Have you purchased a used GPU before? Let us know how your experience was down below. Buy a Used RTX 3080 on eBay: ebay.us/r5HTnJ Buy a Used RTX 3070 on eBay: ebay.us/cy9p69 Buy a Used RTX 3060 on eBay: ebay.us/UQqOLl Buy a Used RX 5700 XT on eBay: ebay.us/gV6tMN Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.
Yep, my EVGA FTW 3080 was used and I'm loving it, plus EVGA is honoring the warranty Man I'm going to miss EVGA GPUs since this will end up my last one Oh and the price I got it for? $500 because the seller thought the RGB stopped working but what really happened is it reset after a fresh windows install, downloading EVGA precision git the RGB up and running no problem
The last 3 GPUs I’ve purchased were all used. GTX 770, GTX 950, and a GTX 1070 (still going strong with that one). The only issues I ran into was running new games with higher VRAM requirements which is by no fault of being a used card at all. Buy used and refurbished people! 😄
Agreed, have seen this a lot more commonly all across the tech space in the last few years to be honest. Same with whole PCs, I see people frequently selling mid-range machines from 2016 for like $1200CAD outfitted with a 6700K, a 1070 and 16GB of DDR4. Not a bad machine by any means, but certainly not worth $1200 after 7 years of wear, tear and obsolescence.
I agree with you totally. Every GPU I've ever purchased up until a year ago was used. I've never had an issue with any GPU. I've never had a GP fail I keep handing my GPS down until I get them back and they sit on my shelf for testing or for an old server. For the first time since my Pentium 3 Dell I bought new because the discount for used just wasn't there. Would have I used today? Heck yes.
Honestly, these are the kinda LTT videos I really look forward to. I really can't wait for labs to be in full swing, however long that's gonna take. Their touch is apparent in every video they really put in legwork for.
Sadly i think this is a bad video. 3060 as lowest card in test? When testing ~20 cards i would have liked each 3x: 2060, 3060, 3070, 3080, 5700 XT, 6600 XT, 6800 XT At or 2x each: 1060, 2060, 3060, 3070, 3080 5500 XT, 5700 XT, 6600 XT, 6800 XT you know, like some old cards for the average gamer (world wide) the 10 series cards are quite important with a 1080 around 150€
@@Mvp-AngelOfGod bad argument, that's like telling a movie critic to make their own movie after reading a bad review edit: for context, the dude replied to Dominicus saying something like "then why dont you make your own video"
i worked on a mining warehouse, and i can say if you buy a used graphics card online of course its risky, you have no idea what kind of abuse the graphics card has been trought, its not only about the performance like this video shows, most of the time, the ones who where sold while i worked there were card that fell to the ground by mishandling or the oldest ones, usually they cleaned them with a hard brush and a air compressor (an old one who spits watter droplets), they sold them online as "used" not even mentioning they were used in mining unless you ask, with a generic picture of the graphics card from internet, not an actual picture of the one they were selling and they give you a "7 days guarantee" to make you feel safe and bait you, and of course they only do shipping, so the person dont have the chance to detail it or test it first.
i really appreciated the candor and honesty displayed in this video. the fact that linus media group has managed to scale up so much and maintain the integrity the have is pretty incredible
There a lot good about this video. Shaming people not buying from scum, who would rather ewaste a gpu, than give it a good home was not honest, but gross gas lighting manipulation, though. A new LMG low. I think he just didn't really think that shit through, not that he's that terrible.
Yes, well said! Scrolling through his channel page I was shocked to see how much content he puts out. But judging by this vid, quality information is still his priority.
That vinegar smell is common for cards mined at the coast or in high humidity environments. When miners are done with the cards they usually have some level of oxidation , disassembling the card and leaving the rusty bits in a vinegar-water solution usually dissolves the rust so that your left with a 'clean looking yet smelly card'
@@muhammadbasit7644 I would say no. its a little odd but works to clean it alright. it shouldn't affect performance especially since the vinegary card in this video was fine
I bought a used mining rx 580 years ago that had some oxidization on the heat sync, must have been before the miners learned the vinegar soak trick, about 2 weeks after i installed the card i started getting random shut downs followed by the card dying a few days later, one of the specs of rust must have been blown up into the PCB by the fan and caused a short, got my money back through buyer protection but now i just buy new, at the very least i would avoid buying from anybody who lives near the coast or in a high humidity zone
I know it may not be the easiest thing to actually produce but if you want to encourage people to buy used its a perfect time to bring back scrapyard wars! You can even get lab involved to run some more in depth testing on the systems you build
He's said it a lot before, it's not that he doesn't want to do it, it's that it's really difficult to do because pretty much all the sellers already know it's Linus or Luke.
Bought used 3070 some months ago and it ran with 100% fun speed once in the game. Thermals looked fine, but when I checked the hot-spot, it was at 107°C. I opened the card and found out, that only half the chip was covered in thermal paste. Re-pasted it and it workes fine.
Same experience with buying a used 3070. Hotspot temperatures were off the charts. Ended up repasting followed by swapping the thermal pads. Works fine now.
This is a common issue with heavily used or older cards. My 2060 (which I bought new in 2019) also started to develop this hotspot issue. A good high viscosity thermal paste should bring any used GPU to original speeds easily and keep hotspot temps under control. Just apply the thermal paste well, as in don't be afraid to use too much. Direct on-die paste application (Like on GPUs) needs to be really thorough, and using too much paste is much better than using too little in this case.
I've literally been waiting for this video for so long, thank god it came. I've ran a few multiple mined cards for awhile now and never had issues with GPU issues and overall performances. I always knew that it was way blown out of proportion of how bad 'mined' cards are. Honestly just make sure it's a good brand with a decent warranty and one that is transferrable and you will be fine.
Sadly not all share ur same opinion i bought 3 different gpus (for mining)(3 different sellers) all of them didnt last a month one died in 1 week you might think its must be something else but i went to a asus store bought a brand new one its still running now 5 years now on the same rig that broke those used gpu
I recently bought a used GPU that ended up working like brand new. Should be noted that there are used computer shops that receive used GPUs, and test and repair them before redistributing. They will charge little extra for their work saving these cards, but it can make buying used a lot less of a headache while still being heaps cheaper than brand new.
Hardware degrades and there is no way it worked like brand new. You did not have brand new one to compare with therefore such claim is very misleading. Not to mention warranty ,)
@@justjack3075 i think he meant the performance is like brand new, a new gpu or a used one will perform the same if the used one have the same condition (in terms of cleanliness)
I worked at a gaming PC manufacturer as quality control/repair and noticed a consistent issue with Eagle branded cards from gigabyte. Fresh out of the box there was a 15c variance between the ones that ran coolest and the ones that ran hottest. The cool ones ran around 80, hot ran 95c. Just avoid gigabyte Eagle cards new or used.
Good rule of thumb, but its especially true for Eagle/Vision/Gaming series ones. Early 30xx series cards came with horrible thermal pads out of the box and throttled from day one. Oh and they leaked oil all over...
I've always said you can judge generally a GPU manufactures quality by the size the heat sink is and how much it actually contacts where the die is located. More heatsink especially in newer cards is almost 99.9999999% better than less. People are always constantly like WHY do you stick with high end GPU manufactures like EVGA that clearly go overboard with their manufacturing. Well I'd rather pay a premium for something that is constructed a premium than pay a premium price for something that is clearly just scalping the already low end side of the market. Another way of saying this is you get what you pay for.
Something to note about the part near the end where it was mentioned that you weren't buying especially savvy, I think it's important to consider that not everyone knows the warning signs for buying used, like if they show photos of the fans or it plugged in vs out in hand, or if they show benchmarks or anything else. A novice might think anything they see with just 1 image is good enough and end up getting duped. Hopefully they can get their money back through buyer protection through ebay in such a case, but it would turn a lot of people away from buying used because they just don't want to deal with the hassle of return shipping, even if they get the money back, only to have to try again after just getting burnt.
That's the biggest obstacle for me. And being slightly grossed out by using other people's stuff, I guess. Having it in your place feels almost like having them as roommates, at least given they apparently often don't get it in pristine condition prior to selling. So I tend to use things until they completely die on me, but refrain from buying used, unless from friends. It also seems there are more people who only buy new than there are people who only buy used, so we have large amounts of unnecessary waste, which is sad. Refurb programs might have helped with it, not sure why we do not have more of them at big brick-and-mortar retailers. It would be so much easier to buy used knowing a trained team has checked the part, cleaned it, supplied missing screws and whatnot.
@@Lodinnwhat scares me most is how intricate the scams have gotten - they reprogram them to say it’s another card and swap coolers etc. have even heard they shave down the gpu die and stamp in to say something else and by the time you actually find out what the card even is - it’s too late. From what I understand benchmarking is the true only way to know what you have. I can’t buy used because I don’t have a running computer to test it. I’m even scared of new sealed 4090’s because they can peel the seal sticker off without tearing it! People are shit these days and it’s unfortunate I’ll miss out on deals because I just can’t trust people.
I always try to sell my used stuff instead of throwing them away, and I definitely will return the money if the product I sold didn't work (that's why I sell locally). The last i7 3770 I sold found its new owner and continues to live a happy life of crunching numbers. And I always encourage people to buy used, even helping them by visiting the seller and doing tests. You better save damn landfills.
As someone who just got into PC gaming within the last year, videos like this help tremendously. You've given us the tools and knowledge needed to purchase used PC components confidently (within reason, obviously).
my wife bought an ex-mining 3060 ti and not a single problem with it. i'll admit i was doubtful at first, but she gets flawless performance and this video put the rest of my worries to rest. big fan of the points you made about preventing e-waste by buying used
I'm not a big fan of his blaming someone not buying, than scum who would ewaste a gpu, instead of selling lower or giving freely to a good home or even bare minimum selling to an ecycler.
i bought a 3060 ti tuf used for almost 40% less of the new one and oh man it got 0 problems and I saved money even it still got the plastic rap I still got the satisfaction of the new one
Miners need flawless performing cards to mine 24/7. They tend to look after them to keep them clean and cool. There's little reason for them to not be in great order as one that doesn't work well can bring down the whole rig causing all the other cards to stop mining, losing them money. I would personally actively seek out a card from a mining rig to use.
I've been using a second hand mining EVGA GTX 1060 for a number of years now, and it's never let me down. Will replace it eventually since it's having more trouble running 1080p 60fps at high on newer games, but I'd say I definitely got my $100 worth back in 2018.
@@omgpickle 20% new, at the time they were new. Priced to inflation and that doubles. Even the 3060, new, is over 20% more adjusted for inflation. They are STILL selling for over $450 new and they are almost 2 years old at this point.
I also have a 1060 6gb zotac amp, bought used back in 2019, still working fine, the owner sold because he wanted an amd card, the card was 6 months old at the time i bought and still had a year and a half of warranty
The Eagle OC is also a discount card to begin with so not as surprising that it was the one that failed. Fortunately, as you said, eBay has a great buyer protection scheme so all you lose is a bit of shipping time.
@@K7L3-93 Yea I imagine 99.9% are probably totally fine. As Linus said, gaming is actually harder on a card than mining because of the constant boosting. Similar to a car engine which takes far more ware from stop-start driving than it does from long highway miles.
That Eagle OC most likely only have 1 bad memory IC. Its a easy repair for a electronics repair shop. If you do the diagnose yourself and find with IC is the bad one and just ask for the chip replacing service, the repair guy will probably not ask for much since its a 5mins~15mins job. You will have to bring your own replacement part or pay for the part to the repair shop if they have it available. Repair shops usually don't provide repair warranty in those cases.
@@enermaxstephens1051 Not in my experience, I have run a few Gigabyte cards over the years and never had a problem. However the Eagle OC specifically is a discount product, it is made to be the cheapest board partner card in the lineup so if anything is going to be less reliable that's the card.
This is an awesome video, the subject matter is an actual service to everyday consumers. Lots of videos are cool and interesting but this one is an actual value creator. I particularly liked the "it's faulty, don't fix it, send it back to the seller, not your problem".
Yeah but it's never as big of a risk as people make it seem to be. As long as you know what to look for and can find a seller that's willing to communicate and run tests, you should be fine for the most part.
@@ACEcrafter77 It depends of the procedence of the hardware you are buying... I wouldn't buy a card knowing than it have been running high loads non-stop for a year...
I've bought used parts before and never had an issue with any of them. Even the CPU & motherboard that are running with a 25% overclock for 5 years now. Or my old GPU that I ran with 20% for nearly 8 years without issues. Might be an outlier, but when you are careful, you should be fine buying used.
I bought a GPU from a miner, he was very chill and gave me a great deal and lots of info about how he ran his cards such as clock speed and etc... At the end I got a 3060 TI and till this day it's one of the best deals ever!
@@pbpx Most miners take care of their GPU better than gamers, it is regularly cleaned, and keep in a cool environment to ensure the GPU's running at it's best mining ability
You can't imagine how much tankful I am for this video, and I don't even sell GPUs, but I do buy them, always second hand since my last new purchase that was a 480 when GPU prices were fair. And I've never had a problem buying used GPUs, like you said, is about knowing how to do it, and knowing the reality about GPUs life span and degradation.
I have bought a used gpu because of Linus's opinion about the chance of getting great deals. I was searching for it for 2 month and originally i was looking for a 3070ti new or a 3080 used. I had to stretch my budget an extra 80 dollars but it was worth it... I got a 3090 (ofc used) with even 1,5 years of warranty left. I not only managed to find a great deal but found a great heater for my room. So just thanks for giving me the courage to go to the used market!
@@summushieremiasclarkson4700 It depends on manufacturer warranty T&C I believe, and varies per company. Some just need serial number to claim warranty, some need the receipt so it's a case by case kinda deal. EVGA was good about this I think.
