[SOLVED] Is a used GT 710 from eBay a bad idea? Just need a cheap GPU to perform data recovery on a system whose iGPU is not working.

[Cyber_Akuma]

I have an old 3770K system that I need to boot into to pull some data off of it as well as run some tools to try to migrate the Windows install.

Issue is, I can almost never get video out of it. Out of the 15 or so times I tried to boot it, I only got video once or twice. It doesn't appear to be stuck POSTing since the post-code display on it appears to be stating it finished posting, and it responds to ctrl-alt-del as well as gives a successful post beep, but it displays no video through it's internal HDMI or DisplayPort ports. The monitor springs to life for a second detecting SOMETHING.... but then goes into standby stating no HDMI signal.

I have no idea if this happened recently or if it's video has been dead a while ago because I used to have a dedicated card in it for years, which is now in another system.

So I figured it would be best to just get some cheap GPU for now just to use it, something like that could come in handy for future system debugging anyway.

From what I understand, the GT 710 seems to be the go-to for something like this..... or at least was. According to YouTube videos from 2016 this was apparently a $35 card.... but I see it selling in the $50-70 range now.

However, I see used ones on eBay for $20-30. Is there any reason I should not get one of these cheap used ones? Is there such a thing as a bootleg or fake GT 710 market that I would need to worry about? Or something that would work better for this use case? Nvidia is not necessary.... but it would be preferred as the system ran off an Nvidia card and I don't want to install drivers for AMD cards since I want to try to migrate the install to another Nvidia system.

 

[USAFRet]

Cheap, used, from fleabay....It might be broken.

I'm not saying it IS, but that is a distinct possibility.

 

[InvalidError]

Is there such a thing as a bootleg or fake GT 710 market that I would need to worry about?

Sadly enough, people are indeed desperate enough that there are people on ebay conning people into buying fake low-end GPUs, so a fake GT710s isn't as far-fetched as it sounds. If you are lucky, you may get a higher-end GPU than what you bought and be able to restore it to normal by re-flashing it to what it is supposed to be.

I have an old HD3650 that I keep as a spare in case one of my PCs' GPU decides to die.

 

[LordVile]

Cheap, used, from fleabay....It might be broken.

I'm not saying it IS, but that is a distinct possibility.

eBay buyer protection is fairly good though

 

[USAFRet]

eBay buyer protection is fairly good though

After going through a lot of back and forth.
For a $30 item.

"If it sounds too good to be true...."

 

[GabeFromNewJerz]

I don't know... Sometimes I get rid of stuff for really cheap but I suck with money. I upgraded from 3200 to 3600mhz and sold my 3200mhz kit for like $75 bucks for 32gb. I just like helping other computer people get things they normally couldn't afford. With that being said, I have a Corsair 4000d case sitting here...

 

[cryoburner]

After going through a lot of back and forth.
For a $30 item.

"If it sounds too good to be true...."

$30 for a GT 710 doesn't really sound too good to be true though. From a performance standpoint the card is terrible, and I believe it was worse than even the Intel integrated graphics that were available around the time of its release. It was pretty much only ever good as a display adapter. Looking on ebay, most used GT 710s are selling for well over $40 now, which is terrible pricing. I probably wouldn't consider paying more than about $20 for one, and even then, I would be more likely to spend a little more for something else.

One thought, if you put the system's graphics card in another system, and only need to access this system temporarily, why not reinstall that, assuming you still have access to it? At the very least, you could use another card to verify that the system can boot properly with a graphics card installed. Might integrated graphics be disabled in the BIOS or something?

 

[Bob.B]

I have an old 3770K system that I need to boot into to pull some data off of it as well as run some tools to try to migrate the Windows install.

