Following a huge crackdown on Cryptocurrency mining operations in China, the second-hand market, at least in that country, is currently being absolutely flooded with inexpensive graphics cards as those involved look to dispose themselves of any evidence as quickly as possible. – With this in mind, therefore, and with graphics cards such as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 available for prices in the region of $500, I daresay that it’s crossed more than a few people’s minds as to whether these could represent an absolute bargain.
Well, following a report via TechSpot, after conducting extensive research, Palit has warned consumers that although these ex-mining GPUs might be cheap, they may not, on the whole, represent a smart purchase!
Palit Warns of Cheap Ex-Mining GPUs
We should note that this research has almost certainly been directly led by the current influx of inexpensive former mining graphics cards in China. As such, it doesn’t really have too much relevance to the world in general. For those of you who perhaps do have an opportunity to grab a cheap ex-mining GPU, however, Palit seems to be making it very clear that the impact of its exceptionally hard but relatively brief life is notable in terms of performance.
Testing a number of GPUs that had been set to mining cryptocurrency for around a 12-month period, Palit has said that, on average, the performance of the graphics card (practically regardless of the model) dropped by around 10% simply due to the persistent strain placed upon its hardware. Admittedly, this is not a huge figure, but it’s certainly big enough to perhaps give you a little pause for thought before clicking that ‘buy’ button.
What Do We Think?
A 10% drop in performance isn’t huge, but at the same time, there are many pitfalls in buying an ex-mining graphics card. Firstly, as noted above, if they have been grinding away at Etheruem or something of that nature, then they have likely not had an easy life and, as such, their overall durability/remaining lifespan is clearly a factor to consider. Secondly, you can, of course, forget any sort of manufacturer’s warranty if you attempt to RMA it and they discover it’s been heavily utilised for mining. Thirdly though, with an apparent notable decline in performance based on how long they’ve been mining for (according to Palit at least), how much of a value do these graphics cards really retain?
It basically boils down to caveat emptor. Yes, you might find a 3080 available to buy at around $500, and yes, you might even be able to accept the 10% drop in performance when compared to a nice fresh new model. Would you really be willing to risk that kind of money on a GPU that could potentially die within literally months though? – Personally, unless it was an absolute steal, and at a price that I could afford to lose, I think I’d err towards avoiding any GPU that had been involved in mining. I think I’d rather spend more not only knowing that the GPU was as fresh as a daisy but also in the knowledge that if something goes wrong, I have options to either get a replacement or my money back.
What do you think though? Is this Palit giving useful information? Or are they just trying to steer customers towards buying new? – Let us know in the comments!