@@lucidnonsense942 I was saying that for legal reasons. No manufacturer here in The US fights a warranty claim as long as you present proof of purchase. I know this for a fact.
I bought a 3070 for £312 (it was £340, but i used my nectar points) just after Christmas and it works great. I also sell used parts often as a side hustle and I always offer to do benchmarks on any game that i own. Good seller rating also helps you sell more stuff in the long-term for even higher prices because it indicates that you're a trustworthy seller.
Hey, I-m probably not in your area of operations, but I still want to thank you for trying to be as transparent of a seller as I can imagine one to be, glad to see someone taking care of and finding a new home for less than new parts that still have a life to live.
Recently bought a used 3060 ti founders edition off Ebay for a decent price. Came looking brand new but made sure to extensively test it to make sure its working as should before the return exchange is voided. Videos like these are a great help for people who are thinking about taking the plunge on a used product.
That 2080ti I bought for ~507usd just before the lockdowns, the 30 series release and everything went out of stock was one of the better deals I had in the last few years. Gotta thank FOMO for that one.
Same man the exact same deal for me because everyone thought they were going to be worthless. Got like 2 and a half years of heavy gaming out of it before I got artifacts. Warzone 2 had something to do with it though lol
And being careful enough only requires taking a few extra minutes to vet an eBay listing and seller, or spending a few minutes testing a marketplace thing instead of just taking it and assuming it’s fine. Buying a used gpu is just a bad idea if you’re lazy.
@@pdblouin then buy new. i think 20% off is an amazing discount as most electronics really dont just up and fail especially after use. and if its obviously not as advertized then return it if possible
I watched your videos constantly and couldn't help myself but think 'how hard could it be to build a pc' so i gave myself a challenge and bought not only a gpu, but cpu, RAM, power supply, all second hand. Up until now everything works as it should and and within the spec. So far so good 👍
Well done you! Can I ask what spec you went for please? Purely out of curiosity. And how did the build go? I did a used upgrade last year. New CPUs and motherboards are coming out so I guess the ones that were about three generations old might be getting sold secondhand as the people are buying new CPUs which were worth an upgrade. Richer people can do this. I got a i7 9700k, mobo, RAM and a small cheap SSD for £300. I had what I've done an upgrade for about 9 years because I thought I would have to reinstall all my software and windows. But there's a very simple workaround. There are some 5-minute RUclips videos if someone's interested. Basically you uninstall the motherboard drivers and turn off the computer. Then you put that hard drive from the old motherboard CPU into the new computer motherboard CPU combo and switch it back on. All your stuff is on that hard drive and it will talk to the new CPU motherboard combo boot into Windows ok. Wedding windows just install the new drivers as needed. No software needed to be changed! I think this is something that should be promoted by AMD and Intel because it put me off spending a lot of money with them cuz I thought I would have to reinstall all my software.
@@Google_Does_Evil_Now Glad to hear that. I went for all AMD bc in my region it's significantly cheaper than Intel/Nvidia counterparts for example Intel i5 6th gen is more than double the price of the Ryzen 5 5000 series, so i went with Asus a320 prime MB (new), Ryzen 5 5500 cpu, RX 580 8GB, crucial ballistix 16GB kit 3000MHz, and thermaltake 450w power supply.
Thanks for this video! I've had the same experience buying used. As long as you're not buying something that is at the end of its lifecycle, say from less than 8 years ago, you should be good most of the time. Still rocking a second-hand R7 260x for light gaming and bought an open-box 165Hz MSi monitor recently that was also completely fine. Plus saves you a ton of money! I had most of my issues is when buying hardware for ancient computers, such as a Pentium III build I restored a while back.
0:44 "Rescue GPU" is the perfect way to think about it. Had a hard life working in the Ether mines up to this point, probably in a cramped and overcrowded datacenter, forced to work 24 hours a day, all while never rendering a frame of video, until it was no longer needed, unceremoniously yanked out the only home it had ever known, and put on the auction block. Least you can do is give it a good home. A nice mid-tower with good airflow, some RGB to keep the nightmares at bay when you've got it idling. Maybe take it on a nice cross-country drive in Euro Truck Simulator every now and again...
Preserving the data doesn't work. Software changes too much, and GPU code is compiled on your machine by the GPU driver, so the current driver version is part of the product. The only proper approach is to keep physical hardware and have enough test benches and automation that you can collect new data whenever a new product comes out.
@@Vegemeister1 This guy gets it, and his point stands twofold in Nvidia's case. At this stage in the game, they're just as much a software company as they are a component manufacturer, and it isn't uncommon to see one of their drivers wickedly change the performance of certain cards on a case by case basis, sometimes to a benefit and others to a detriment, even years after a card's initial release.
All of my pc parts were bought used ever since my first pc, besides storage which can be more sketchy. Only when I got my 3080ti new, I wanted to buy an O11D XL new aswell. There are risks in everything. However, I also encourage buying used like Linus for all the same reasons he listed. I havent personally used Ebay, but that buyer protection seems like a pretty solid risk mitigation. Loved the video! I just wish scrapyard wars could be a viable series again 😔
I will never mainline used storage but perfectly acceptable to check it with S.M.A.R.T. software and use it for media. If you regularily kills your operating system for fresh installs , can be more acceptable or raid as the back up .
I hope you guys now do a follow up video on this performing the same tests after a proper maintainance to each GPU with a good clean, quality TIM and pads and stock vbios. Ive some nice improvements after doing this to mined gpus
I had bought a used 3070 Ti, $400. Unfortunately, it did have a major problem that resulted in it "crapping out under 3d load". However, Asus RMA agreed and sent me a new one, and with how easy that process was (sans the price of shipping) I'd say it worked out way better than expected.
i know you guys made a "how to buy used" guide for computer components, but I would like to see an updated one for those who are either terrified of buying used or would like to, but doesn't know the best way to do it safely with the lowest, realistic, risk of being swindled.
I totally support this. This past year I've got great deals on used GPUs from FB marketplace that have gone in my PC, as well as builds for friends and family. All still running just fine.
As you said, constant heat and power usage within spec almost doesn't wear components at all. It's heat cycling that does as it causes microscopic expansion and contraction which will crack solder joints over time.
@@TheTastefulThickness And the person that invents materials that are utterly resistant or immune to heat cycling wear is going to be wealthy beyond words. We'd effectively have equipment that could last orders of magnitude longer.
@@RicochetForce Vehicle manufacturers intentionally don't build vehicles that'll last indefinitely. It's been determined by scientists that cars that will almost never break are absolutely doable with current tech, but planned obsolescence keeps new innovation and new purchases going forward.
Bought 2 watercooled cards just before covid that were clearly used for mining; Nvidia 1080 TI and AMD Vega 64. I repasted them and +3 years later they still run perfect. Big Thank you Linus for your care about the environment regarding E-waste!
I had considered purchasing miner cards in the past but was worried about any performance dip. This video helps demystify and debunk some past concerns and moving forward I'll be more open to consider used/mined cards. Thanks Linus! 👍
The performance dip is not a issue, the cards dying within weeks of purchase is. Especially after seeing all the images of "card refurbishing" I would consider every second-hand card as being mined heavily and likely to die. However if it is in bulk, like for a rendering farm, where a few dead cards would still make everything profitable, then I would go for used cards.
When buying used gpu I’d say the most common consideration is adding cost of new fans. Most I’ve bought the fans were operable but bearings started making scratchy noises even after lubing.
Those Mofos never oil the shafts. Then without oil the bearing literally eats into the shaft. Too late oiling is not gonna solve anything. Think about what would happen to a car engine lacking oil.
This is a really important topic. I've been an advocate for used hardware since I started watching you/entered PC gaming in 2013, and although I didn't always buy used I wasn't ever afraid to. I've only gotten burned once (GTX 590) in 2014 ish and it stung, but every other used GPU and CPU I bought (10+?) Worked flawlessly. There's a reason reduce and re-use come before recycle. Thank you for making this!
I would love to see a similar deep dive into buying used phones too! This is a great video and I will definitely look at buying second hand instead of waiting indefinitely for new hardware I can't afford.
Used phones have the issue of the battery being degraded, but otherwise, its the same deal. If you replace the battery, the phone is likely as good as it was when new.
GPUs can fail in a lot of ways, and it's not always obvious. But a phone either works or it doesn't, the only part that wears is the battery and those are easily replaced.
@@randomblock1_ The screen, case, water proof seal, speakers and mic, all wear too. Though some of those wear so slow many people replace the device before it fails. Much of this depends on personal use cases too.
The biggest downside in the phone resale market going forward is the mass adoption of OLED screens imo. Don't get me wrong, I love my 120hz OLED and wouldn't have it any other way, but show me a single Samsung user who doesn't have their carrier/battery icon/clock at least partially burnt into the top of their screen after they've had that bad boy for 2-3 years. Not extremely noticeable, but definitely another hurdle to overcome and box to check off when inspecting a used phone for potential purchase, and something to take into consideration if selling a used phone with an OLED screen. Also to those saying battery is the only thing that can degrade in a cellular, it isn't 2008, there's a lot on higher-end phones that can wear and tear beyond the battery. OLED screens, OIS motors in your camera, gyroscope and accelerometer, vibration motor, speakers, etc. These are all moving parts that are subject to wear and tear and WILL degrade the more they are used.
@@ItsJoLapo I would expect there to be a setting to turn off the screen completely if you so wanted, right? i mean, no need to keep those things on the screen when the phone is just laying there unused, anyways.
I recently picked up an XFX 6700XT Merc for a little over 50% MSRP (so who knows how much less than it was purchased for originally) and I think it may have been a mining card with one of the fans sounding like it's on it's way out. However it's working great, a reapplication of thermal paste has improved the thermals and a new set of fans are on their way from China, I'm really happy with the value and performance I've gotten.
Yea, the only thing that usually breaks down for good is the fans. I got a Zoac 3070 which is already known for it's bad fans (and fan bearing sounds), but so far it's working. If one of those breaks down, I'll either order a net set for around 30€ or I might to some experimenting with slamming noctua fans on it.
Due in part to the video last year, I recently bought a used 6700XT for 400 CAD. The seller brought it to me and I ran a test on Furmark before buying. It's been working great and is a huge upgrade from my RX480
It's been consistently 400AUD in Australia as well. I never got one since I already got a 6600, but it tempts me every day I go to eBay. It's been half a year already since second hand 6700xt had stayed at that price.
I got an RX 6600 XT (Sapphire Nitro+ edition) from a miner for 2.850.000 IDR (190 USD), and It works perfectly fine. Upgraded from RX 570 greatly saves my electricity bill! 😁Yes, on paper the TDP of these 2 cards are similar. But the game that I play only consumes ~45% load and 30 watts of power from RX 6600 XT, while on RX 570 it consumes 100% load and 130watts of power. Another funny thing is the fan of my RX 6600 XT is not even spinning! Because the temp doesn't reach 60 C while gaming. it makes my pc more silent.
Thank you Linus, I been saying the same things for two years, Nvidia and AMD were not only complicit with the scalpers, miners and bots, but they were the head of the snake. This is why I intend to buy used this generation right now the 1070/80's and 5700's are looking to be where I'll be looking for now, my gaming needs are much less than many other gamers though
Hell, they both were working on _mining-only_ hardware, that were basically pure massively-parallel compute that was literally optimized for crypto algos (e.g., SHA256 hashing for Bitcoin) without even having things like monitor connections, right up until a couple big crypto crashes made the whole idea less financially viable and difficulty increases for memory-intensive currencies like Ethereum pushed GPU mining off the table.
Honestly, I loved this video for the sincerity and amount of information. I bought a used (still in warranty) 2070 Super during the pandemic but between the 30 series announcement and launch. This card has ran basically anything I have thrown at it and the only reason for me to consider upgrading would be to get a card with more Vram. But, using a Corsair 380T which wouldn't support thicker cards I am still not gonna upgrade any time soon. (Even if I had the money.)
I got a GTX 1080 TI, & before that I was using a 1060. My brother is still using a GTX 960 which is running fine for him. We play REALLY like games like Valorant, Roblox, CS:GO, & then more random stuff like Tekkit (an old minecraft modpack from 2011). So at this point we have ZERO need to upgrade based off what we play. I do play a bit more intense stuff from time to time like Rust or Teardown (hence the better GPU) but I try to buy the amount of power that I need.
Almost everything in my pc, except for its SSDs, PSU and case, are used components. My laptop is used, my VR headset is used. Even my phone is used. It all pretty much works like new. Great video!
LTT just keeps getting better! The lab results are really useful. It makes it so much easier to get trustworthy information on the effectiveness of various hardware
I know this is uncommon in the US (and probably Canada), but in Europe it is very common and if you all push, it can become common - TEST electronics either at the seller's place, ask the seller to come to your place for testing, or agree to meet up somewhere where it can be tested, like a local computer repair shop. In the first two scenarios, make sure to have a portable testbench or ready up your own PC so that you can chug it in and test it with Furmark, GPUMemTest and Superposition. All these tests are for free and Superposition is good because you can set a custom resolution that is really high to max out the VRAM. GPUMemTest is good, but sometimes fails for no reason, especially on some specific models like the GTX 970 line. If the seller has no idea about benchmark software, ask them to at least start a somewhat intensive game like Assassin's Creed Odyssey or GTA V at really high settings. If you wanna test the card at a PC repair shop, offer them a little cash for their time and effort. You don't need to mention that it is a sale necessarily, just tell them you can not pinpoint the issue and would like to test the GPU for 5 minutes. There may be some PC parts donation organizations or similar at your place so maybe they would help you with that. Anyhow, I am no longer buying anything that I don't test personally, or where I know that the selling platform sides with the buyer by default. When selling used stuff, make sure to document the functionality with a lot of high quality photos, wide shots and closeups, with serial numbers, and even a video or two. Invite the buyer to your home to demonstrate the functionality one last time or send them the video via WeTransfer or upload it to YT as an unlisted video. All of this will save you so much hassle with dealing with both scammy sellers and ignorant buyers.
