[SOLVED] opinion wanted - buying a GTX 1060 that was used for mining ?

[The Paladin]

so I have someone local to me has been mining for coins and getting out of it,
and is selling 10-12 GTX 1060 for a good price and I was wondering what does mining really do that a game would not be doing to a video card

IE: it is just using it to its maximum ability for long times or is it actually causing hardware damages because of the way they are being force to process data 24.7 ?

 

[stevenjemint]

in most cases buying a mining card isnt a big risk. If the miner is clever he will have underclocked the card and lowered the voltage to maximise efficiency.

If you do but the card check operation of the fan, as they will more than likely have run 24/7 for a long time.

I'd also change the thermal paste if you are confident in doing so.

 

[Rodrigodrt]

Well, while they could have indeed underclocked, undervolted and etc to make things run more relaxed, I highly highly doubt it though, I think the first thing you must and should know is for how long it has been running on for mining. Everything is supposed to work perfectly at its min and max capacity but for obvious and logical reasons something running at full power 24/7, even within specifications and enviroment is going to fail sooner (assuming equal quality), wich is what you cannot quite predict at this point.

I would never buy a high end card used for mining before, unless for a very short period, but lets say a more affordable card used for a couple of months is available for a good price, then it could be a good deal cuz used within its specs even at full blast, its still supposed to last enough to not fail before you're due to replace anyways.

I'm using my GTX980 for almost 5 yrs now, and i expect that my next one would last the same at least, for that reason i'd never buy a used mining card, but lets say, ok i'll buy this cheap mid range expecting that it should last about 2 years guaranteed, go for it, truth is also that depending on its quality it could simply last 5, 6, 7, years even after mining abuse, there's some luck involved...

 

[RobCrezz]

If its cheaper than other used 1060s then yeah could be a good purchase. As the other guys said, most of these were used for Eth and would have been underclocked, undervolted so had not too hard a life.

 

[The Paladin]

Price is 100$.... thank you for your inputs, Ill consider and ask questions.

 

[RobCrezz]

If its 6gb model for that price, its a good deal.

 

[The Paladin]

yeah 1060 6gb ASUS, why I am tempted

 

[The Paladin]

Well in the end I waited for tax return and snapped up 2x RTX 2060 (2 pc to upgrade here), thanks for all the replies