[ADVICE] Cryptocurrency Bear market & Graphic cards

[LiV3 WiR3]

I made this thread just to advise all you guys waiting to upgrade your GPUs to be very careful in upcoming days.
As you all know probably already know; Due to the recent surge in the price of all Cryptos like BTC, ETH, LTC etc. , the prices of GPUs (especially High-end GPUs) have skyrocketed as they're used for mining them.
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Crypto downtrend (bearmarket) is here with BTC dropping almost 50% already, and now, amateur miners that have soaked up these GPUs will try to dump them in markets at throw away rates to cut their losses. These GPUs used for mining are constantly stressed around 100% load making them run very hot. Most people mine ETH (Ethereum) with GPUs which puts most stress on the VRAM of the Graphics card instead of GPU, and due to being constantly stressed, their lives shorten. 3 month mining is equal to like 2 years of gaming stress on the GPU. Some people also Dual mine with their GPUs to increase profit like ETH + some other GPU intensive coin, and that is even more stressful for the card.
Very soon, you'll see markets (both online & offline) flooded with used GPUs at dirt cheap prices. BE VERY CAREFUL when buying these GPUs as they've been stressed out to hell, and may not have much left in the tank.
Also, do note that this downtrend could be temporary and we might start reversing & rallying again further decreasing the availability of computer parts & increasing prices.

My advice is to check the following before buying a used GPU in the coming days -
1: Ask the seller whether the GPU has been used for mining. If it has, then try and buy it cheaper & ask for at least 1 month checking warranty.
2: Check the GPU for any yellowish brownish burns on the back side. Avoid those like plague!
3: Prefer to buy a GPU with local warranty. That'll give you a peace of mind.
4: Don't buy an opened / repaired GPU. Check for seals or screws.
5: Try & avoid RX 470,480,570,580 & GTX 1060 6gb & GTX 1070 because they're the most profitable GPUs.
6: Also wait a week or two before buying a new GPU as you'll get a much much better price then.
7: Stress test the GPU with furmark and check some games on it. GTAV is an excellent test as it stresses everything in the Graphics card.

Good luck & Happy gaming!

 

[nafu]

[MENTION=20365]LiV3 WiR3[/MENTION]

Thanks for providing such Precautionary thread.
Very helpful for newbies who aren't aware of mining impact on GPU.

Also, those who are ordering used GPUs from Amazon, Ebay needs to be very carefull.

 

[beret21]

GPU used in mining are same as juice nikla orange.

2: Check the GPU for any yellowish brownish burns on the back side. Avoid those like plague!

I really liked the second point and its one of the clear indication of the GPU being used brutally. GPUs that are used in very hot conditions will show that yellowish/brown marks on pretty much every white part of the GPU. Specially the stickers will turn to off-white/yellow

 

[LiV3 WiR3]

GPU used in mining are same as juice nikla orange.

2: Check the GPU for any yellowish brownish burns on the back side. Avoid those like plague!

I really liked the second point and its one of the clear indication of the GPU being used brutally. GPUs that are used in very hot conditions will show that yellowish/brown marks on pretty much every white part of the GPU. Specially the stickers will turn to off-white/yellow

There's nothing wrong with buying a GPU that has been used for mining provided that you get it at a good price and good condition.

Once this bubble pops, market will be flooded with mining GPUs as well as non mining GPUs because people have been hoarding them in hopes that prices will increase further (lel).

 

[beret21]

There's nothing wrong with buying a GPU that has been used for mining provided that you get it at a good price and good condition.

Once this bubble pops, market will be flooded with mining GPUs as well as non mining GPUs because people have been hoarding them in hopes that prices will increase further (lel).

99% load on a GPU for months. Good condition might be appearance wise after removing dust and of course they keep the boxes safe so apparently they can make it look as good as new. But their life is reduced drastically

 

[LiV3 WiR3]

99% load on a GPU for months. Good condition might be appearance wise after removing dust and of course they keep the boxes safe so apparently they can make it look as good as new. But their life is reduced drastically

That's why it's important to get it at a good price with some warranty if possible. I personally don't mind buying a GPU used for mining, but others might not share the same idea. Most GPUs are built with very high quality standards these days, so they'll still have a lot of juice left in the tank. Still, your top priority should be non mining used GPU.

 

[beret21]

That's why it's important to get it at a good price with some warranty if possible. I personally don't mind buying a GPU used for mining, but others might not share the same idea. Most GPUs are built with very high quality standards these days, so they'll still have a lot of juice left in the tank. Still, your top priority should be non mining used GPU.