I would love a follow-up video with long-term testing. To see if the aggregate failure rate of the used GPUs (over what would be a typical new-card warranty period) exceeds the ~ %20 discount.
@@TotallySlapdash for cards that where used to mine ETH the memory suffers, especially if they where overclocked, but if the miner was concious didnt overclock much, undervolted to keep temps down and took proper care of the cards, there is no reason for that card to not last 3 to 4 years as a gaming card, ive been gaming on a 1080 for around three years now, and i mined 24 7 with it for three years prior to that, still mine with it on the background when not playing
The lack of significant discount is exactly why I don't buy used GPUs. They have some of the shortest expected lifespans of all components, on par with hard drives. If I'm buying something without a 2 year warranty that's essentially had its lifespan cut in half, it better be seriously cheap.
Mining GPUs probably fail less often than gaming ones because they're not running extreme temperatures and they don't have the power cycles that gamers put their cards through. With an average 22% discount that means every fourth or fifth card is free.
Honestly Linus, I'm glad you did this because I have my coworkers constantly saying to me but what if it was used for mining whenever we are testing cards to buy in at work, the amount of times I've told them that a mining GPU is more likely to be better kept than a gaming one is unreal. Maybe if I show them this they might chill about it :')
I've pretty much only bought used GPUs. I just picked up a used 3090 from an Ethereum mining rig. It works perfect and I got it for less than 1/2 the normal price.
@@thealien_ali3382 Nvidia came to their senses and started selling 3080s with 12GB - but _way_ too late. As you said, it should have been 12 from the start. But I think if you're running a 1440p screen and use DLSS Quality, 10GB is still OK.
Perfect timing! I'm looking to build a computer from used parts, yet I have found that so many people are against this. In particularly interested in a used GPU, CPU and RAM (if I can find a good deal). Motherboard I'm a little iffy on, but Amazon has some warehouse ones that have me interested. Same with cases. But... Lack of warranty has me a bit spooked. But I figured if I get it from Amazon, I can always return it in the first 30 days. But when I bring up this idea, people act like I'm crazy or dumb. I'm just kinda surprised that so many people are against used parts when eBay and Amazon have such good customer protection. Also, I really appreciate your concern about the environment too. Seriously, I'm in the environmental field and I'm all about buying used goods elsewhere. Maybe that was all show, but it's definitely something that the electronic world needs to work on.
My personal experience with mined cards is that usually the first issue you will encounter with them, apart from the visual condition, are the fans - rom the moment you plug in the GPU, that's pretty much the first thing you are gonna notice whether they are working and sound fine or not. You can often tell a mined card is gonna be decent quality just from the looks - a badly kept one will have leaking thermal pads, it will be greasy or dusty. That was my first experience with a mined 1060 (got it from some marketplace from a random dude), which i did return despite it working fine ingame and despite the fact that i coulda just cleaned it up and changed the fans, it just didn't felt like the kind of card that would last long. Then i got a 6700XT mined for 3 months (as opposed to 9 for the 1060). It was in MUCH better condition, it had no dust or greasiness to it, looked brand new, the only thing was a little bit of coil whine under heavy usage, but even that was barely audible to my ears, so i still haven't reallly bothered changing up the fans, and i have heard of new cards having an issue like this, especially 4090's. The temps are actually really good - at full usage the junction temperature doesn't even reach 70. I got this card from a reputable computer shop, who i knew i could trust and even got a year warranty with it. The bottom line is, it all depends who you buy it from and how honest the seller is. The more the seller tells you about the card's condition, the more likely the card is not a cat in the bag and you can be assured it will work just as fine or even better than a card used just for gaming.
People slept on mined cards, when eth ditched miners I got a rx 6800xt for 350 and a 3070 for $200. No issues so far, my whole build is off of used parts.
@@Secure_Mental Yeah, buying used parts is quite beneficial in my opinion. As long as you make sure you are not getting ripped off with a faulty part, i'd say it's a pretty good way to save money and at the same time contribute to recycling of electronics.
I recently bought a 2060 12gb brand new, and that was DOA. Hell, if you can get a benchmark or even better a video of the card running from the seller, you're in good shape. It really made me rethink the used market.
Hey Linus! Your the goat! Thank you for all the advice over the years and continuing to be an absolute unit in how you and the LMG team disperse information that is just unbiased. Promoting Recycling in this System Integration space is huge, considering how much waste is involved from START, to FINISH. Good on you
Goat: A domesticated ruminant mammal (Capra hircus) having backward curving horns and a beard in the male, raised for its wool, milk, and meat. Did you just insult Linus?-=
I got a gigabyte 3090 oc used this week for ~€840. Happy with it so far. Hot spot temp seems to get high under 100% load, but I'm seeing people on forums saying that a thermal paste + pads change makes a huge difference.
i avoid 3090s without warranty cuz theres a good chance they just die on you at some point, source: repair shops in China, fun fact, 2080tis are pretty problematic too.
@@yukisnoww Are you talking about the 2080 TI issue that affected the cards at launch, back in 2018? I just googled and I had line came up but I don't know anything else about it. I have a 1080 Ti and it works perfectly.
If your 3090 needs thermal pads replaced (which helps heaps), its unlikely it was used by a miner. Not a miner who knew how to mine on a 3090 anyway. They all run super hot and needed pads replaced with some decent ones to have any chance of getting good mining performance out of them without thermal throttling.
I got an EVGA 1080ti SC2 hybrid just before the 30 series launch, used for €350, fantastic card for a fantastic price, still my main card and will be for years to come. So far I've bought about 15 used GPU's in my life, and I never had issues with any of them. Worst case scenario they needed some cleaning.
Haven't bought a new gpu since my EVGA 980 SC reference in 2014 (still runs 1612Mhz OC w modded bios) 2 EVGA titan x maxwells (ran hot af cause reference coolers) and 2 EVGA 1080ti FTW3s, one 1080ti was brand new and not a lottery card ~2030Mhz but said used (never taken apart no sag and super low thermals) and the other had a decent amount of vape residue has a decent amount of sag and runs a bit warmer and needs thermal pads as they kind of disintegrated, but it OCs to 2088Mhz haven't had a problem with a card yet period. Oh and a EVGA 970 SC that I got off a buddy free and it doesn't OC at all even with a modded bios
After watching videos taking about the used market. I bought a used 6800 XT, 12700k, Asus Tuf z690-plus, Evga 850w, and TForce Tuf gaming 16 Gb Ram. I paired all this with a new case, cpu cooler, and nvme ssd. I ended up saving about 30 percent vs new. I use this for gaming daily and it works great.
I buy used or open box GPUs all the time, great way to save money and the lemons are generally rare. The only GPUs I've bought brand new were low end cards for extra monitors,a R7 580 on launch, and a Radeon HD 3850 AGP as the thing wasn't very common even at the time.
Ahhh open box.... *Flashback to Steve from Gamers Nexus with Newegg selling him a mobo they themselves tried to RMA with mashed LGA pins, didn't want to pay Gigiabyte 100 dollars and then put it back on the shelves as open box*
THANK YOU for this video! Too many people are on the used GPU bad, ex mining GPU superbad train. I've been rocking a ex mining 3090 (basically the worst card to be an ex miner cause of the memory on the back) for a little over a year now with no issues. I just did like you said, talked to seller about it's history then thoroughly tested the card when I got it. All checked out good so I've been happily gaming on it since & I got it at great price for the time I bought it. Had I bought into the used = bad narrative I'd either still be on a 1080ti or much less performant card for the same price I paid for the 3090.
"Too many people are on the used GPU bad, ex mining GPU superbad train." I mean... I don't mind, personally. It just means more used cards that I can buy. lol
@@robr640 For me it depends on the price for a used card. Depending on the Card when i would get a brand new one for 100-200€ more i rather take the new one.
@@robr640 I know, and they would accuse you of being a closeted miner for simply stating a fact. Doesn't matter what program you run, be it games, miners, or rendering.
Thanks for all the great video! As someone who's been restoring vintage computers for over 15 years I can tell you that leaky capacitors can smell like fishy vinegar. Now I don't think these GPU cards are old enough to have leaky capacitors... however... if they were baking inside a very hot computer case for a long time that might accelerate the aging process. I know that bad capacitors are more likely to be found in a vintage computer near hot places like inside a hard working part of a power supply. So although it's unlikely that the vinegar smell Linus found in this video means leaky capacitors, it's not impossible, and I'd say that any used electronics with a bad smell is a bad sign.
I usually agree with every hot take linus have. I really do... And this video covers almost all my concerns about mined gpu's whenever i participate in facebook tech and gaming groups in my language and country. But what may be truth in your side of the world may be not truth in ours... In my side of the world, miners where the scum of the scum, they only saw gpus as a money printing machine each gpu "will last what it will last", without regards of extending its lifetime, some even where still buying gpu's for mining one month before the merge, so many cards saw the very last days of mining nevertheless some others where mining even since 2 or 3 years... When the merge happened and the sell groups were flooded with used gpus, the very few sellers were telling that those gpus were used in mining, many explicitly wrote "not one service is done to this card, warranty seal intact, original thermal paste and pads "as if it was a good thing... The cherry on top was the price, it was just about 10 or 20 percent less than a new card. Dissregarding the fact that a mining card should be at half the price of a new one... You see, buying a mined gpu is and always will be about the long term duration of the card, it was never about if your games will run at the same frames per second as a new gpu, or even if the card mantains the same clocks at the same speeds as a new card or even as a gaming card... Its all about of the long term life-spam of the card... A card that is used for mining, will have less lifetime, this is a fact. Tho, many still defend this statement. Its undeniable that a card that was run at +700 or even +1000 mhz on the vram 24/7 for who knows how many months or even years...That card WILL fail sooner than a card who might be used for gaming (in worst cases no-life gaming sessions) of 8hs a day... The vram of a mined GPU WILL fail sooner than a card that was used for gaming... And the one who discredits this simple does not understand the limit specs of what an electronic device should be run at... OC of any type , will always degrade the component if run 24/7 as is on mining.... Just plain and simple fact.
I only bought a used GPU once. It was a Vega 56 (Powercolor Red Dragon) and I knew it was very likely to come from a mining farm. It worked fine. For a year. Then not at all. I'm not saying this is what you should expect though, just sharing my extremely limited experience with used GPUs.
HBM cards(Vega 56/64, Radeon VII) are a special case. The HBM sustains some sort of unknown damage when mining which makes their failure rate very high compared to GDDR GPUs(GDDR6 seems to have increased failure rates as well, but not to the same extent.). But the worst part is HBM, being on package, is not replacable or repairable.
Just to add my own anecdotal experience, I bought a 1070ti (MSI Titanium) used on ebay after the first big crash in 2019 for an absolute steal, and almost exactly *4 years* later it's still serving me very well in my main system. A year ago I lost one of my display ports, but the card is 6 years old at this point so I think that's just normal wear. I plan to upgrade soon, probably to a used 3080, so I'll see if I can keep my good luck rolling! Sorry your experience was not quite as fortunate, but I thought I'd add a good one to offset the bad. As you said, mileage may vary, and that's just how it goes with used hardware. There's a reason why you're saving money! I've yet to be jaded by a used hardware purchase, and am happy to take on (what I see) as minimal risk.
Yeah, but you are on a particular case. Vega use HBM memory which doesn't seem to age well, GDDR6X too seems to age like milk. But overall buying used is fine ! If you want a deeper dive, you can look at Buildzoid video about this, search for "Should you buy ex-mining GPUs?" on RUclips. He explains in details what kind of models should be avoid or prioritise when you search for a second hand GPU. (be aware the guy ramble a lot, and doesn't edit, so his content is not as easy to watch as LTT XD)
The vegas and furys were just pushed to hard out of the box. The failure rate on AMD high end GPUs has been terrible since the 290s. At least in my experience, probably before. I had a 7950 that was a champ, but XFX and AMD has let me down quite a lot since then. Polaris and Navi were great, though. Polaris more than navi, but also not high end.
Really depends on the age of the card. Not when it launched but when the seller first purchased it brand new. If you can get that information, never buy a used card well past its warranty, usually 3 years. I had a GTX 970 FTW just croak on me one day, literally right after the warranty expired 3 years after I purchased it new.
If you buy a mined card, the sensible thing to do is to strip it down and replace the existing thermal paste and pads with good quality parts. This will be better than factory and will ensure the card stays cool. The other thing to watch is the fans, if they are noisy or if they have too much resistance when turning manually or feel gritty, replace them. I have purchased ex mining cards and haven't had a single problem in the past 5 years and 4 cards. I've saved myself a decent amount of money and wouldn't hesitate to buy a mined on card in the future. In fact I would actively search for them to buy.
agreed. even new ones don't have a guarantee that they'll be working out of the box. there are still chances that you need to do a full RMA (I've seen literally countless people, from only GPU, to CPU, and even to PSU). At least on second-hand products they are already been tested to run.. albeit some will always be questionable
I think you're too used to the 1-year warranty. There's no way I'll trade the possibility of being cucked after 1 year + 1 day. I can get a 4-year warranty in Europe for the price of the card plus 30 euro.
I really appreciate this video because for a long time I believed that graphics cards that get a lot of use would slowly become worse. I just don't feel like there's enough concrete information out there that isn't just anecdotal stories on forums.