Issue is, I can almost never get video out of it. Out of the 15 or so times I tried to boot it, I only got video once or twice. It doesn't appear to be stuck POSTing since the post-code display on it appears to be stating it finished posting, and it responds to ctrl-alt-del as well as gives a successful post beep, but it displays no video through it's internal HDMI or DisplayPort ports. The monitor springs to life for a second detecting SOMETHING.... but then goes into standby stating no HDMI signal.

I have no idea if this happened recently or if it's video has been dead a while ago because I used to have a dedicated card in it for years, which is now in another system.

So I figured it would be best to just get some cheap GPU for now just to use it, something like that could come in handy for future system debugging anyway.

From what I understand, the GT 710 seems to be the go-to for something like this..... or at least was. According to YouTube videos from 2016 this was apparently a $35 card.... but I see it selling in the $50-70 range now.

However, I see used ones on eBay for $20-30. Is there any reason I should not get one of these cheap used ones? Is there such a thing as a bootleg or fake GT 710 market that I would need to worry about? Or something that would work better for this use case? Nvidia is not necessary.... but it would be preferred as the system ran off an Nvidia card and I don't want to install drivers for AMD cards since I want to try to migrate the install to another Nvidia system.

3 buck test.
Remove the bios battery.
Go to the store and buy a new one.
Install new batt.

 

[LordVile]

$30 for a GT 710 doesn't really sound too good to be true though. From a performance standpoint the card is terrible, and I believe it was worse than even the Intel integrated graphics that were available around the time of its release. It was pretty much only ever good as a display adapter. Looking on ebay, most used GT 710s are selling for well over $40 now, which is terrible pricing. I probably wouldn't consider paying more than about $20 for one, and even then, I would be more likely to spend a little more for something else.

One thought, if you put the system's graphics card in another system, and only need to access this system temporarily, why not reinstall that, assuming you still have access to it? At the very least, you could use another card to verify that the system can boot properly with a graphics card installed. Might integrated graphics be disabled in the BIOS or something?

Can buy new here for less than that

https://www.ebuyer.com/964814-gigabyte-geforce-gt-710-1gb-low-profile-graphics-card-gv-n710d5-1gl

 

[Flayed]

Can buy new here for less than that

https://www.ebuyer.com/964814-gigabyte-geforce-gt-710-1gb-low-profile-graphics-card-gv-n710d5-1gl

£32.99 = $45.34

 

[LordVile]

£32.99 = $45.34

That’s with tax though

 

[USAFRet]

In any case, whatever the price....an old used item from fleabay is probably not a good idea.
Especially when you can buy a NEW item of the same model.

 

[Cyber_Akuma]

One thought, if you put the system's graphics card in another system, and only need to access this system temporarily, why not reinstall that, assuming you still have access to it? At the very least, you could use another card to verify that the system can boot properly with a graphics card installed. Might integrated graphics be disabled in the BIOS or something?

I need the other system running too at the moment and don't want to shut it down until I am done with this. I don't think integrated is disabled in the bios since as I said, it sometimes (though rarely) would display video through the iGPU. And like I said, it would be useful to have a cheap and low-power GPU to use for any future debugging needs.

3 buck test.
Remove the bios battery.
Go to the store and buy a new one.
Install new batt.

It's without a doubt not the battery, I had extensively tried to mess with the bios of this thing earlier before it became a lost cause and I had to build a new system to replace it.

In any case, whatever the price....an old used item from fleabay is probably not a good idea.
Especially when you can buy a NEW item of the same model.

A new one is 2-3x the price right now on Amazon. I have also bought several uses GPUs on ebay in the past before and they all worked fine for years, just that those were mostly higher end GPUs I bought.

 

[Fs19Man68000]

If all you are going to use it for is data recovery, I would suggest something like a GeForce fx 5200. They work fine, and are dirt cheap.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

After going through a lot of back and forth.
For a $30 item.

"If it sounds too good to be true...."

It usually doesnt involve any back and forth. Ebay will side with the buyer basically 99.999% of the time regardless of what the seller says after you open a dispute, so just say it doesnt work and you will get your money back.