News LinusTechTips: Buying Second-Hand GPUs Is a Good Idea, Even From Miners

[Admin]

Linus from LTT has provided testing that shows buying a used mining GPU is safe to do, amidst the growing trend against buying mined-on GPUs because of reliability concerns.

LinusTechTips: Buying Second-Hand GPUs Is a Good Idea, Even From Miners : Read more

 

[PlaneInTheSky]

mined GPUs can be in as good, or even better condition compared to used gaming GPUs

 

[PEnns]

Gamers will be spending way more time using these cards on a daily basis. And I doubt LInus' "tests" are anything approaching gamers OCing / playing X hours per day using those used cards.

If he really wanted something resembling real tests, he should have given those cards to gamers and waited a month or so and THEN he should have given us a real verdict!

There was a time when I respected this guy's opinion.....

And yes, TH article on using used cards is still very relevant, way more than TL's.

Should You Buy a Used Graphics Card?

 

[Deleted member 14196]

Does anybody even watch that channel? Linus is for little kids

I would never listen to anything he says he’s just a paid advertiser

personally, I detest technology channels. I would rather spend my time watching lectures from the big thinkers in the world.

anything regarding technology I can figure out myself and I don’t need some bearded wonder yakking at me on YouTube.

 

[Friesiansam]

Palit claims that 24/7 mined GPUs could have reduced performance by around 10% per year. We don't have the details to back up Palit's claims, but it's definitely something to consider.

This wouldn't have something to do with them preferring you to buy new, would it?

 

[setx]

Surprisingly good conclusion for LTT (that I've never considered anything close to respectable). I also strongly believe that mining can't do videocard and bad and usage conditions there are likely better than that of the "gamers". Buying used card isn't any worse than gray channels of new cards.

If he really wanted something resembling real tests, he should have given those cards to gamers and waited a month or so and THEN he should have given us a real verdict!

"1/3 of cards died but let's blame the miners, not the gamers" – you want conclusion like that?

personally, I detest technology channels. I would rather spend my time watching lectures from the big thinkers in the world.

Regrettably, it seems those channels are the ones who put most effort in 'research'-reviewing the hardware nowadays. Sites like Tom have completely degraded to re-printing official marketing slides.

 

[gg83]

Ltt was literally paid by the big mining companies to schill used cards. Period



Not sure if that's how you spell It

 

[DavidLejdar]

A mining GPU may sure be still fine to use. I.e. 3 years of constant use still is how much it was used though, and from the sample more than 10% already showing the wear, that sounds like a lot. At least to me it doesn't seem good value paying "just half price" for something that may be done for in a few months, to then end up having paid full price anyhow when getting a 2nd used GPU, which may not last long as well.

 

[Vu_Qu_Huy]

Surprisingly good conclusion for LTT (that I've never considered anything close to respectable). I also strongly believe that mining can't do videocard and bad and usage conditions there are likely better than that of the "gamers". Buying used card isn't any worse than gray channels of new cards.


"1/3 of cards died but let's blame the miners, not the gamers" – you want conclusion like that?


Regrettably, it seems those channels are the ones who put the most effort into 'research'-reviewing the hardware nowadays. Sites like Tom have completely degraded to re-printing official marketing slides.

Yeah, Linus spent 10k on buying those cards and Tom's just like "Sample is too small". The point of the video that I love is to reduce and reuse if you can.

 

[hotaru251]

idk.
still a gamble.
Linus bought what? 17 gpu and 1 was damaged. thats a 5.8% rate.

also I personally like knowing I have a warrenty should anything happen to my gpu (as it saves you a lot of $ if it does happen)

 

[Vu_Qu_Huy]

Gamers will be spending way more time using these cards on a daily basis. And I doubt LInus' "tests" are anything approaching gamers OCing / playing X hours per day using those used cards.

If he really wanted something resembling real tests, he should have given those cards to gamers and waited a month or so and THEN he should have given us a real verdict!

There was a time when I respected this guy's opinion.....

And yes, TH article on using used cards is still very relevant, way more than TL's.

Should You Buy a Used Graphics Card?

Yes, he could have done that but it was clearly explained in the vid that the GPU lifespan can be determined right now "When it works, it will work normally and when it doesn't work, it really doesn't work" . It would't be too different from having a new card sitting on a shelf the same amount of time and would fail afterward. He even tested himself with the Arc770 for a month and you thought the guy would't want to give his employees a free chance of having 3060? the guy is still the same since 7 years ago, still testing products, talking about cool electronics, and expanding his company to do better things.

