GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Keith Nguyen7 said:I wouldn't mess around with that if I were them. They really ought to pull out whatever they're using now, install the drivers for the one they're actually selling, and then let you tinker with the PC all you want. Honestly, I probably wouldn't touch it either.

Sent from my LG-M700 via Reddit

Well, that's fine, but there's also the chance the card was pulled straight from some massive crypto mining rig, and they're just making excuses like, "Oh, we don't have a case right now, blah blah blah..." 🤷

Most of them probably came straight out of some old mining rigs anyway 😁

fadedorca66 said:I suspect most of them were probably salvaged from old mining rigs. 😁

Good grief, that is just straight-up theft. 😬 Look, it’s not like she’s actually inside the computer. You fire up a game and think, "Okay, it's running, I guess," but you have zero idea if it's actually functioning properly. It's like trying to sell someone a car and telling them, "Look, I lost the keys, but I swear it starts." 🙄

Does it even matter if it came from a mining rig as long as there's still a warranty? I picked up a 1060 myself that had been running 24/7 in a mining setup, but it still had a year and a half of coverage left. Honestly, who cares what it was doing if everything works perfectly fine?

And besides, if they won't let me test it first, what's the point? I wouldn't touch it either—unless I'm buying from a trusted forum where I can actually verify things...

Andrew Fox74 said:What does it really matter if it came from a mining rig, as long as there’s still a warranty? I ended up picking up a 1060 that had been used for mining, but it still had about eighteen months of coverage left. I guess if everything is running smoothly, what it was doing before doesn't much matter, does it?

It seems a bit pointless if they won't let me test it first. I suppose I wouldn't buy anything either without trying it out through a reliable forum like Reddit...

I suppose it might matter, though I'm not entirely sure. Maybe it’s irrelevant, or maybe it actually makes a huge difference. Honestly, you get one group of experts claiming it doesn't matter if the cards were mining, while another group insists that running them at full tilt for months—or even a year straight—is definitely bad news. I guess you'll have to be the judge.

Just buy the new one—because at this rate, you'll never have any peace of mind

fadedsailor17 said:running at full tilt constantly. Use some common sense.

If you're buying from someone who actually knows what they're doing—and isn't a complete idiot—the card was likely underclocked and undervolted. For example, a GTX1060 or an RX480/580 would have been pulling maybe 50-60% of its max power draw during mining.
The warranty matters way more than whether it was used for mining, especially since you can never be 100% sure if a card was mined on when so many people like me mine on our gaming rigs.

The only way to be certain it wasn't used for mining is to grab something with 2GB of VRAM or less, or an older Nvidia card like a GTX700 series or older where mining wasn't really a thing. But let's be real, those cards are either underpowered or out of warranty.

Douglas Roberts49 said:You might want to just buy the new one; I guess you'll never truly feel certain if you don't.

Honestly, everyone wants the latest and greatest, but most of us just can't afford it. Not to mention all those politicians in D.C. trying to convince us that what we're currently stuck with is actually top-tier. 😉

wiredotter14 said:If it was handled by someone who actually knew what they were doing—and wasn't a complete amateur—then the card was likely underclocked and undervolted. I guess you could say that something like a GTX1060 or an RX480/580 would have only been pulling about 50-60% of its maximum power draw at full load.
The warranty matters more than whether it was used for mining or not. I guess you can never be entirely sure if someone was mining, especially since so many people like me mine on our own gaming rigs.

The only way to be absolutely sure you aren't buying a card that spent its life mining is if you're looking at something with 2GB of VRAM or less, or perhaps an older Nvidia card like the GTX700 series. I guess we're really only talking about the weaker models or those that are already out of warranty anyway.

I agree regarding the warranty situation. As for that part about feeling bad, I suppose you're right. 🤣 I guess there are all sorts of people out there; maybe they just overclocked them to squeeze out more mining power. 🤷
Well, I had two of them on hand. One has plenty of warranty left, but since it doesn't come with a case, it’s basically out of the running. The other one has a shorter warranty period, so I’ll run some tests on that—hopefully, it turns out to be exactly what I need.

fadedsailor17 said:Well, let's face it, everyone wants brand new gear, but most of us just can't swing it. Not that the politicians in D.C. would tell you that; they love insisting everything we have is top-tier quality. 😉

I agree regarding the warranty situation. As for the disappointment... 🤣 well, there are all kinds of people out there. Maybe they overclocked them specifically to maximize mining efficiency. 🤷
Anyway, I had two units in stock. One was basically out of warranty and didn't even have a case, so that one's a no-go. The other has a shorter warranty period left; I'll run some tests on it and hopefully, that'll be the winner.

People don't typically overclock cards for mining.😵

First off, I have to admit I don't know the first thing about computers 😵, so please be patient with me 🙂

I currently have two computers sitting in "storage" mode 🙂.
My son was experimenting with a friend—they cleaned out the fan and I think they did a few other things—but when it came time to put everything back together... his friend bolted, and now my son can't figure out how to reassemble them. They've just been sitting there in a corner of the room for a really long time, and I honestly don't know what to do with them.
I definitely want to retrieve my photos from them, since I wasn't smart enough to back everything up externally right away.

Does it even make sense to pay for repairs or software cleaning and such? Technology moves so fast, and these machines are probably 5 to 10 years old now. I know they weren't cheap when we bought them, but... here are the specs for one of them:
Windows 7 500 GB storage, 8 GB RAM, Intel-ASUS motherboard

Is it possible to sell them? (They were working perfectly fine; they didn't break, my son just got a newer, more powerful one for gaming.)

Part of me wants to just toss them out the window, but I'm trying to be mindful of the environment and avoid creating electronic waste 🙂

Please, help.

wiredotter14 said:Of course, it could be anything, but there’s really no way to know for sure—regardless of whether someone actually shows you it running on their PCu or not.

