Question Is it worth to buy USED MINING GPU

[ezrare123]

I like to save money so I am looking 2nd hand as an option. But is it okay to buy used mining GPU for my gaming? It is said that it was used for 1 year of Mining

BTW, the GPU CARD IS GIGABYTE VEGA 64 8GB

in philippines: SRP is about 400$ and the discount price offer is about 250$

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Not worth it in my opinion. You don't really know how the card was treated.

 

[DSzymborski]

I'd be suspicious of a mining GPU. While I wouldn't instantly disqualify it, you would need a much larger-then-usual discount because you're "paying" in the form of increased risk.

In this tier, you can get used Vega 64s/1070 Tis for around $280-$330 depending on the exact one. I might consider a mining Vega 64 for under $200 if I were to buy used.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

is there a way to verify the bios on those is standard?

 

[AllanGH]

Nope.

 

[ezrare123]

Thank you for the responses everyone!! So it seems like every answer here is a no. Then I guess its a no. Once again Thank you all

 

[shiriken]

Avoid mined cards not worth the potential risks

 

[TJ Hooker]

If you can personally verify that it's fully functional before you buy it, or the website has some sort of buyer protection program (like eBay does), then I'd consider it for the right price.

 

[AllanGH]

Just my 2¢:

The problem is that, while it may be fully functional at the time of sale, the abuse that such products have been subjected to when used for mining, results in substantial reductions in reliability and longevity. Miners get rid of GPUs for this very reason.

My time is worth more than any money I might save buying such a used device.

 

[Dreamevil55]

Depends on the miners, some of them take care of their cards really well so the only thing in a card is likely to die are the fans. But it's not easy to tell anyway, who treated a card in which ways. If you were saying that you got a mining GPU around or under $100 like a RX 580 or RX 570, I'd say go for it after checking the card n stuff. But over $200, nah can't really recommend. Totally your risk to take.

 

[TJ Hooker]

The problem is that, while it may be fully functional at the time of sale, the abuse that such products have been subjected to when used for mining, results in substantial reductions in reliability and longevity. Miners get rid of GPUs for this very reason.

Miners typically sell their cards when they're no longer profitable.

Most GPUs used for mining these days are underclocked and undervolted, there's a good chance it was run cooler than you'd typically see in a gaming rig. And if it's run at a constant load 24/7, that would actually result in wear on the card compared to constantly heating up and cooling down with regard to mechanical stress (except maybe for the fans).

Sure, it's always possible it could fail shortly after you buy it and you'd be out of luck. But that's a risk any time you buy a card without warranty.

 

[AllanGH]

OK...I'll take your word for it but, my only exposure to people actually mining, revealed heavily OCed use of the cards, nearly running them into the ground.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Is that experience from back when bitcoin mining with your GPU was popular (5+ years ago)? Or during the more recent ethereum mining craze (last couple years)? Ethereum mining is bandwidth limited, so the memory may be overclocked but the core is typically underclocked/undervolted to maximize efficiency.

 

[haza12d]

I purchased a 1080ti last April that was used for mining. I haven't had any problems since I bought it and I've been running it with a mild overclock for over a year now.

 

[Flyingsparrow101]

I think it's very much worth it. Buying a GPU used for mining can save you a lot of $$$ as it did me. I got a used 1070 ti a month and a half ago for $300. I've completed a couple of games ever since and it's still running like a champ!

 

[DSzymborski]

Is that experience from back when bitcoin mining with your GPU was popular (5+ years ago)? Or during the more recent ethereum mining craze (last couple years)? Ethereum mining is bandwidth limited, so the memory may be overclocked but the core is typically underclocked/undervolted to maximize efficiency.

The thing is that is ideal, but I've picked apart more than one rig used by miners that were getting rid of their PCs because they didn't have the slightest clue what they were doing.

 

[TCA_ChinChin]

Is there some sort of warranty/return policy? If there is no return policy/warranty or a bad one, its definitely not worth it.