 

[RichardtST]

It is absolutely a gamble. Any card you buy, you should take apart to thoroughly clean and rebuild it. I've just rebuilt a used 3080 turbo. No burn marks, just a bit dusty and the grease was dried and crunchy as were the pads. Cleaned, regreased, repadded, slapped in a brand new fan just for the heck of it, and bang. All good. Half the price of a new one. Totally worth it. That said, YMMV!!!

 

[gschoen]

LTT seems to think people are worried about buying a used mining GPU had to do with the card being defective upon arrival. I'd be more concerned with longevity as a recently bought GPU could be tested and returned if defective, similar to the testing done here. I wouldn't have a problem purchasing used except like most hardware the discount relative to a new card is minimal when considering the age of the chip (age meaning remaining useful life before becoming functionally obsolete or unsupported) and lack of support beyond a short window when first purchased to return a defective purchase.

 

[ThatMouse]

LinusTechTips is the complete crap of tech.

 

[Tac 25]

by the gods, what sinister advice is this?!

 

[digitalgriffin]

Linus from LTT has provided testing that shows buying a used mining GPU is safe to do, amidst the growing trend against buying mined-on GPUs because of reliability concerns.

LinusTechTips: Buying Second-Hand GPUs Is a Good Idea, Even From Miners : Read more

How many of us sat in the GPU forum when some person ask for help with his malfunctioning GPU?

First questions:
Did you run ddu?
Make and model of PSU
Did you get this used.l?

It's a rough seat of the pants type feel, but just about all with artifacts are burnt out and used GPUs

He had 1:19 fail. Roughly 5%. But run them for a month or two.

Electron migration is a thing. Even solid state tech wears out.

 

[InvalidError]

This wouldn't have something to do with them preferring you to buy new, would it?

At best, Palit's claim could have something to do with thermal pad degradation under constant heavy load, nothing a re-paste&re-pads job wouldn't fix.

 

[Geezer760]

Buying used mining cards is like a box of chocolates you NEVER know what your gonna get, LOL.

 

[drivinfast247]

I'll take a WORKING 3090/ti used for mining for $200 right now!!!

 

[InvalidError]

I wouldn't consider used cards at more than 1/3 of their retail or MSR price, whichever is lowest.

 

[thisisaname]

I wouldn't consider used cards at more than 1/3 of their retail or MSR price, whichever is lowest.

Sounds about right to me.

 

[-Fran-]

Well, Linus is not wrong on most of his points, I'd say.

Half of the biggest argument to not buy from miners (if you can sniff them out) is out of "moral obligation" to many. If you don't care, it's a moot point for them and then comes the second half, which is the technical aspect of buying used: wear & tear plus warranty.

Buying used is not inherently bad or nefarious. It's just that this time around there's more baggage with it. Much like with everything else you can buy used, it's a gamble and general params are mostly the same. It's always a gamble if the source is not reliable enough or there's no warranty/protection to be had with the purchase.

Wear and tear is a thing. Miners or "regular" users treating their cards like garbage is also a thing. Selling in bad faith is also a thing. Buying new doesn't protect you from a defective product, but at least it comes with a warranty and you're, to a decent degree, protected from that.

As it always is the case: it'll be up to your personal risk aversion and how critical to what you want this purchase is.

I personally recommend buying used, but with a lot of caveats. I'd imagine most knowledgeable people here would agree with giving a long list of warning and tips, otherwise, for most people with no time to waste, buying new is worth the extra cost.

Regards.

 

[mrv_co]

If the price is right and the card isn't DOA then of course it makes sense. Most people are on a continuous upgrade cycle anyway and the mid-tier options right now aren't great. If you're buying your forever-card, then yeah, buy new or maybe something credibly never-mined.

 

[dipique]

Ltt was literally paid by the big mining companies to schill used cards. Period

Ooh look it's a new kind of crazy conspiracy theory in the wild! Fun!

 

[dipique]

I wouldn't consider used cards at more than 1/3 of their retail or MSR price, whichever is lowest.

Then you will never buy a (working) used GPU. You may assign whatever arbitrary value you want, but the bottom line is that the value of a used GPU isn't based on your gut, it is based on the market's assessment of its performance (relative to other options) and risk profile. And you will find no evidence that supports the idea that used GPUs have a failure rate remotely high enough to justify that much of a discount to MSRP (unless the GPU is 5+ years old perhaps).