That's not entirely true. There is plenty of concrete information about any pc part from CPUs to power supplies and graphics cards degrading over time at high use. All this video shows that there's not much different in cards that are a couple years old, they aren't old enough to have a difference, however a 10 series card or rx580s or rx480s would show a difference in the same testing. Not something he explained and really should have, this video is only relevant to previous gen cards and nothing 5 years plus older
I agree with "if the product fails it would be within a 2 week period". I use to buy audio equipment that were floor models. If a product had been running for three weeks to a month, chances are component failure was well past the burn-in period. It would last indefinitely if it has no moving parts. What a good tech tip!😄
In 2020 I bought a used gtx 1070ti for around 250 euros, a really good deal at that time. When I got it, no signal was displayed on the screen, so I wrote to the seller, who didn't know what to do. I thought he sold me a broken card, till I tried as a last resort to use my pc remotely, if the hdmi was faulty. And in fact it was the hdmi the main issue. That card is still working perfectly fine today
On "within spec", have you thought about creating a video on how much the fps and/or frametime have to change before being noticeable, whether absolute or relative? Could be interesting to see if 144 is more forgiving than 60.
I believe that limit is somewhere between 80 and 110 fps. Really depends on the 1% low though, that's what you notice. Stable 60 fps is better than 80 with 40 on 1% low.
I was skeptical about used gpus in the beginning. But I wanted a new pc and I won an auction near the end of December for a rtx 3090 gaming x trio 900€ (a bit more expensive than other used ones) but it arrived earlier than expected. I did all the possible stress tesks that I could find on RUclips and so far It seems fine, even coil whine was minimal and I also undervolted it. I will run a few more tests because the ebay guarantee ends in a few days but I'm all up for used gpus now.
@@Diego-es2pd well, at that time every card was going for 850-950. I happened to win this one and as far as I have tested is like a brand new one. No problems with it
I don't have first hand experience with buying used gpu's but my 3700x that I got from ebay along with a B550 board have been running perfectly fine for the past year or so. Though I think my B550 board was brand new as this was during the newegg shuffle so people were probably just trying to offload the addons that was bundled with the gpu's
I've never had problems with used GPUs from eBay (I've bought quite a lot there), but I have had problems with Amazon Warehouse stuff. I think in the latter case, there are returns which are defective and Amazon doesn't even know it or check it. Having mined myself, I know that I always monitored temps very carefully to increase efficiency. But when gaming, there can sometimes be huge spikes in fan speeds and the temps are probably all over the place.
Great video! You are spot on about buying really any used item...GPU...full computer...car...etc. And many new items aren't guaranteed to be problem free...GPU...full computer...car...etc.
Linus, is the profit from the used junk shop worth more than your honor? This "tutorial" doesn't say that it's not the crystal mostly wears out, but the rest of the components and cooling system. Better to stay on an integrated one than to buy garbage that has worked hard in a mining farm for 3-4 years 24/7 and will break down in a year.
Whenever I get the notification for a new LTT video I shout "Linus Tech Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiips" in the most annoying voice I can, and my wife knows and puts on headphones for the time the episode lasts. She hates Linus' voice so much it's amazing 🤣 Love you Linus!
5/16/2023 I got a EVGA 3080 and am just getting ready to install it, this show has been SO VERY HELPFUL, I'm a console gamer so I'm basically ignorant, all the tips and advice have been incredibly useful, thanks so much!!!
I bought a used 980 for my gf casual gaming rig for a little under $100, runs pretty well even on heavier modern titles, and even though it's performance isn't on par with how it would have been brand new (you can tell the paste is likely dried out from mining and the pads need replacing, I'm just too lazy), but it runs good enough, which is all that matters. For 100 bucks, can't beat it.
When the first crypto crash happened a few years ago i bought a MSI Armor 1080Ti for 400€ with 2 years warranty left cost 850€ new, still running like a charm in my 2nd computer. Seller send me a copy of the recipe and there were 40x 1080 Ti and 60x 12TB HDD on it, pretty sure it is a minng card. xD
@Confined Spiral $50 is literally 50% more money. I found one for $125 at the cheapest, but it's also a pny as opposed to my EVGA. I can't say I would switch, considering mine is cheaper and still almost as good.
@@TheLongDon 100$ is 100% more than 50$, no intention to mock you, just to make clear you made a good deal and those 1660s new for 100$ is also a hoax even the cheapest palit and pny cards are more expensive, you made a very good choice with the EVGA 980.
Just bought a used 3080ti for $600 last month. Best purchase this year. I only play at 1440p so its pretty overkill lol. I never had any issues or problems, only problem I didnt anticipate is that this gpu consumes 340 watts on load lol. Otherwise Ive been so happy with this purchase
Look into undervolting it. Plenty of videos about it. You can get easily 90-95% of your typical performance and save 1/4-1/3 of the power use in some cases. I can get my 3080xc3 non ti, to run a full 2020mhz, at around 200 watts sometimes less depending on the game and such.
im also running 1440p 144hz , on an X570 and ryzen 7 3800x overclocked, and an 850w Gold rated PSU, as those too will effect the results a bit. You should easily be able to cut power considerably and still maintain performance at a level that you wouldnt notice any loss.
I think something valuable to consider is that customers want to know if they're paying 20% less for a product, then they want to know if they're only going to be losing 20% of that products lifespan. Saving 20% on a gpu isn't a good deal if it only last 30% of a new gpu's estimated life span. The people need endurance tests!
Consider that a majority of these cards will run for a decade+, so the real factor eating at its lifespan is new releases-- when it economically makes sense to buy a new card due to power, io, or raw performance improvements of future generations. Buying a $1k gpu every ten years to "future proof" is almost never a better idea than buying a $500 gpu every five years for example. Let's say for example that the mined cards last 10 years instead of 15. Saving 20% today is preferable, as the cards will be worth practically nothing in 10 years, and products that can match or exceed its performance in 10 years will be dirt cheap. The hypothetical reduced endurance becomes almost a nonfactor at reducing it's value relative to generational improvements This is all assuming that you can guarantee used cards will not need an RMA anytime soon or you can afford to dollar cost average with used hardware, which is another reason companies need to make warranties transferrable.
Let's say their lifespan is 10 years. You could definitely see even more older GPUs and CPUs running today. Assume their lifespan is reduced by 60%. At 20-50% discount with a lifespan of 4 years, that's still a great buy considering you're likely to upgrade your card in around 1-4 years. Few years ago, before I was able to be financially secure, I used to upgrade my old parts with used ones and sell the previous ones I used. And then after a year, I'll upgrade again by purchasing used and reselling the previous used one that I bought. It's a cycle that saved me about 80-90% of the cost of upgrading to a brand-new one.
@@bipbop3121 Don't get me wrong 20% probably isn't worth it considering the headache of testing the cards and dealing with seller returns, but the used gpu market today has upwards of ~40% discounts compared to a year ago when stock of the 3XXX cards was still iffy and there was no 4XXX driving down the used costs. That being said, even when you consider extra power use, it is more environmentally friendly to buy some used stock of a higher-end previous gen card as opposed to producing a brand new midrange card today. The used gpu market is good at pricing this all in of course, the only true ewaste is cards like the gt1030 that are virtually indistinguishable from a myriad of $10 used cards that litter ebay and eventually get landfilled. Crypto itself is of course massive ewaste, a giant ponzi burning through silicone despite producing no productive assets, but ASICS are a whole new level of evil compared to producing and wasting extra gpus that can have a second life doing something useful
10:11 Jesus man... That card probably only have 1 bad memory IC that can easily be replaced by a electronics repair shop in like 30mins. If you do the diagnostic yourself with one is the bad chip (It can easily be done with the same free software that those repair shop use to diagnose it) and just ask them to do the chip replacement service it can be even faster and they would for sure not ask you for much. Just don't expect that they will give you any kind of repair warranty. If you want more details on how to find your bad memory IC go to the Repair Wiki > Desktop Computers > Graphics Cards (GPU) > Manufacturers
I hope you guys do a lot of power consumption tests once you get everything set up. Moving the industry in a more power conscious way helps all of us and the environment too.
The problem is a GPU will pass a test till the day it fails.The Performance test, heat tests and anything are basically useless. They don't tell you if the silicon in the memory has less life left from running hot 24/7. They don't tell you if the solder is not in great shape but is still working fine. A mining GPU could be fine or it could not but a performance test does not tell you anything about longevity of the GPU
Running hot 24/7 within spec is likely better than the physical expansion and contraction that a card used for a few hours a day gaming would face. There's pros and cons to both and I agree with you on the sudden failure point.
Woof, tough luck on the Gigabyte card, definitely makes me feel lucky. I know they're not exactly well-known for having the highest-end and most reliable components even on their higher end lines, and I'm still rocking a mid-tier 1060 6GB from them that's been in my machine since late 2016 with probably ~10,000+ hours of high load in its 7 year tenure, somehow still going strong. It honestly shocks me a little, definitely got my value out of the card.
I got a used Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti and the seller said it was fine but when I got it, I found out the VRAM and InfoROM was bad. I talked to Gigabyte about the card and since it was in warranty, they actually took the card and replaced it for me. The Gigabyte card has been working great and it still has warranty. I even told them what I did to the card (Updated VBIOS, redid the thermals) and they were kind to replace the card due to the video of what the card was doing and it still has warranty since I got the card from them. It may depend how the manufactures work with you with the card you get off of eBay too. Some manufacturers will says, you have to return it to the seller on eBay but be careful with the ones that sys "Final Sale" on the listings cause some of those types, eBay will not take them back. A little warning.
Have you purchased a used GPU before? Let us know how your experience was down below.
Buy a Used RTX 3080 on eBay: ebay.us/r5HTnJ
Buy a Used RTX 3070 on eBay: ebay.us/cy9p69
Buy a Used RTX 3060 on eBay: ebay.us/UQqOLl
Buy a Used RX 5700 XT on eBay: ebay.us/gV6tMN
Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group.
@Mia Khalifa just delete the Windows\WinSxS directory, silly.
Always buying used, rarely got a Problem and often really easy to fix
Yep, my EVGA FTW 3080 was used and I'm loving it, plus EVGA is honoring the warranty
Man I'm going to miss EVGA GPUs since this will end up my last one
Oh and the price I got it for? $500 because the seller thought the RGB stopped working but what really happened is it reset after a fresh windows install, downloading EVGA precision git the RGB up and running no problem
Pretty sure Linus ran 0 tests and just showed up to talk.
The last 3 GPUs I’ve purchased were all used. GTX 770, GTX 950, and a GTX 1070 (still going strong with that one).
The only issues I ran into was running new games with higher VRAM requirements which is by no fault of being a used card at all.
Buy used and refurbished people! 😄
The problem I’ve had with used GPUs is people trying to sell them for the price they bought them for or only like 50 less
Well, same. But then don't buy those.
Agreed, have seen this a lot more commonly all across the tech space in the last few years to be honest. Same with whole PCs, I see people frequently selling mid-range machines from 2016 for like $1200CAD outfitted with a 6700K, a 1070 and 16GB of DDR4. Not a bad machine by any means, but certainly not worth $1200 after 7 years of wear, tear and obsolescence.
I agree with you totally. Every GPU I've ever purchased up until a year ago was used. I've never had an issue with any GPU. I've never had a GP fail I keep handing my GPS down until I get them back and they sit on my shelf for testing or for an old server. For the first time since my Pentium 3 Dell I bought new because the discount for used just wasn't there. Would have I used today? Heck yes.
@@ItsJoLapo not to mention I can buy a 2080 and 10th gen/11th gen for only $900.
I laugh at all the ebay auction listings where someone is asking for too much and they are still at 0 bids and 5 min left. 🤣
Honestly, these are the kinda LTT videos I really look forward to.
I really can't wait for labs to be in full swing, however long that's gonna take.
Their touch is apparent in every video they really put in legwork for.
Sadly i think this is a bad video. 3060 as lowest card in test?
When testing ~20 cards i would have liked each 3x:
2060, 3060, 3070, 3080, 5700 XT, 6600 XT, 6800 XT
At or 2x each:
1060, 2060, 3060, 3070, 3080
5500 XT, 5700 XT, 6600 XT, 6800 XT
you know, like some old cards
for the average gamer (world wide) the 10 series cards are quite important with a 1080 around 150€
@@Mvp-AngelOfGod bad argument, that's like telling a movie critic to make their own movie after reading a bad review
edit: for context, the dude replied to Dominicus saying something like "then why dont you make your own video"
i worked on a mining warehouse, and i can say if you buy a used graphics card online of course its risky, you have no idea what kind of abuse the graphics card has been trought, its not only about the performance like this video shows, most of the time, the ones who where sold while i worked there were card that fell to the ground by mishandling or the oldest ones, usually they cleaned them with a hard brush and a air compressor (an old one who spits watter droplets), they sold them online as "used" not even mentioning they were used in mining unless you ask, with a generic picture of the graphics card from internet, not an actual picture of the one they were selling and they give you a "7 days guarantee" to make you feel safe and bait you, and of course they only do shipping, so the person dont have the chance to detail it or test it first.
@@lbpdluis if you buy on eBay you have way longer than 7 days.
@@lbpdluis So far I haven't been disappointed with that risk... it'll be bound to happen eventually though.
i really appreciated the candor and honesty displayed in this video. the fact that linus media group has managed to scale up so much and maintain the integrity the have is pretty incredible
There a lot good about this video. Shaming people not buying from scum, who would rather ewaste a gpu, than give it a good home was not honest, but gross gas lighting manipulation, though. A new LMG low. I think he just didn't really think that shit through, not that he's that terrible.
Completely agree! This is understated.
Selling out is short-term beneficial. Keeping integrity is beneficial for the long run.
