A gamer purchased an RTX 3080 Ti from a second-hand dealer for a few euros. He could hardly believe his luck and feared the worst. However, he has now tested the graphics card.
The user was at a second-hand dealer looking for accessories for his Steam Deck. Instead, he discovered a graphics card that had been completely unprotected: No static case, no original packaging, and no protection for the PCIe connector (via reddit.com):
I thought, hey, this probably won’t work, but it could be a cool addition to my desk. I bought it for 18 dollars because the seller had no idea what it was.
He has now successfully tested the graphics card and found out that it is the RTX 3080 TI AORUS Extreme. For an RTX 3080 Ti, you usually pay around 1,200 euros or more in retail. So that was a real stroke of luck for the user. Because you won’t find a working RTX 3080 Ti anywhere for that cheap.
The reactions on reddit also show this. Some are really envious that the gamer made such a good purchase and got such a great graphics card for around 20 euros.
Our header image comes from the reddit thread linked above.
Used hardware can be a good alternative
Is used hardware worth it at all? In many cases, it can pay off to look for bargains on eBay and other platforms, even aside from official retailers. Most gamers take good care of their hardware and try to monetize their old hardware after an upgrade. Here, you can often get modern hardware at significantly lower prices.
This also applies to older graphics cards: After old graphics cards suddenly gained significant value due to mining and were sometimes unaffordable, a normal level has returned.
For a used Radeon RX 570, you now pay around 100 euros again – during the mining boom, you could pay 300 euros or more for the popular gaming graphics card. These graphics cards are still sufficient for many games, you don’t have to spend 1,000 euros on a graphics card. And for some new titles like Diablo 4, you don’t need a powerful computer:
Tips for buying:
- Basically, you should not buy very old hardware that is more than 5 years old. In many cases, you won’t get official software anymore or only old CPU sockets. If you buy a very old CPU and want to upgrade to a modern system, you will have to buy everything new, which often becomes more expensive than if you directly buy current hardware.
- Avoid outdated and very slow processors, such as the entry-level Core 2 Duo, Intel Pentium 4, or AMD Phenom.
- Some private sellers also offer the option to test hardware before buying. If you have the opportunity and live nearby, take the chance. This way, you can minimize and narrow down future problems.
- Be cautious with certain offers regarding the payment method. Behind them could be fraudsters who just want your money. Such fraudulent offers can also be found on Amazon.
Not everything has to go well with used hardware. A well-known tech YouTuber wanted to build a gaming PC entirely from used hardware, but that went pretty wrong. This was mainly due to a specific component:
