For some time now, used graphics cards that were originally used by miners to mine cryptocurrencies have been appearing more frequently on eBay. Now the manufacturer Palit Microsystems warns against purchasing such mining cards.
What Palit Microsystems says: The PC hardware manufacturer, based in Taiwan, is one of the largest producers of graphics cards worldwide and has significant market shares in countries like Russia or Ukraine. In a statement to the Polish site benchmark.pl, they commented on the current flood of used GPUs that were originally used by miners for mining cryptocurrencies.
“Independent tests” commissioned by Palit showed that mining affects the performance of graphics cards. After a year of use, the GPUs lost 10% of their performance and delivered worse results than identical models that were new.
This means that even if the used cards still look good and are available for the original price, it could happen that they only offer you part of the maximum performance.
A YouTuber also noted a similar loss of performance. Our colleagues from GameStar reported on this (via GameStar.de).
Buying Mining GPUs – A Game of Chance?
The situation regarding used GPUs is as follows: While China was originally considered the country where the most cryptocurrency was mined, this changed abruptly after the government’s ban. Accordingly, many miners are now trying to minimize their losses by offering their hardware at attractive prices on sites like eBay.
As there continues to be a shortage in the hardware sector and new graphics cards are either sold out or offered at astronomical prices, the used GPUs seem to be a good alternative. According to the manufacturer Palit Microsystems, you have to expect that the acquired hardware will provide weaker performance due to the wear and tear from mining.
Of course, one should not immediately condemn all graphics cards that were used for mining. Smart miners do not run their hardware at full capacity continuously, but “undervolt” their GPUs. This means they intentionally lower the supply voltage to reduce the load on the hardware and save power. This also extends the lifespan of the graphics cards and makes them interesting as used goods.
However, it is impossible to assess whether the used GPU listed in the ad worked under good conditions and was treated gently. It also happens that graphics cards were pushed to the limit during mining and exposed to high temperatures for months on end. The manufacturer Palit warns of such cases.
Moreover, you cannot rely on the fact that the graphics card still has a warranty. Palit admits that they have no way of determining whether a GPU was used for mining. However, there are indications, according to the manufacturer:
- Certain types of damage can be attributed to crypto mining
- All cards have a serial number, and it is easy to determine from which region the hardware originally came, which can also provide a clue
- Visible modifications and alterations on the graphics cards such as replaced cooling. In such cases, the warranty is voided immediately as the cards have been tampered with
As a manufacturer of graphics cards, Palit is not impartial. The sale of used cards does not bring the company any profit, which is why it is in their interest that their customers prefer to buy new GPUs. Nevertheless, it is important to consider the possible background of a used graphics card when purchasing.
What do you think about buying used mining cards? Do you stay away from them or do you see no problem? How do you assess the risk of getting a lousy used card on eBay? Let us know in the comments on MeinMMO.
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