Yes, well said! Scrolling through his channel page I was shocked to see how much content he puts out. But judging by this vid, quality information is still his priority.
this is honestly one of the most important videos linus has made
😂
I agree with you on that. I also enjoyed the one he did with Louis Rossman which uncovered the absurd anti-repair engineering of the iMac
Not really feeling that way!
That vinegar smell is common for cards mined at the coast or in high humidity environments. When miners are done with the cards they usually have some level of oxidation , disassembling the card and leaving the rusty bits in a vinegar-water solution usually dissolves the rust so that your left with a 'clean looking yet smelly card'
is that a sign of damage or a sign that it may not perform as well as a new one
@@muhammadbasit7644 it's a sign that it's a smelly card. The performance speaks for itself, though.
@@DanielFerreira-ez8qd let's say ur buying a used card. Would the vinegar smell be a bad thing to look out for?
@@muhammadbasit7644 I would say no. its a little odd but works to clean it alright. it shouldn't affect performance especially since the vinegary card in this video was fine
I bought a used mining rx 580 years ago that had some oxidization on the heat sync, must have been before the miners learned the vinegar soak trick, about 2 weeks after i installed the card i started getting random shut downs followed by the card dying a few days later, one of the specs of rust must have been blown up into the PCB by the fan and caused a short, got my money back through buyer protection but now i just buy new, at the very least i would avoid buying from anybody who lives near the coast or in a high humidity zone
I know it may not be the easiest thing to actually produce but if you want to encourage people to buy used its a perfect time to bring back scrapyard wars!
You can even get lab involved to run some more in depth testing on the systems you build
I would love this.
PLEASE LINUS MAKE IT HAPPEN!
it would have to be with people from labs secret shopper style as linus and luke are too popular
Scrapyard Wars is one of my favorite things ever on RUclips
He's said it a lot before, it's not that he doesn't want to do it, it's that it's really difficult to do because pretty much all the sellers already know it's Linus or Luke.
Bought used 3070 some months ago and it ran with 100% fun speed once in the game. Thermals looked fine, but when I checked the hot-spot, it was at 107°C. I opened the card and found out, that only half the chip was covered in thermal paste. Re-pasted it and it workes fine.
100% fun speed :D
LOL sadly this could have been a factory goof as easily as someones failed attempt to repaste.
Same experience with buying a used 3070. Hotspot temperatures were off the charts.
Ended up repasting followed by swapping the thermal pads. Works fine now.
This is a common issue with heavily used or older cards. My 2060 (which I bought new in 2019) also started to develop this hotspot issue. A good high viscosity thermal paste should bring any used GPU to original speeds easily and keep hotspot temps under control. Just apply the thermal paste well, as in don't be afraid to use too much. Direct on-die paste application (Like on GPUs) needs to be really thorough, and using too much paste is much better than using too little in this case.
Which is why they sold it, they didn't know how to fix it and wanted to make a quick buck, you got to reap the rewards of their ignorance
I've literally been waiting for this video for so long, thank god it came. I've ran a few multiple mined cards for awhile now and never had issues with GPU issues and overall performances. I always knew that it was way blown out of proportion of how bad 'mined' cards are. Honestly just make sure it's a good brand with a decent warranty and one that is transferrable and you will be fine.
Sadly not all share ur same opinion i bought 3 different gpus (for mining)(3 different sellers) all of them didnt last a month one died in 1 week you might think its must be something else but i went to a asus store bought a brand new one its still running now 5 years now on the same rig that broke those used gpu
I recently bought a used GPU that ended up working like brand new. Should be noted that there are used computer shops that receive used GPUs, and test and repair them before redistributing. They will charge little extra for their work saving these cards, but it can make buying used a lot less of a headache while still being heaps cheaper than brand new.
where
Hardware degrades and there is no way it worked like brand new. You did not have brand new one to compare with therefore such claim is very misleading. Not to mention warranty ,)
@@justjack3075 i think he meant the performance is like brand new, a new gpu or a used one will perform the same if the used one have the same condition (in terms of cleanliness)
Every single gpu I’ve bought has been off marketplace ( gtx 970 and a gtx 1080 sea hawk) and never had a prob problem
In my country used GPU from repair shop is big no, better buy from personal user
I worked at a gaming PC manufacturer as quality control/repair and noticed a consistent issue with Eagle branded cards from gigabyte. Fresh out of the box there was a 15c variance between the ones that ran coolest and the ones that ran hottest. The cool ones ran around 80, hot ran 95c.
Just avoid gigabyte Eagle cards new or used.
I remember hearing miners disliking the eagle cards too.
Good rule of thumb, but its especially true for Eagle/Vision/Gaming series ones. Early 30xx series cards came with horrible thermal pads out of the box and throttled from day one. Oh and they leaked oil all over...
Thanks for the tips 👍
Oh Gigabyte
I've always said you can judge generally a GPU manufactures quality by the size the heat sink is and how much it actually contacts where the die is located. More heatsink especially in newer cards is almost 99.9999999% better than less.
People are always constantly like WHY do you stick with high end GPU manufactures like EVGA that clearly go overboard with their manufacturing. Well I'd rather pay a premium for something that is constructed a premium than pay a premium price for something that is clearly just scalping the already low end side of the market. Another way of saying this is you get what you pay for.
Something to note about the part near the end where it was mentioned that you weren't buying especially savvy, I think it's important to consider that not everyone knows the warning signs for buying used, like if they show photos of the fans or it plugged in vs out in hand, or if they show benchmarks or anything else. A novice might think anything they see with just 1 image is good enough and end up getting duped. Hopefully they can get their money back through buyer protection through ebay in such a case, but it would turn a lot of people away from buying used because they just don't want to deal with the hassle of return shipping, even if they get the money back, only to have to try again after just getting burnt.
Yup
This is a really good comment
That's the biggest obstacle for me. And being slightly grossed out by using other people's stuff, I guess. Having it in your place feels almost like having them as roommates, at least given they apparently often don't get it in pristine condition prior to selling. So I tend to use things until they completely die on me, but refrain from buying used, unless from friends.
It also seems there are more people who only buy new than there are people who only buy used, so we have large amounts of unnecessary waste, which is sad. Refurb programs might have helped with it, not sure why we do not have more of them at big brick-and-mortar retailers. It would be so much easier to buy used knowing a trained team has checked the part, cleaned it, supplied missing screws and whatnot.
@@Lodinnwhat scares me most is how intricate the scams have gotten - they reprogram them to say it’s another card and swap coolers etc. have even heard they shave down the gpu die and stamp in to say something else and by the time you actually find out what the card even is - it’s too late. From what I understand benchmarking is the true only way to know what you have. I can’t buy used because I don’t have a running computer to test it. I’m even scared of new sealed 4090’s because they can peel the seal sticker off without tearing it! People are shit these days and it’s unfortunate I’ll miss out on deals because I just can’t trust people.
I always try to sell my used stuff instead of throwing them away, and I definitely will return the money if the product I sold didn't work (that's why I sell locally). The last i7 3770 I sold found its new owner and continues to live a happy life of crunching numbers.
And I always encourage people to buy used, even helping them by visiting the seller and doing tests. You better save damn landfills.
I tend to save my older stuff in case newer stuff dies and I need replacement, but then they get so old it's not even worth it to sell lol
imo 2nd hand products are way underrated
@@Phantogram2 I mean, the dude managed to sell a 2014 CPU, so I'm pretty sure your stuff would still find a buyer
better than ending up as e waste in a landfill
As someone who just got into PC gaming within the last year, videos like this help tremendously. You've given us the tools and knowledge needed to purchase used PC components confidently (within reason, obviously).
my wife bought an ex-mining 3060 ti and not a single problem with it. i'll admit i was doubtful at first, but she gets flawless performance and this video put the rest of my worries to rest. big fan of the points you made about preventing e-waste by buying used
I'm not a big fan of his blaming someone not buying, than scum who would ewaste a gpu, instead of selling lower or giving freely to a good home or even bare minimum selling to an ecycler.
mining gpus are usually treated really well
i bought a 3060 ti tuf used for almost 40% less of the new one and oh man it got 0 problems and I saved money even it still got the plastic rap I still got the satisfaction of the new one
Miners need flawless performing cards to mine 24/7. They tend to look after them to keep them clean and cool. There's little reason for them to not be in great order as one that doesn't work well can bring down the whole rig causing all the other cards to stop mining, losing them money. I would personally actively seek out a card from a mining rig to use.
but miners are evil hurr duurrr
I've been using a second hand mining EVGA GTX 1060 for a number of years now, and it's never let me down. Will replace it eventually since it's having more trouble running 1080p 60fps at high on newer games, but I'd say I definitely got my $100 worth back in 2018.
You got it for a reasonable price. Linus paid 20% less compared to new. Without warranty.
@@omgpickle 20% new, at the time they were new.
Priced to inflation and that doubles.
Even the 3060, new, is over 20% more adjusted for inflation. They are STILL selling for over $450 new and they are almost 2 years old at this point.
3GB of VRAM is strange. Should have had 8 like other cards.
@@bland9876 I agree. That's why I have the 6GB version.
I also have a 1060 6gb zotac amp, bought used back in 2019, still working fine, the owner sold because he wanted an amd card, the card was 6 months old at the time i bought and still had a year and a half of warranty
The Eagle OC is also a discount card to begin with so not as surprising that it was the one that failed.
Fortunately, as you said, eBay has a great buyer protection scheme so all you lose is a bit of shipping time.
@@K7L3-93 Yea I imagine 99.9% are probably totally fine.
As Linus said, gaming is actually harder on a card than mining because of the constant boosting. Similar to a car engine which takes far more ware from stop-start driving than it does from long highway miles.
@@koloved1 Yes but he means that it is constant power use so there is no boosting up and down continually, which is better for durability.
Is this typically the case with Gigabyte brand cards? Are they known for being less reliable?
That Eagle OC most likely only have 1 bad memory IC.
Its a easy repair for a electronics repair shop.
If you do the diagnose yourself and find with IC is the bad one and just ask for the chip replacing service, the repair guy will probably not ask for much since its a 5mins~15mins job.
You will have to bring your own replacement part or pay for the part to the repair shop if they have it available.
Repair shops usually don't provide repair warranty in those cases.
@@enermaxstephens1051 Not in my experience, I have run a few Gigabyte cards over the years and never had a problem.
However the Eagle OC specifically is a discount product, it is made to be the cheapest board partner card in the lineup so if anything is going to be less reliable that's the card.
This is an awesome video, the subject matter is an actual service to everyday consumers. Lots of videos are cool and interesting but this one is an actual value creator. I particularly liked the "it's faulty, don't fix it, send it back to the seller, not your problem".
Buying second hand is always a risk. But it’s also the best option for many budget setups
Yeah but it's never as big of a risk as people make it seem to be. As long as you know what to look for and can find a seller that's willing to communicate and run tests, you should be fine for the most part.
Not just budget setups these days. There isn't a new card on the market I would buy because of the prices, so used is the only way to go.
@@ACEcrafter77 It depends of the procedence of the hardware you are buying... I wouldn't buy a card knowing than it have been running high loads non-stop for a year...
I've bought used parts before and never had an issue with any of them. Even the CPU & motherboard that are running with a 25% overclock for 5 years now. Or my old GPU that I ran with 20% for nearly 8 years without issues.
Might be an outlier, but when you are careful, you should be fine buying used.
Yeah I was really glad that I could buy a 1 year old 3080 for a little over $400.
I bought a GPU from a miner, he was very chill and gave me a great deal and lots of info about how he ran his cards such as clock speed and etc... At the end I got a 3060 TI and till this day it's one of the best deals ever!
I grabbed a 3090 from a miner and it was in flawless condition. Honestly they probably took better care of it than most gamers do.
@@pbpx Most miners take care of their GPU better than gamers, it is regularly cleaned, and keep in a cool environment to ensure the GPU's running at it's best mining ability
@@eddilicious3025 Plus, most miners undervolt their gpus due to rising energy cost. Compared to some gamers that overclock them.
@@juandelgado9477 exactly. Miners have all the financial incentives to keep their money printing machines running as long as they can lol.
I bought the same one from a miner too. Great card.
You can't imagine how much tankful I am for this video, and I don't even sell GPUs, but I do buy them, always second hand since my last new purchase that was a 480 when GPU prices were fair.
And I've never had a problem buying used GPUs, like you said, is about knowing how to do it, and knowing the reality about GPUs life span and degradation.
I have bought a used gpu because of Linus's opinion about the chance of getting great deals. I was searching for it for 2 month and originally i was looking for a 3070ti new or a 3080 used. I had to stretch my budget an extra 80 dollars but it was worth it... I got a 3090 (ofc used) with even 1,5 years of warranty left. I not only managed to find a great deal but found a great heater for my room.
So just thanks for giving me the courage to go to the used market!
Warranties don't transfer to used GPUs, but yeah that's a good deal.
@@summushieremiasclarkson4700 Did you not watch the whole video?
@@summushieremiasclarkson4700 It depends on manufacturer warranty T&C I believe, and varies per company. Some just need serial number to claim warranty, some need the receipt so it's a case by case kinda deal. EVGA was good about this I think.
Great. That about the heater was a bit funny hehe
@@lucidnonsense942 I was saying that for legal reasons. No manufacturer here in The US fights a warranty claim as long as you present proof of purchase. I know this for a fact.
I bought a 3070 for £312 (it was £340, but i used my nectar points) just after Christmas and it works great. I also sell used parts often as a side hustle and I always offer to do benchmarks on any game that i own. Good seller rating also helps you sell more stuff in the long-term for even higher prices because it indicates that you're a trustworthy seller.
Hey, I-m probably not in your area of operations, but I still want to thank you for trying to be as transparent of a seller as I can imagine one to be, glad to see someone taking care of and finding a new home for less than new parts that still have a life to live.
Hiw did you get a 3070 for only £312
@@jk7878 eBay, of course.
Recently bought a used 3060 ti founders edition off Ebay for a decent price. Came looking brand new but made sure to extensively test it to make sure its working as should before the return exchange is voided. Videos like these are a great help for people who are thinking about taking the plunge on a used product.
As spanish-speaker I recommend you guys changing the audio track, the AI you used sounds very very robotic and it's out of sync
That 2080ti I bought for ~507usd just before the lockdowns, the 30 series release and everything went out of stock was one of the better deals I had in the last few years. Gotta thank FOMO for that one.
Same man the exact same deal for me because everyone thought they were going to be worthless. Got like 2 and a half years of heavy gaming out of it before I got artifacts. Warzone 2 had something to do with it though lol
Buying a used gpu is never a bad idea if you’re careful enough!
i bought used 1070 3 years ago and its still kicks 4ss in 1080p
You’re*
@@kalestra4198 L grammar police
And being careful enough only requires taking a few extra minutes to vet an eBay listing and seller, or spending a few minutes testing a marketplace thing instead of just taking it and assuming it’s fine. Buying a used gpu is just a bad idea if you’re lazy.
@@pdblouin then buy new. i think 20% off is an amazing discount as most electronics really dont just up and fail especially after use. and if its obviously not as advertized then return it if possible
I watched your videos constantly and couldn't help myself but think 'how hard could it be to build a pc' so i gave myself a challenge and bought not only a gpu, but cpu, RAM, power supply, all second hand. Up until now everything works as it should and and within the spec. So far so good 👍
Well done you!
Can I ask what spec you went for please? Purely out of curiosity. And how did the build go?
I did a used upgrade last year. New CPUs and motherboards are coming out so I guess the ones that were about three generations old might be getting sold secondhand as the people are buying new CPUs which were worth an upgrade. Richer people can do this.
I got a i7 9700k, mobo, RAM and a small cheap SSD for £300.
I had what I've done an upgrade for about 9 years because I thought I would have to reinstall all my software and windows. But there's a very simple workaround. There are some 5-minute RUclips videos if someone's interested. Basically you uninstall the motherboard drivers and turn off the computer. Then you put that hard drive from the old motherboard CPU into the new computer motherboard CPU combo and switch it back on. All your stuff is on that hard drive and it will talk to the new CPU motherboard combo boot into Windows ok.
Wedding windows just install the new drivers as needed.
No software needed to be changed!
I think this is something that should be promoted by AMD and Intel because it put me off spending a lot of money with them cuz I thought I would have to reinstall all my software.
This is the point of the video. For people to get better values. Unfortunately, it also contained some gross blame in the wrong direction.
That's awesome bro. God bless it
Thats what we love to hear. Glad it worked out for you
@@Google_Does_Evil_Now Glad to hear that.
I went for all AMD bc in my region it's significantly cheaper than Intel/Nvidia counterparts for example Intel i5 6th gen is more than double the price of the Ryzen 5 5000 series, so i went with Asus a320 prime MB (new), Ryzen 5 5500 cpu, RX 580 8GB, crucial ballistix 16GB kit 3000MHz, and thermaltake 450w power supply.
Thanks for this video! I've had the same experience buying used. As long as you're not buying something that is at the end of its lifecycle, say from less than 8 years ago, you should be good most of the time. Still rocking a second-hand R7 260x for light gaming and bought an open-box 165Hz MSi monitor recently that was also completely fine. Plus saves you a ton of money!
I had most of my issues is when buying hardware for ancient computers, such as a Pentium III build I restored a while back.
0:44 "Rescue GPU" is the perfect way to think about it. Had a hard life working in the Ether mines up to this point, probably in a cramped and overcrowded datacenter, forced to work 24 hours a day, all while never rendering a frame of video, until it was no longer needed, unceremoniously yanked out the only home it had ever known, and put on the auction block.
Least you can do is give it a good home. A nice mid-tower with good airflow, some RGB to keep the nightmares at bay when you've got it idling. Maybe take it on a nice cross-country drive in Euro Truck Simulator every now and again...
I'm excited to see how the labs are going to preserve hard data to compare with in the future.
Preserving the data doesn't work. Software changes too much, and GPU code is compiled on your machine by the GPU driver, so the current driver version is part of the product. The only proper approach is to keep physical hardware and have enough test benches and automation that you can collect new data whenever a new product comes out.
@@Vegemeister1 This guy gets it, and his point stands twofold in Nvidia's case. At this stage in the game, they're just as much a software company as they are a component manufacturer, and it isn't uncommon to see one of their drivers wickedly change the performance of certain cards on a case by case basis, sometimes to a benefit and others to a detriment, even years after a card's initial release.
All of my pc parts were bought used ever since my first pc, besides storage which can be more sketchy. Only when I got my 3080ti new, I wanted to buy an O11D XL new aswell. There are risks in everything. However, I also encourage buying used like Linus for all the same reasons he listed. I havent personally used Ebay, but that buyer protection seems like a pretty solid risk mitigation. Loved the video! I just wish scrapyard wars could be a viable series again 😔
Same here. I buy alot on ebay with extended warranties.
Same I always buy used after buying my first parts back in 2014 FX 4130 & 650 Ti Boost 💀
@@reynaldiwidjaja277 nicee haha. My first build was FX 6300 and R9 380 4GB... what a POS lol
I will never mainline used storage but perfectly acceptable to check it with S.M.A.R.T. software and use it for media. If you regularily kills your operating system for fresh installs , can be more acceptable or raid as the back up .
I would rather buy new sorry I just can't buy a card that I don't know how long it will last or the condition of the components either.
I hope you guys now do a follow up video on this performing the same tests after a proper maintainance to each GPU with a good clean, quality TIM and pads and stock vbios. Ive some nice improvements after doing this to mined gpus
I had bought a used 3070 Ti, $400. Unfortunately, it did have a major problem that resulted in it "crapping out under 3d load". However, Asus RMA agreed and sent me a new one, and with how easy that process was (sans the price of shipping) I'd say it worked out way better than expected.
i know you guys made a "how to buy used" guide for computer components, but I would like to see an updated one for those who are either terrified of buying used or would like to, but doesn't know the best way to do it safely with the lowest, realistic, risk of being swindled.
Buy from a PC parts company that has tested their products or buy on eBay and return if anything is wrong with it.
Hasn't changed much
I totally support this. This past year I've got great deals on used GPUs from FB marketplace that have gone in my PC, as well as builds for friends and family. All still running just fine.
As you said, constant heat and power usage within spec almost doesn't wear components at all. It's heat cycling that does as it causes microscopic expansion and contraction which will crack solder joints over time.
Yep. Which is the reason why (apart from running 24/7 games servers) my pc is on 24/7.
@@TheTastefulThickness And the person that invents materials that are utterly resistant or immune to heat cycling wear is going to be wealthy beyond words. We'd effectively have equipment that could last orders of magnitude longer.
Many PS3s and Xbox 360s are crying out from the grave from the mere mention of heat cycling.
And not only the heat cycles but the fact that gaming cycles tend to run hotter and with more power than consistent mining loads.
@@RicochetForce Vehicle manufacturers intentionally don't build vehicles that'll last indefinitely. It's been determined by scientists that cars that will almost never break are absolutely doable with current tech, but planned obsolescence keeps new innovation and new purchases going forward.
Bought 2 watercooled cards just before covid that were clearly used for mining; Nvidia 1080 TI and AMD Vega 64. I repasted them and +3 years later they still run perfect.
Big Thank you Linus for your care about the environment regarding E-waste!
I had considered purchasing miner cards in the past but was worried about any performance dip. This video helps demystify and debunk some past concerns and moving forward I'll be more open to consider used/mined cards. Thanks Linus! 👍
The performance dip is not a issue, the cards dying within weeks of purchase is. Especially after seeing all the images of "card refurbishing" I would consider every second-hand card as being mined heavily and likely to die. However if it is in bulk, like for a rendering farm, where a few dead cards would still make everything profitable, then I would go for used cards.
When buying used gpu I’d say the most common consideration is adding cost of new fans. Most I’ve bought the fans were operable but bearings started making scratchy noises even after lubing.
Those Mofos never oil the shafts. Then without oil the bearing literally eats into the shaft.
Too late oiling is not gonna solve anything.
Think about what would happen to a car engine lacking oil.
This is a really important topic. I've been an advocate for used hardware since I started watching you/entered PC gaming in 2013, and although I didn't always buy used I wasn't ever afraid to. I've only gotten burned once (GTX 590) in 2014 ish and it stung, but every other used GPU and CPU I bought (10+?) Worked flawlessly. There's a reason reduce and re-use come before recycle. Thank you for making this!
I would love to see a similar deep dive into buying used phones too!
This is a great video and I will definitely look at buying second hand instead of waiting indefinitely for new hardware I can't afford.
Used phones have the issue of the battery being degraded, but otherwise, its the same deal. If you replace the battery, the phone is likely as good as it was when new.
GPUs can fail in a lot of ways, and it's not always obvious. But a phone either works or it doesn't, the only part that wears is the battery and those are easily replaced.
@@randomblock1_ The screen, case, water proof seal, speakers and mic, all wear too. Though some of those wear so slow many people replace the device before it fails. Much of this depends on personal use cases too.
The biggest downside in the phone resale market going forward is the mass adoption of OLED screens imo. Don't get me wrong, I love my 120hz OLED and wouldn't have it any other way, but show me a single Samsung user who doesn't have their carrier/battery icon/clock at least partially burnt into the top of their screen after they've had that bad boy for 2-3 years. Not extremely noticeable, but definitely another hurdle to overcome and box to check off when inspecting a used phone for potential purchase, and something to take into consideration if selling a used phone with an OLED screen.
Also to those saying battery is the only thing that can degrade in a cellular, it isn't 2008, there's a lot on higher-end phones that can wear and tear beyond the battery. OLED screens, OIS motors in your camera, gyroscope and accelerometer, vibration motor, speakers, etc. These are all moving parts that are subject to wear and tear and WILL degrade the more they are used.
@@ItsJoLapo I would expect there to be a setting to turn off the screen completely if you so wanted, right? i mean, no need to keep those things on the screen when the phone is just laying there unused, anyways.
I recently picked up an XFX 6700XT Merc for a little over 50% MSRP (so who knows how much less than it was purchased for originally) and I think it may have been a mining card with one of the fans sounding like it's on it's way out. However it's working great, a reapplication of thermal paste has improved the thermals and a new set of fans are on their way from China, I'm really happy with the value and performance I've gotten.
Yea, the only thing that usually breaks down for good is the fans. I got a Zoac 3070 which is already known for it's bad fans (and fan bearing sounds), but so far it's working. If one of those breaks down, I'll either order a net set for around 30€ or I might to some experimenting with slamming noctua fans on it.
My mom is still not convinced.
Due in part to the video last year, I recently bought a used 6700XT for 400 CAD. The seller brought it to me and I ran a test on Furmark before buying. It's been working great and is a huge upgrade from my RX480
That's a good deal.
It's been consistently 400AUD in Australia as well. I never got one since I already got a 6600, but it tempts me every day I go to eBay. It's been half a year already since second hand 6700xt had stayed at that price.
And that RX480 is still a very capable card
Wow massive upgrade, congrats
I got an RX 6600 XT (Sapphire Nitro+ edition) from a miner for 2.850.000 IDR (190 USD), and It works perfectly fine.
Upgraded from RX 570 greatly saves my electricity bill! 😁Yes, on paper the TDP of these 2 cards are similar. But the game that I play only consumes ~45% load and 30 watts of power from RX 6600 XT, while on RX 570 it consumes 100% load and 130watts of power. Another funny thing is the fan of my RX 6600 XT is not even spinning! Because the temp doesn't reach 60 C while gaming. it makes my pc more silent.
Thank you Linus, I been saying the same things for two years, Nvidia and AMD were not only complicit with the scalpers, miners and bots, but they were the head of the snake. This is why I intend to buy used this generation right now the 1070/80's and 5700's are looking to be where I'll be looking for now, my gaming needs are much less than many other gamers though
I've been rocking a sapphire pulse 5700xt for 3 years now and it still kicks ass
Hell, they both were working on _mining-only_ hardware, that were basically pure massively-parallel compute that was literally optimized for crypto algos (e.g., SHA256 hashing for Bitcoin) without even having things like monitor connections, right up until a couple big crypto crashes made the whole idea less financially viable and difficulty increases for memory-intensive currencies like Ethereum pushed GPU mining off the table.
@@snakefinn, Appreciate it, have a friend with a 5700 and says the same
Honestly, I loved this video for the sincerity and amount of information. I bought a used (still in warranty) 2070 Super during the pandemic but between the 30 series announcement and launch. This card has ran basically anything I have thrown at it and the only reason for me to consider upgrading would be to get a card with more Vram. But, using a Corsair 380T which wouldn't support thicker cards I am still not gonna upgrade any time soon. (Even if I had the money.)
I got a GTX 1080 TI, & before that I was using a 1060. My brother is still using a GTX 960 which is running fine for him. We play REALLY like games like Valorant, Roblox, CS:GO, & then more random stuff like Tekkit (an old minecraft modpack from 2011). So at this point we have ZERO need to upgrade based off what we play.
I do play a bit more intense stuff from time to time like Rust or Teardown (hence the better GPU) but I try to buy the amount of power that I need.
Almost everything in my pc, except for its SSDs, PSU and case, are used components. My laptop is used, my VR headset is used. Even my phone is used. It all pretty much works like new.
Great video!