Another problem would be that i dont think a seller will ever accept or tell by himself that i have been mining with this hardware. But again like u said if the price is right and there is warranty(warranty of even 3 days can be enough) all will be good

 

[LiV3 WiR3]

Another problem would be that i dont think a seller will ever accept or tell by himself that i have been mining with this hardware. But again like u said if the price is right and there is warranty(warranty of even 3 days can be enough) all will be good

Yeah, we're not exactly known for our honesty here... :laugh1:

 

[nafu]

Another problem would be that i dont think a seller will ever accept or tell by himself that i have been mining with this hardware. But again like u said if the price is right and there is warranty(warranty of even 3 days can be enough) all will be good

Well, sometimes resellers themselves don't realize the trading product is mining. But those who know, buy in dirt cheap, and sell at high profit. So in this scenario, one would definitely not mention the mining thing. Also, If i remember closely, one reseller on PG being caught selling a couple of Mining GPUs, and I was one of them who were in the deal loop. I remember the days of R9 280X, hundred of gpus had sold here and many were mining affected. The awareness of mining was, indeed, not much. But, it certainly much better situation today.

 

[beret21]

Well, sometimes resellers themselves don't realize the trading product is mining. But those who know, buy in dirt cheap, and sell at high profit. So in this scenario, one would definitely not mention the mining thing. Also, If i remember closely, one reseller on PG being caught selling a couple of Mining GPUs, and I was one of them who were in the deal loop. I remember the days of R9 280X, hundred of gpus had sold here and many were mining affected. The awareness of mining was, indeed, not much. But, it certainly much better situation today.

I am not going to buy a new GPU ever now:$
I wish the manufactures introduce a separate line of hardware for mining. just like they did in past with professional hardware like the Nvidia and AMD video editing cards etc etc

 

[LiV3 WiR3]

Sorry guys, but it looks like BTC just doesnt give a fuck about your stupid video games...



On a serious note, It appears that btc is entering in a bubble stage now, and other altcoins are already in deep shit. I have a feeling you guys will see cheap GPUs & computer parts etc very soon.

btw, I paid a lil premium & bought my gtx 1080 already because I didnt want to buy a mining abused gpu. I suggest you do the same if you want your peace of mind.

 

[CodeLyoko]

Contrary to popular belief, putting GPUs at 100% load does NOT wear them out (provided they have adequate power supply and air flow). That is a myth. The part that breaks in old GPUs due to stress is the solder in the BGA packaging. The most stress is taken when GPU temperature has high delta fluctuations. It means if you turn it on and off for a long period of time, given enough time, the solder will develop micro-fractures due to the solder shrinking and expanding constantly to the point where the GPU "Dies".

Keeping a GPU at 100% usage keeps the temperature constantly high (no delta) so no stress is taken as such by the solder as it stays in the same relative physical state. The only thing that wears out during this time is the power capacitors, and they usually have a life span of at least 5-10 years. So I wouldn't worry too much about it since the solder usually fails long before that time. In other words, age of the GPU is still the most important factor to determine life expectancy - given no abuse has happened in the power/airflow department.

However, if you see any burn marks on the GPU then that is a sign that power / wiring was not adequate and you will definitely want to avoid that, naturally.

 

[LiV3 WiR3]

Contrary to popular belief, putting GPUs at 100% load does NOT wear them out (provided they have adequate power supply and air flow). That is a myth. The part that breaks in old GPUs due to stress is the solder in the BGA packaging. The most stress is taken when GPU temperature has high delta fluctuations. It means if you turn it on and off for a long period of time, given enough time, the solder will develop micro-fractures due to the solder shrinking and expanding constantly to the point where the GPU "Dies".

Keeping a GPU at 100% usage keeps the temperature constantly high (no delta) so no stress is taken as such by the solder as it stays in the same relative physical state. The only thing that wears out during this time is the power capacitors, and they usually have a life span of at least 5-10 years. So I wouldn't worry too much about it since the solder usually fails long before that time. In other words, age of the GPU is still the most important factor to determine life expectancy - given no abuse has happened in the power/airflow department.

However, if you see any burn marks on the GPU then that is a sign that power / wiring was not adequate and you will definitely want to avoid that, naturally.

That maybe true in case of internationally used GPUs, but not in Pakistan where the temps are generally high and there's horrible load shedding problems & internet outage issues. I've seen many local miners here that dont use proper cooling or electricity backup because that cuts into their profits. And, power & internet outages make the load inconsistent. Miners usually dont care about the mining equipment as long as they do 50% + ROI on them. They can easily dump their equipment for 70% of the price they bought it at and still be in profit.
When the bubble pops (and it will v.soon), it'll trigger a panic selling worldwide leading to ridiculously low prices on computer parts for a while. It'll probably hurt AMD & nvidia stock prices too.