kill their golden goose, don’t they? Just a quick note or 2: it would’ve been better if you showed us the thermal paste before cleaning it, especially since it’s been running for 3 years straight, as I’ve seen some cards from terrible miners whose cards’ pastes have dried up significantly. Solid video nonetheless.

[@MacCheetah3]

A fair take on the topic, and you did mention an important sign/symptom of damage: display artifacts -- which brings me to my note. Especially with the newest generations (e.g., RTX 30 series), VRAM failure is high-risk. 1) Crypto mining is greatly reliant on the VRAM, which also means miners often push the frequency like XOCers 2) GDDR6(X) runs very hot with almost every workload 3) apparently, Nvidia's (not the VRAM manufacturer) spec, default VBIOS behavior allows GDDR6X to sit steady at upwards of 110C before any significant throttling. Additionally, like enthusiasts, plenty of crypto miners re-paste/re-pad cards, and can do notable amount of physical damage during (dis)assembly -- I've seen at least a couple of demo videos where during the heatsink/shroud removal the fan/LED wires or even the connector has been torn apart/out, for example.

[@ARCbirdman]

I've replaced fans on my GPU....didn't have to replace the whole card. Don't know where you got that

[@MasterSwift]

I had a rx 550 2gb that went out on me so I just ordered I used 980 4gb I use to run GTA on normal and get 59 fps and under now I can play it on ultra with close to 70 I could not even think about running new games it hasn't got here yet 1 more week

[@landonsnightmare5103]

Just purchased a PNY 3090 off ebay for $650 that was previously mined on hopefully the guy took good care of it

[@CablesTech]

A lot of the time mining cards are taken good care of I think that was honestly a steal

[@albertwesker4266]

that depends on how the core looks like...

[@bluemagic3102]

Any luck yet? Update us pls

[@chronaii6625]

How does it hold up?

[@Omar-fi9tl]

any update pls.

[@misterhoudi2824]

2:42 oh! Hey there handsome!

[@aleksazunjic9672]

Theoretically all of this is fine, but if you are buying online you cannot physically inspect the card and few sellers would be willing to dissemble it for your convenience. Therefore, if you are buying mining card do not pay much for it, one third of the cost for new with similar specs is fine.

[@CablesTech]

If you’re buying from a site like eBay they offer buyer protection. So if you buy a card and it was promised that it was in good condition and it’s not. You can get your money back

[@aleksazunjic9672]

@@CablesTech Theoretically, but you would need to prove it. If it is a used product "good condition" is a moot definition. For example, you notice some burn marks on thermal pads, but card still works. Is this a good condition ? Or, your card works fine but it has been resoldered and dies after a month or two .

[@fjccommish]

@@aleksazunjic9672 Exactly.

[@anishkushwaha8697]

Hlo dude ,where do u buy this card

[@Bin0mar]

Hi, Cable. I want to buy 3080 from a person in my city. In your opinion, what is the appropriate price for this card? Is $550 good for THIS, especially since the card was not used for mining, according to the seller’s words, only FOR play and study the AOUROS version WITH WARRANTY tape APPERANCE ON

[@CablesTech]

I think 550 is a fair price for a 3080

[@Bin0mar]

@@CablesTech 3080 550 $ but used or 6800xt new with 550$ ????

[@CablesTech]

@@Bin0mar Good Question. Depends on what you want out of your video card. The 3080 is going to be slightly faster with a better feature set but the 6800xt will have a warranty.

[@Bin0mar]

@@CablesTech 514$ for new 6800xt now or wait for 4070&4060 with high price in lunch ?

[@Rogan.Insight]

I bought 2 RTX 3080 TI ROG STRIX 12GB OC for 500$ (250$ Each including taxes and shipping) which was really good deal for its price

[@Stardomplay]

Can I buy one from you?

[@zz-nh8ox]

Insane deal

[@welshinu]

most cards are looked after but i have seen miners that don't really look after them or clean them ( till they go to sell them ) i would not touch a 3070ti and up .

[@Felipe-ph1yo]

Why 3070 ti and up?? Sorry, im looking on offerup for a used upgrade..

[@welshinu]

@@Felipe-ph1yo because of the 6x memory at stupid high temps

[@ThatVoxelBlock]

rtx 2070 super used once

[@albertwesker4266]

Nah bro, fans are the least problem, u can replace them with noctuas or different... You didnt mention the most important part - core discolorization due to long high load , for example during mining... If the core is discolorized then this gpu wont last long

[@Phoenix-zk2oe]

what about vram?

[@albertwesker4266]

@@Phoenix-zk2oe only testing with MATS will tell You the truth about vram

[@Phoenix-zk2oe]

@@albertwesker4266 uh i didn't know about that i want to build my first pc and save some money by getting a used gpu but im scared of doing that what benchmark or software do i need to fully test a used gpu when buying?

[@albertwesker4266]

@@Phoenix-zk2oe you cant do that just by using regular software...if You want to avoid bad gpu after mining You have to use MATS and dissasemble the gpu to look for any signs of core/pcb wear... Thats the only way

[@IndellableHatesHandles]

What does discolourization mean? Like the actual physical die is the wrong colour?

[@pcdemos2208]

"If that fan fails, you can't just replace it. You have to replace the whole card"? What??? Not sure how you have come to that statement But in case you didn't know, there are many GPU Fan replacements + GPU Fan replacement guide videos available currently.

[@CablesTech]

Yes that is true, however the vast majority of fans aren’t designed to be replaced and if you do replace it you’re looking at replacing the shroud and multiple fans, or the entire cooler. You can get replacement parts on eBay or some specialty sites but, the vast majority of people aren’t going to do that. They’re just going to replace the card or run it a fan down.

[@pcdemos2208]

​@@CablesTech I haven't had the need to replace the shroud or heatsink in my many years of working with PCs. Fans are fairly easy to replace so long as you have the correct replacement models. Just need to search up the Brand, SKU and Model (E.g., "Asus RTX2070 Super ROG Strix" or "Sapphire R9 280X Toxic Edition" Fan Replacements). I've bought several from Aliexpress and Ebay. Works perfectly as intended. Whether or not the vast majority aren't going to do that, the truth is that the fans can be easily replaced. I've seen many working GPUs down in the e-waste bin just because of 1x dead/ratting fan. (2080 Super, RX5700XT, GTX1080TI, 1070). These people either have a lot of money to burn or didn't know fans can be replaced

[@gravecop]

you sound a bit like bubbles from tpb

[@CablesTech]

😂 I get that and Seth Rogan a lot

[@DemonSliime]

This is propaganda for the crypto miners. The fans are quite literally the least of your worries. This video was made by crypto dicks to convince the average person that a card absolutely destroyed by mining is fine to buy as long as the fans spin. Pay the extra money to get it brand new. I would even suggest getting a lesser card for the same price if you have to choose between new and used.

[@CablesTech]

I hear your opinion and respectfully disagree. Firstly and foremost buying used GPUs is a great way for someone to save some money and GPUs that have been mined on are often significantly cheaper and will not fail for the usable life of the card yes it's performance may slightly degrade over time like all cards will but, for the usable life being 3-7 years there's an extremely good chance that the card will be perfectly fine. Secondly. The extent of my crypto mining was for maybe a week in 2014 when bitcoin first came out. So I wouldn't exactly consider myself a "Crypto Dick".