I like buying used stuff idk why 😅
LTT just keeps getting better! The lab results are really useful. It makes it so much easier to get trustworthy information on the effectiveness of various hardware
I know this is uncommon in the US (and probably Canada), but in Europe it is very common and if you all push, it can become common - TEST electronics either at the seller's place, ask the seller to come to your place for testing, or agree to meet up somewhere where it can be tested, like a local computer repair shop. In the first two scenarios, make sure to have a portable testbench or ready up your own PC so that you can chug it in and test it with Furmark, GPUMemTest and Superposition. All these tests are for free and Superposition is good because you can set a custom resolution that is really high to max out the VRAM. GPUMemTest is good, but sometimes fails for no reason, especially on some specific models like the GTX 970 line. If the seller has no idea about benchmark software, ask them to at least start a somewhat intensive game like Assassin's Creed Odyssey or GTA V at really high settings. If you wanna test the card at a PC repair shop, offer them a little cash for their time and effort. You don't need to mention that it is a sale necessarily, just tell them you can not pinpoint the issue and would like to test the GPU for 5 minutes. There may be some PC parts donation organizations or similar at your place so maybe they would help you with that. Anyhow, I am no longer buying anything that I don't test personally, or where I know that the selling platform sides with the buyer by default. When selling used stuff, make sure to document the functionality with a lot of high quality photos, wide shots and closeups, with serial numbers, and even a video or two. Invite the buyer to your home to demonstrate the functionality one last time or send them the video via WeTransfer or upload it to YT as an unlisted video. All of this will save you so much hassle with dealing with both scammy sellers and ignorant buyers.
I would love a follow-up video with long-term testing.
To see if the aggregate failure rate of the used GPUs (over what would be a typical new-card warranty period) exceeds the ~ %20 discount.
I'd say by the time they fail, they already couldn't keep up with modern software.
@@TotallySlapdash for cards that where used to mine ETH the memory suffers, especially if they where overclocked, but if the miner was concious didnt overclock much, undervolted to keep temps down and took proper care of the cards, there is no reason for that card to not last 3 to 4 years as a gaming card, ive been gaming on a 1080 for around three years now, and i mined 24 7 with it for three years prior to that, still mine with it on the background when not playing
The lack of significant discount is exactly why I don't buy used GPUs. They have some of the shortest expected lifespans of all components, on par with hard drives. If I'm buying something without a 2 year warranty that's essentially had its lifespan cut in half, it better be seriously cheap.
No need. I have owned 50+ gpus over 11+ years of mining and gaming. I have seen ZERO failures.
Mining GPUs probably fail less often than gaming ones because they're not running extreme temperatures and they don't have the power cycles that gamers put their cards through.
With an average 22% discount that means every fourth or fifth card is free.
Honestly Linus, I'm glad you did this because I have my coworkers constantly saying to me but what if it was used for mining whenever we are testing cards to buy in at work, the amount of times I've told them that a mining GPU is more likely to be better kept than a gaming one is unreal. Maybe if I show them this they might chill about it :')
Hi Linus. Thanks to you and your team for all the hard work.
I've pretty much only bought used GPUs. I just picked up a used 3090 from an Ethereum mining rig. It works perfect and I got it for less than 1/2 the normal price.
Love to see MSFS in the benchmarks here. Hoping they continue to use that title going forward.
It's the only game that even stresses my 3070ti on ultra. Everyone talked down about this model.
@@thealien_ali3382 Nvidia came to their senses and started selling 3080s with 12GB - but _way_ too late. As you said, it should have been 12 from the start. But I think if you're running a 1440p screen and use DLSS Quality, 10GB is still OK.
single core unoptimized piece of garbage
@@KillahMate been running 1440 on my 3070ti just fine mostly because it has the upgraded gddr6x memory. 4k may strain it in certain cases.
Perfect timing! I'm looking to build a computer from used parts, yet I have found that so many people are against this. In particularly interested in a used GPU, CPU and RAM (if I can find a good deal). Motherboard I'm a little iffy on, but Amazon has some warehouse ones that have me interested. Same with cases. But... Lack of warranty has me a bit spooked. But I figured if I get it from Amazon, I can always return it in the first 30 days.
But when I bring up this idea, people act like I'm crazy or dumb. I'm just kinda surprised that so many people are against used parts when eBay and Amazon have such good customer protection.
Also, I really appreciate your concern about the environment too. Seriously, I'm in the environmental field and I'm all about buying used goods elsewhere. Maybe that was all show, but it's definitely something that the electronic world needs to work on.
Finish the build? How was your experience?
My personal experience with mined cards is that usually the first issue you will encounter with them, apart from the visual condition, are the fans - rom the moment you plug in the GPU, that's pretty much the first thing you are gonna notice whether they are working and sound fine or not. You can often tell a mined card is gonna be decent quality just from the looks - a badly kept one will have leaking thermal pads, it will be greasy or dusty. That was my first experience with a mined 1060 (got it from some marketplace from a random dude), which i did return despite it working fine ingame and despite the fact that i coulda just cleaned it up and changed the fans, it just didn't felt like the kind of card that would last long. Then i got a 6700XT mined for 3 months (as opposed to 9 for the 1060). It was in MUCH better condition, it had no dust or greasiness to it, looked brand new, the only thing was a little bit of coil whine under heavy usage, but even that was barely audible to my ears, so i still haven't reallly bothered changing up the fans, and i have heard of new cards having an issue like this, especially 4090's. The temps are actually really good - at full usage the junction temperature doesn't even reach 70. I got this card from a reputable computer shop, who i knew i could trust and even got a year warranty with it.
The bottom line is, it all depends who you buy it from and how honest the seller is. The more the seller tells you about the card's condition, the more likely the card is not a cat in the bag and you can be assured it will work just as fine or even better than a card used just for gaming.
People slept on mined cards, when eth ditched miners I got a rx 6800xt for 350 and a 3070 for $200. No issues so far, my whole build is off of used parts.
@@Secure_Mental Yeah, buying used parts is quite beneficial in my opinion. As long as you make sure you are not getting ripped off with a faulty part, i'd say it's a pretty good way to save money and at the same time contribute to recycling of electronics.
I recently bought a 2060 12gb brand new, and that was DOA. Hell, if you can get a benchmark or even better a video of the card running from the seller, you're in good shape. It really made me rethink the used market.
One of the best videos you made. Thank you for covering this subject
Hey Linus! Your the goat! Thank you for all the advice over the years and continuing to be an absolute unit in how you and the LMG team disperse information that is just unbiased. Promoting Recycling in this System Integration space is huge, considering how much waste is involved from START, to FINISH. Good on you
Recycling is a meme, they just dump everything in one garbage pile
Not entirely sure about electronics tho
Goat: A domesticated ruminant mammal (Capra hircus) having backward curving horns and a beard in the male, raised for its wool, milk, and meat. Did you just insult Linus?-=
I got a gigabyte 3090 oc used this week for ~€840. Happy with it so far. Hot spot temp seems to get high under 100% load, but I'm seeing people on forums saying that a thermal paste + pads change makes a huge difference.
or cap the load to 80% or so, is a 3090 there isnt much difference between 200fps and 170fps
i avoid 3090s without warranty cuz theres a good chance they just die on you at some point, source: repair shops in China, fun fact, 2080tis are pretty problematic too.
@@yukisnoww Are you talking about the 2080 TI issue that affected the cards at launch, back in 2018? I just googled and I had line came up but I don't know anything else about it.
I have a 1080 Ti and it works perfectly.
Neat
If your 3090 needs thermal pads replaced (which helps heaps), its unlikely it was used by a miner. Not a miner who knew how to mine on a 3090 anyway. They all run super hot and needed pads replaced with some decent ones to have any chance of getting good mining performance out of them without thermal throttling.
I got an EVGA 1080ti SC2 hybrid just before the 30 series launch, used for €350, fantastic card for a fantastic price, still my main card and will be for years to come.
So far I've bought about 15 used GPU's in my life, and I never had issues with any of them. Worst case scenario they needed some cleaning.
Haven't bought a new gpu since my EVGA 980 SC reference in 2014 (still runs 1612Mhz OC w modded bios) 2 EVGA titan x maxwells (ran hot af cause reference coolers) and 2 EVGA 1080ti FTW3s, one 1080ti was brand new and not a lottery card ~2030Mhz but said used (never taken apart no sag and super low thermals) and the other had a decent amount of vape residue has a decent amount of sag and runs a bit warmer and needs thermal pads as they kind of disintegrated, but it OCs to 2088Mhz haven't had a problem with a card yet period. Oh and a EVGA 970 SC that I got off a buddy free and it doesn't OC at all even with a modded bios
After watching videos taking about the used market. I bought a used 6800 XT, 12700k, Asus Tuf z690-plus, Evga 850w, and TForce Tuf gaming 16 Gb Ram. I paired all this with a new case, cpu cooler, and nvme ssd. I ended up saving about 30 percent vs new. I use this for gaming daily and it works great.
I buy used or open box GPUs all the time, great way to save money and the lemons are generally rare. The only GPUs I've bought brand new were low end cards for extra monitors,a R7 580 on launch, and a Radeon HD 3850 AGP as the thing wasn't very common even at the time.
Ahhh open box....
*Flashback to Steve from Gamers Nexus with Newegg selling him a mobo they themselves tried to RMA with mashed LGA pins, didn't want to pay Gigiabyte 100 dollars and then put it back on the shelves as open box*
Why do u buy all the time?
THANK YOU for this video! Too many people are on the used GPU bad, ex mining GPU superbad train. I've been rocking a ex mining 3090 (basically the worst card to be an ex miner cause of the memory on the back) for a little over a year now with no issues. I just did like you said, talked to seller about it's history then thoroughly tested the card when I got it. All checked out good so I've been happily gaming on it since & I got it at great price for the time I bought it. Had I bought into the used = bad narrative I'd either still be on a 1080ti or much less performant card for the same price I paid for the 3090.
"Too many people are on the used GPU bad, ex mining GPU superbad train."
I mean... I don't mind, personally. It just means more used cards that I can buy. lol
@@arnox4554 Yeah, true LOL!
@@robr640 For me it depends on the price for a used card. Depending on the Card when i would get a brand new one for 100-200€ more i rather take the new one.
@@robr640 I know, and they would accuse you of being a closeted miner for simply stating a fact. Doesn't matter what program you run, be it games, miners, or rendering.
Sometimes we should all just say thank you to Linus for all videos . There is no one like him in this planet. We should appreciate our treasure
Thanks for all the great video! As someone who's been restoring vintage computers for over 15 years I can tell you that leaky capacitors can smell like fishy vinegar. Now I don't think these GPU cards are old enough to have leaky capacitors... however... if they were baking inside a very hot computer case for a long time that might accelerate the aging process. I know that bad capacitors are more likely to be found in a vintage computer near hot places like inside a hard working part of a power supply. So although it's unlikely that the vinegar smell Linus found in this video means leaky capacitors, it's not impossible, and I'd say that any used electronics with a bad smell is a bad sign.
I usually agree with every hot take linus have. I really do... And this video covers almost all my concerns about mined gpu's whenever i participate in facebook tech and gaming groups in my language and country.
But what may be truth in your side of the world may be not truth in ours...
In my side of the world, miners where the scum of the scum, they only saw gpus as a money printing machine each gpu "will last what it will last", without regards of extending its lifetime, some even where still buying gpu's for mining one month before the merge, so many cards saw the very last days of mining nevertheless some others where mining even since 2 or 3 years...
When the merge happened and the sell groups were flooded with used gpus, the very few sellers were telling that those gpus were used in mining, many explicitly wrote "not one service is done to this card, warranty seal intact, original thermal paste and pads "as if it was a good thing... The cherry on top was the price, it was just about 10 or 20 percent less than a new card. Dissregarding the fact that a mining card should be at half the price of a new one...
You see, buying a mined gpu is and always will be about the long term duration of the card, it was never about if your games will run at the same frames per second as a new gpu, or even if the card mantains the same clocks at the same speeds as a new card or even as a gaming card... Its all about of the long term life-spam of the card... A card that is used for mining, will have less lifetime, this is a fact. Tho, many still defend this statement.
Its undeniable that a card that was run at +700 or even +1000 mhz on the vram 24/7 for who knows how many months or even years...That card WILL fail sooner than a card who might be used for gaming (in worst cases no-life gaming sessions) of 8hs a day...
The vram of a mined GPU WILL fail sooner than a card that was used for gaming... And the one who discredits this simple does not understand the limit specs of what an electronic device should be run at... OC of any type , will always degrade the component if run 24/7 as is on mining.... Just plain and simple fact.
I only bought a used GPU once. It was a Vega 56 (Powercolor Red Dragon) and I knew it was very likely to come from a mining farm. It worked fine. For a year. Then not at all.
I'm not saying this is what you should expect though, just sharing my extremely limited experience with used GPUs.
HBM cards(Vega 56/64, Radeon VII) are a special case. The HBM sustains some sort of unknown damage when mining which makes their failure rate very high compared to GDDR GPUs(GDDR6 seems to have increased failure rates as well, but not to the same extent.). But the worst part is HBM, being on package, is not replacable or repairable.
Just to add my own anecdotal experience, I bought a 1070ti (MSI Titanium) used on ebay after the first big crash in 2019 for an absolute steal, and almost exactly *4 years* later it's still serving me very well in my main system. A year ago I lost one of my display ports, but the card is 6 years old at this point so I think that's just normal wear. I plan to upgrade soon, probably to a used 3080, so I'll see if I can keep my good luck rolling!
Sorry your experience was not quite as fortunate, but I thought I'd add a good one to offset the bad. As you said, mileage may vary, and that's just how it goes with used hardware. There's a reason why you're saving money! I've yet to be jaded by a used hardware purchase, and am happy to take on (what I see) as minimal risk.