I’d definitely insist on seeing proof that the card actually works. Regardless of whether there's a suspicion it was used for mining—which, let's be honest, is always a possibility—I just wouldn't want to walk away with a total mystery box. You really don't want to end up with a card that crashes constantly or makes weird buzzing and chirping noises.
I guess a quick few minutes in Furmark would be enough of a test for me.

But if it isn't showing up at all, I guess there’s a chance it might just be completely broken...

I agree with you regarding the second paragraph; that was actually exactly what I had in mind to create. 👍

Alexander Moore67 said:I suppose people aren't really overclocking their cards for mining these days.😵

I guess I'm just not sure, honestly. I imagine there are plenty of others out there who would probably prefer to overclock everything just to speed up their mining. 🤣

Nicole Torres91 said:First off, I should probably mention that I don't know the first thing about computers. 😵Please, go easy on me. 🙂

I have two computers just sitting around, essentially in "transit" mode. 🙂.
My son was playing around with some hardware with a friend—they cleaned out a fan and I suppose they tried a few other things too—but when it came time to put everything back together, his friend basically bolted. Now my son is stuck staring at a pile of parts he can't figure out how to reassemble. They've just been sitting there in a box in his room for ages, and honestly, I have no idea what we should even do with them.
I’d really love to get my photos off them, if possible. I guess I wasn't quite smart enough to back everything up to an external drive right away.

Does it even make sense to shell out money for repairs or software cleaning at this point? Technology moves so fast that hardware becomes obsolete almost instantly—one machine is five years old, another is ten. I know they weren't cheap when we bought them, but still... Here are some specs for one of them:
It looks like we're looking at a setup with a Windows 7 500 GB drive, 8 GB of RAM, and an Intel-ASUS motherboard.

Is there any market for this? It wasn't even broken or anything; my son just got a newer, more powerful rig for his birthday so he can play games better.

I feel like tossing them right out the window, though I suppose I should hold back for the sake of the environment. 🙂

I could really use some help here, if anyone has a moment.

Ma'am, this thread is specifically for graphics cards. You might have better luck checking out one of the other threads in the "Desktop PCs" section, or just starting your own topic. I suspect you'll get way more eyes on your post there than you will in these graphics 😉

EDIT: maybe try here: http://www.exampleforum.com/showthread.php?t=543543&page=85

Alexander Moore67 said:People don't overclock their cards for mining.😵

Mining is starting to act up again, though it was actually running fine a couple of years ago.
They tuned them just to cut down on power consumption.

fadedsailor17 said:Ma lady, this specific thread is dedicated to graphics cards. I think you should try posting in another section under "Desktop PCs," or maybe just start a brand new thread entirely. Honestly, I suspect you might get way more eyes on your post if you move it from the graphics card 😉

EDIT: Perhaps right here: http://www.exampleforum.com/showthread.php?t=543543&page=85

Thanks for the advice. 👍

Zachary Nguyen2 said:They’re underclocking them for mining too, at least they were doing it a couple years ago.
The whole point was to cut down on power consumption.

Yeah, they're underclocking

wiredotter14 said:Yeah, they're running underclocked
.

Whether it's under or over, that's just overclocking.

Zachary Nguyen2 said:Under, over—that's just how you tweak it.

🙏

Sure, but underclocking (and more importantly—undervolting) actually takes the pressure off the card compared to stock settings.

My GTX 1060 pulls about 100W instead of the 200W or so it hits at full load on factory OC settings. It keeps the VRMs and everything else from stressing out so much.

On the flip side, the fan is spinning constantly and the thermal paste eventually degrades, but those aren't dealbreakers. Warranty is what matters most. If someone tries to sell you a year-old card without a receipt, it's a total gamble regardless of how you look at it.

It simply doesn't seem plausible for power draw to sit at only 100W during a gaming session, unless you've significantly throttled the components. Didn't you mention just the other day that your average draw under load was closer to 220W? In my own experience, running at 1410MHz/2200MHz/1.11V puts my power consumption at an average of 170-180W under load, yet I am still restricted to just x4 2.0 lanes. I suspect that specific bottleneck is costing me somewhere in the realm of 5-8% in total performance.

Samuel Castillo49 said:There’s no way it pulls 100W during gaming unless you’ve heavily undervolted it. Didn't you just say it averages 220W under load? Mine, running at 1410MHz/2200MHz/1.11V, hits about 170-180W under load, yet I'm stuck on just x4 2.0 lanes. Probably losing maybe 5-8% performance because of that.

We're talking about overclocking for mining here.

At 0.925V and 1150MHz, it stays under 100W, whether gaming or mining.

Otherwise, at 1.2V and 1400MHz, it draws around 200W.
Lower voltages get unstable on me. Dammit. Either it's a Powercolor issue, or I just got unlucky with the silicon lottery.

Zachary Nguyen2 said:Up or down, that's just how the game goes.

They actually banned me just for asking if I was under or over the limit...

wiredotter14,

Could you give me your honest take on this?
................................................
Money is a bit tight for me right now, so I'm wondering how much longer I can realistically squeeze some life out of my current rig.

ASUS P5G41T-M LX2/GB (4xUSB 2.0, 2xPS/2, 3x3.5 mm, 1xLAN, 1xVGA)
PQI 1x2 GB DDR3-1333
Intel Celeron E3400 @ 2.60 GHz (1MB cache)
Intel GMA X4500
Windows 7 Enterprise Build 7600
Genius KB350e
Genius Netscroll 100X
Hama E80 2.0
GNR TS902 19'' WSXGA 16:10 (1280x1024)
Alcatel SpeedStick L850V LTE
.................................................
Also, does anyone know what kind of graphics card would actually pair well with this processor?