GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Yeah, the listing mentioned it was modified so the TDP stays under 100W. It’s the 8GB model, which is exactly what I need to get the job done. Too bad the ad isn't up anymore, right? 🤷

If the TDP is locked in the BIOS, you're probably going to need to flash it. That said, there's a chance you can just override the TDP via Wattman since you can bump up the power limit there. The real question is how Wattman actually calculates it—is it 100W plus a 50% buffer, or does it handle the math differently?

wanderingbison9 said:Yeah, the listing said it was modified and the TDP is under 100W. It’s an 8GB card, and I really need that 8GB capacity. Now the ad is gone. 🤷

Good luck with that. Right now, those 8GB+ cards are basically useless since everyone is hunting them for mining—that’s why the prices are so inflated. You have to face it, the seller definitely made a killing at that price point. It sucks, but that's just how it is. If you could settle for a 4GB or 3GB version instead, wouldn't it be way easier to find a decent deal?

Andrew Fox74 said:Good luck with that. Right now, any card with 8GB or more is basically useless for mining purposes, which explains why the prices are so high—you can bet that seller definitely made a profit at that price point. It’s a tough situation, but that’s just how it is; if you could settle for a 3GB or 4GB version, I think you’d have a much easier time finding something available.

Unfortunately, I really can't make 4GB work, and while maybe a 6GB card would suffice, it couldn't be an Nvidia card because I run into specific issues with them, and I simply can't afford to throw money away on a "maybe."
Why would miners even want 8GB cards?

Sent from my iPhone

wanderingbison9 said:Honestly, I just can't settle for 4GB. Maybe 6GB would cut it most of the time, but then I couldn't go with Nvidia because they cause issues for me specifically. I just can't throw money away on a "maybe."
What are miners actually going to do with 8 GB?

Sent from my iPhone

To be honest, I really don't know. I'm not really involved in that scene, but that's what I've seen mentioned all over the place.

You’re gonna need more than 4GB. Bitcoin mining is eating up way more VRAM than that now. We’ve managed to find workarounds for 4GB cards a few times before, but honestly? That era is officially over.
I don't know about other coins, but the demand for GPUs is driven largely by Bitcoin mining since you can't just use ASICs for it—you need the cards.

Exactly, the whole mining craze was driven by Bitcoin, not Ethereum.

I don't think losing those 4GB cards is going to change much of anything. Demand is just too high right now; if someone can't track down a card with 4GB or more, they just settle for a 4GB model instead. You end up right back where you started... Even the old 2GB cards, like the R7 265, have started selling for insane prices lately simply because everyone is looking for hardware, even though they're completely useless for mining.

And look, we’re going to see some 4GB cards popping up on the used market, which is honestly pretty pathetic. But hey, anything is better than nothing, especially for people who are fine with an RX570 or anyone looking to spend less than $333 because they don't have any other smart options left.

It won't stay under $333 anymore, I'm telling you, even if it doesn't really matter for mining. At least not for a while.

CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK

You can still find a few with decent numbers. Sure, they’ve clearly been mined on, but hey, I'll take something useful over nothing at all. 🤔

And none of those 8GB options seem worth it for $333...

I spent this past weekend swapping my GTX 960 4GB into the rig that houses an RX 580, but I've run into a bit of a snag. When they both start pulling power during heavier tasks, the PSU just shuts down entirely—it's hitting that safety trigger. It’s happening even though I’ve undervolted the RX 580 so it sits at about 25% power usage while waiting on the 960 to catch up. My watt meter shows the whole system is drawing somewhere around 450-460W, and that's without the CPU even breaking a sweat or hitting 25% utilization. Can you imagine the chaos if I tried running dual RX 580 cards? 😲 At this point, it looks like I'll need to invest in a beefy new power supply along with a decent 8GB card, which are currently priced way higher than they should be. Is this project even worth the headache?

I actually have an RX 580 8GB, specifically the nitro+ model, available:

- I picked this up from Caseking back in late 2017; however, the warranty has since expired and I no longer have the original packaging.

- It was never used for mining; I only put it through two stress tests when I first got it, and after that, it was strictly used for casual tasks and gaming—maybe about 700 to 800 hours total at 70Hz. Most of my library consisted of older, less demanding titles released between 2004 and 2012.

- It has always operated quite efficiently at lower voltages across all clock speeds, sitting at roughly 1.11V during gameplay, with temperatures staying consistently between 45 and 65 degrees Celsius. The memory has stayed at 2200MHz on the stock voltage, and I've kept the fan speeds dialed back to about half power.

- To be honest, it hasn't seen any action for the last few months because I've transitioned over to using a laptop for everything.

- A few months ago, I gave it a thorough cleaning and applied some fresh MX-4 thermal paste.

- There are one or perhaps two minor scratches on the shroud.

Would you be interested in taking it off my hands?

@Samuel Castillo49/">@@Samuel Castillo49: I sent you a private message.

I dropped by that guy's place today, and he’s actually sitting on four RTX 3090s now. ☕ I guess if you’ve got the cash to burn, supply shortages just don't seem to apply to you, right?

It feels like society today is pretty much all or nothing—you’re either in or you're out. There just doesn't seem to be any middle ground left, does there?

So, I’ve got this RX 580 with 8 GB, and honestly, looking at eBay right now, prices are just going absolutely nuts—I'm seeing used ones listed for up to $1000😲😲.

If there's actually someone out there willing to drop that kind of cash on a card like this, I’m seriously thinking about just selling it, grabbing a cheap 4 GB model instead, and pocketing the extra two grand for... well, better days ahead, I guess!

What do you guys think?🍿

Ako:
1) you aren't pushing the game's VRAM to its limits
2) you're sticking to 1080p
3) you have zero interest in using your GPU for crypto mining

...I don't think it's a bad move. Honestly, if a game won't run on the 4GB version of the RX 580, you probably won't see much of a meaningful difference with the 8GB version anyway. And if you can actually find it for $200—though I doubt it, since you could likely snag a GTX 1080 for that kind of cash—then go for it.

Look, my main priority is just making sure the kid can play Fortnite, and he’ll definitely be able to do that. Besides, I’m more of a casual gamer anyway😁

Honestly, I don't really want to start any drama, but if there are actually these crypto-mining fanatics out there willing to drop that much cash on a used GPU, who am I to judge?

A buddy of mine is into mining and says an RX 580 with 8GB of VRAM is pulling in about $3.50 in pure profit a day based on current ETH rates.

I might think about it, but by the time I make up my mind, maybe this whole hype cycle will have passed already🤣

Does anyone have a gut feeling on when things might actually stabilize? Like, when are we finally going to see GPUs back at somewhat normal prices?🤔

I'm hearing nothing before summer... if even then🐔

Maybe you should just start mining too, then you'll actually have some cash in your pocket 😁