Yeah, but you are on a particular case. Vega use HBM memory which doesn't seem to age well, GDDR6X too seems to age like milk.
But overall buying used is fine !
If you want a deeper dive, you can look at Buildzoid video about this, search for "Should you buy ex-mining GPUs?" on RUclips. He explains in details what kind of models should be avoid or prioritise when you search for a second hand GPU. (be aware the guy ramble a lot, and doesn't edit, so his content is not as easy to watch as LTT XD)
The vegas and furys were just pushed to hard out of the box.
The failure rate on AMD high end GPUs has been terrible since the 290s. At least in my experience, probably before.
I had a 7950 that was a champ, but XFX and AMD has let me down quite a lot since then.
Polaris and Navi were great, though. Polaris more than navi, but also not high end.
Really depends on the age of the card. Not when it launched but when the seller first purchased it brand new.
If you can get that information, never buy a used card well past its warranty, usually 3 years.
I had a GTX 970 FTW just croak on me one day, literally right after the warranty expired 3 years after I purchased it new.
11:50 Yes, that's exactly what we are not going to do. Lol
If you buy a mined card, the sensible thing to do is to strip it down and replace the existing thermal paste and pads with good quality parts. This will be better than factory and will ensure the card stays cool. The other thing to watch is the fans, if they are noisy or if they have too much resistance when turning manually or feel gritty, replace them. I have purchased ex mining cards and haven't had a single problem in the past 5 years and 4 cards. I've saved myself a decent amount of money and wouldn't hesitate to buy a mined on card in the future. In fact I would actively search for them to buy.
Was thinking the same. There's no reason to not at least repaste and pad it. Only takes like 20-30 minutes and will likely save you a headache.
11:56 I was thinking that about Linus for the longest time, it's great to hear him acknowledging it.
agreed. even new ones don't have a guarantee that they'll be working out of the box. there are still chances that you need to do a full RMA (I've seen literally countless people, from only GPU, to CPU, and even to PSU). At least on second-hand products they are already been tested to run.. albeit some will always be questionable
I think you're too used to the 1-year warranty. There's no way I'll trade the possibility of being cucked after 1 year + 1 day. I can get a 4-year warranty in Europe for the price of the card plus 30 euro.
I really appreciate this video because for a long time I believed that graphics cards that get a lot of use would slowly become worse. I just don't feel like there's enough concrete information out there that isn't just anecdotal stories on forums.
That's not entirely true. There is plenty of concrete information about any pc part from CPUs to power supplies and graphics cards degrading over time at high use. All this video shows that there's not much different in cards that are a couple years old, they aren't old enough to have a difference, however a 10 series card or rx580s or rx480s would show a difference in the same testing. Not something he explained and really should have, this video is only relevant to previous gen cards and nothing 5 years plus older
@@brendanblack8647 im planning to buy an rx 580 thats been used for around 2 to 3 years should i be concerned?
@@raed210933 years is worrying.
I agree with "if the product fails it would be within a 2 week period". I use to buy audio equipment that were floor models. If a product had been running for three weeks to a month, chances are component failure was well past the burn-in period. It would last indefinitely if it has no moving parts. What a good tech tip!😄
i prefer good ones to be shown up first though, but hardly any 'worse', just more difficult to understand their greatness
In 2020 I bought a used gtx 1070ti for around 250 euros, a really good deal at that time. When I got it, no signal was displayed on the screen, so I wrote to the seller, who didn't know what to do. I thought he sold me a broken card, till I tried as a last resort to use my pc remotely, if the hdmi was faulty. And in fact it was the hdmi the main issue. That card is still working perfectly fine today
On "within spec", have you thought about creating a video on how much the fps and/or frametime have to change before being noticeable, whether absolute or relative? Could be interesting to see if 144 is more forgiving than 60.
I believe that limit is somewhere between 80 and 110 fps. Really depends on the 1% low though, that's what you notice. Stable 60 fps is better than 80 with 40 on 1% low.
I was skeptical about used gpus in the beginning. But I wanted a new pc and I won an auction near the end of December for a rtx 3090 gaming x trio 900€ (a bit more expensive than other used ones) but it arrived earlier than expected. I did all the possible stress tesks that I could find on RUclips and so far It seems fine, even coil whine was minimal and I also undervolted it. I will run a few more tests because the ebay guarantee ends in a few days but I'm all up for used gpus now.
900 euros is very expensive for a used 3090
@@Diego-es2pd well, at that time every card was going for 850-950. I happened to win this one and as far as I have tested is like a brand new one. No problems with it
I don't have first hand experience with buying used gpu's but my 3700x that I got from ebay along with a B550 board have been running perfectly fine for the past year or so. Though I think my B550 board was brand new as this was during the newegg shuffle so people were probably just trying to offload the addons that was bundled with the gpu's
This is the best version of this channel , truthful relatable and trustworthy
A version of this video with motherboards would be great!
A good video idea now would be to see if the faulty cards could be fixed without spending more than the price of new ones
Linus attempts BGA repair with Louis Rossmann pt. 2
Send it to a repair shop
@@wasdc I was thinkin the same thing. KrisFix or other channel can fix that GPU if there is a vram problem.
@@Wavepush A man of culture I see
I've never had problems with used GPUs from eBay (I've bought quite a lot there), but I have had problems with Amazon Warehouse stuff. I think in the latter case, there are returns which are defective and Amazon doesn't even know it or check it. Having mined myself, I know that I always monitored temps very carefully to increase efficiency. But when gaming, there can sometimes be huge spikes in fan speeds and the temps are probably all over the place.
Great video! You are spot on about buying really any used item...GPU...full computer...car...etc. And many new items aren't guaranteed to be problem free...GPU...full computer...car...etc.
Linus, is the profit from the used junk shop worth more than your honor? This "tutorial" doesn't say that it's not the crystal mostly wears out, but the rest of the components and cooling system.
Better to stay on an integrated one than to buy garbage that has worked hard in a mining farm for 3-4 years 24/7 and will break down in a year.
Whenever I get the notification for a new LTT video I shout "Linus Tech Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiips" in the most annoying voice I can, and my wife knows and puts on headphones for the time the episode lasts. She hates Linus' voice so much it's amazing 🤣 Love you Linus!
lol my mom also hates other youtubers voice for some reason amd come on man teach your wife some pc stuff bro 💀😂
“My money bone” 😂😂😂
I got a used 1080Ti in 2033 for like $210, still use it now. Great card for the money
It's nice to know that my hardware isn't affected as substantially as I thought it would be.
Awesome! I’ve been looking at buying a second hand gpu!
@Don't Read My Profile Picture I just read it. What now?
Linus is just trying to unload all his crypto GPUs on his audience
Is that a joke or a baseless accusation?
@@Azarilh It's a joke, fen.
@@aarongoozman Oke, good. **phew**
5/16/2023 I got a EVGA 3080 and am just getting ready to install it, this show has been SO VERY HELPFUL, I'm a console gamer so I'm basically ignorant, all the tips and advice have been incredibly useful, thanks so much!!!
I bought a used 980 for my gf casual gaming rig for a little under $100, runs pretty well even on heavier modern titles, and even though it's performance isn't on par with how it would have been brand new (you can tell the paste is likely dried out from mining and the pads need replacing, I'm just too lazy), but it runs good enough, which is all that matters. For 100 bucks, can't beat it.
When the first crypto crash happened a few years ago i bought a MSI Armor 1080Ti for 400€ with 2 years warranty left cost 850€ new, still running like a charm in my 2nd computer. Seller send me a copy of the recipe and there were 40x 1080 Ti and 60x 12TB HDD on it, pretty sure it is a minng card. xD
@Confined Spiral $50 is literally 50% more money. I found one for $125 at the cheapest, but it's also a pny as opposed to my EVGA. I can't say I would switch, considering mine is cheaper and still almost as good.
@@TheLongDon 100$ is 100% more than 50$, no intention to mock you, just to make clear you made a good deal and those 1660s new for 100$ is also a hoax even the cheapest palit and pny cards are more expensive, you made a very good choice with the EVGA 980.
@@Vittrich $150 is 50% more than $100, which is what I was referring to. Either way, yes I am glad I bought the card, it was a pretty good deal
Just bought a used 3080ti for $600 last month.
Best purchase this year. I only play at 1440p so its pretty overkill lol. I never had any issues or problems, only problem I didnt anticipate is that this gpu consumes 340 watts on load lol. Otherwise Ive been so happy with this purchase
Look into undervolting it. Plenty of videos about it. You can get easily 90-95% of your typical performance and save 1/4-1/3 of the power use in some cases. I can get my 3080xc3 non ti, to run a full 2020mhz, at around 200 watts sometimes less depending on the game and such.
im also running 1440p 144hz , on an X570 and ryzen 7 3800x overclocked, and an 850w Gold rated PSU, as those too will effect the results a bit. You should easily be able to cut power considerably and still maintain performance at a level that you wouldnt notice any loss.
I use msi 3080 for 2k 144htz gaming
I think something valuable to consider is that customers want to know if they're paying 20% less for a product, then they want to know if they're only going to be losing 20% of that products lifespan. Saving 20% on a gpu isn't a good deal if it only last 30% of a new gpu's estimated life span. The people need endurance tests!
Consider that a majority of these cards will run for a decade+, so the real factor eating at its lifespan is new releases-- when it economically makes sense to buy a new card due to power, io, or raw performance improvements of future generations. Buying a $1k gpu every ten years to "future proof" is almost never a better idea than buying a $500 gpu every five years for example.
Let's say for example that the mined cards last 10 years instead of 15. Saving 20% today is preferable, as the cards will be worth practically nothing in 10 years, and products that can match or exceed its performance in 10 years will be dirt cheap. The hypothetical reduced endurance becomes almost a nonfactor at reducing it's value relative to generational improvements
This is all assuming that you can guarantee used cards will not need an RMA anytime soon or you can afford to dollar cost average with used hardware, which is another reason companies need to make warranties transferrable.
@@borisyeltsin6606 saving 50% makes more sense, than 20%. Shaming people for not buying, instead of those ewasting, instead of rehoming is BS.
Let's say their lifespan is 10 years. You could definitely see even more older GPUs and CPUs running today. Assume their lifespan is reduced by 60%. At 20-50% discount with a lifespan of 4 years, that's still a great buy considering you're likely to upgrade your card in around 1-4 years.
Few years ago, before I was able to be financially secure, I used to upgrade my old parts with used ones and sell the previous ones I used. And then after a year, I'll upgrade again by purchasing used and reselling the previous used one that I bought. It's a cycle that saved me about 80-90% of the cost of upgrading to a brand-new one.
@@bipbop3121 Don't get me wrong 20% probably isn't worth it considering the headache of testing the cards and dealing with seller returns, but the used gpu market today has upwards of ~40% discounts compared to a year ago when stock of the 3XXX cards was still iffy and there was no 4XXX driving down the used costs.
That being said, even when you consider extra power use, it is more environmentally friendly to buy some used stock of a higher-end previous gen card as opposed to producing a brand new midrange card today. The used gpu market is good at pricing this all in of course, the only true ewaste is cards like the gt1030 that are virtually indistinguishable from a myriad of $10 used cards that litter ebay and eventually get landfilled.
Crypto itself is of course massive ewaste, a giant ponzi burning through silicone despite producing no productive assets, but ASICS are a whole new level of evil compared to producing and wasting extra gpus that can have a second life doing something useful
10:11 Jesus man... That card probably only have 1 bad memory IC that can easily be replaced by a electronics repair shop in like 30mins.
If you do the diagnostic yourself with one is the bad chip (It can easily be done with the same free software that those repair shop use to diagnose it) and just ask them to do the chip replacement service it can be even faster and they would for sure not ask you for much.
Just don't expect that they will give you any kind of repair warranty.
If you want more details on how to find your bad memory IC go to the Repair Wiki > Desktop Computers > Graphics Cards (GPU) > Manufacturers
I hope you guys do a lot of power consumption tests once you get everything set up. Moving the industry in a more power conscious way helps all of us and the environment too.
For some of us, the heat generated is used to warm the gaming room. :)
I loved the underclocking vid they once done. We need maximum efficiency not maximum clocks.
The problem is a GPU will pass a test till the day it fails.The Performance test, heat tests and anything are basically useless. They don't tell you if the silicon in the memory has less life left from running hot 24/7. They don't tell you if the solder is not in great shape but is still working fine. A mining GPU could be fine or it could not but a performance test does not tell you anything about longevity of the GPU
Running hot 24/7 within spec is likely better than the physical expansion and contraction that a card used for a few hours a day gaming would face. There's pros and cons to both and I agree with you on the sudden failure point.
Woof, tough luck on the Gigabyte card, definitely makes me feel lucky. I know they're not exactly well-known for having the highest-end and most reliable components even on their higher end lines, and I'm still rocking a mid-tier 1060 6GB from them that's been in my machine since late 2016 with probably ~10,000+ hours of high load in its 7 year tenure, somehow still going strong. It honestly shocks me a little, definitely got my value out of the card.
I got a used Gigabyte RTX 3060 Ti and the seller said it was fine but when I got it, I found out the VRAM and InfoROM was bad. I talked to Gigabyte about the card and since it was in warranty, they actually took the card and replaced it for me. The Gigabyte card has been working great and it still has warranty.
I even told them what I did to the card (Updated VBIOS, redid the thermals) and they were kind to replace the card due to the video of what the card was doing and it still has warranty since I got the card from them.
It may depend how the manufactures work with you with the card you get off of eBay too. Some manufacturers will says, you have to return it to the seller on eBay but be careful with the ones that sys "Final Sale" on the listings cause some of those types, eBay will not take them back. A little warning.