Buying used GPU's?

[WuLabsWuTecH]

So I have a measly 5770 right now in my gaming rig and it's long been overdue for an upgrade.  Now that everyone is saying GPU mining is unprofitable, I'm hoping this means that the market will be flooded with cheap GPU's I can install into my gaming rig.  (Btw, where are all the GPUs that people are supposedly selling off?)

I'm looking for either a 7970 or a 7950, and I was wondering if buying one of these that has been mining is a bad idea or not.  I figured they'll be more run down than most, but if I can get it for say, a quarter on the dollar, would it still be worthwhile?  A new 7970 is running about $400 right now and a $7950 is running just under $300 so what should I expect to pay on one of these cards to make it a worth buying used rather than buying new?

Also, what I do now is that during the day when my computer is on, if I'm not gaming, I set my card to mine.  Would this be a bad idea for these used cards?  I guess they would wear down that much faster, but is that enough to make it not worth it?

Thanks for your input and thoughts!

-WU

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[andrewsg]

Wear or no wear it might be a bad idea purely based on electricity prices, but that depends on how much you are paying for it. Otherwise I would have no qualms buying a card that has been used for mining - as long as it still works with no issues. Check local craigslist and have a look on ebay, but i don't think you will be able to find a working 79x0 for "quarters on the dollar".

[PrintMule]

You should wait for 79XXs or buy them now for a reasonable price. Also some folks run their cards at 80, 90 degrees, so that's that.

[WuLabsWuTecH]

Wear or no wear it might be a bad idea purely based on electricity prices, but that depends on how much you are paying for it. Otherwise I would have no qualms buying a card that has been used for mining - as long as it still works with no issues. Check local craigslist and have a look on ebay, but i don't think you will be able to find a working 79x0 for "quarters on the dollar".

I travel between a couple of places, but I don't pay for electric at one place and the other place runs 7.9c/kWh.  And when I'm at work I don't play for electric either.  But I'm not concerned about the electric cost since the machine would be on anyways.  I was just worried about the wear and tear to the card.

[jamesc760]

Never buy a used gpu, unless you can test it in action, which is rare for used gpu's. If you buy it on evilbay, you can return it for refund, especially if you pay via paypal.

Another thing, never buy a gpu for mining. ASIC is the way forward. Have you seen the plummeting price and skyrocketing difficulty lately?

[notlist3d]

Truly get a new GPU.  The warranty is worth it unless you plan on water-cooling and breaking warranty or something.   

Also with used GPU's you dont know how hard the card has been pushed and for how long.  Lots of unknowns.

[WuLabsWuTecH]

Never buy a used gpu, unless you can test it in action, which is rare for used gpu's. If you buy it on evilbay, you can return it for refund, especially if you pay via paypal.

Another thing, never buy a gpu for mining. ASIC is the way forward. Have you seen the plummeting price and skyrocketing difficulty lately?

Well I don't want to invest in ASICs and the way I see it, I need the GPU anyways so anything I mine with it is just frosting on the cake.  My 5770 basically paid for itself this way!

And yes, I'm getting less that half of what I got daily today vs last month, but a couple of bucks is still a couple of bucks!

[WuLabsWuTecH]

Truly get a new GPU.  The warranty is worth it unless you plan on water-cooling and breaking warranty or something.   

Also with used GPU's you dont know how hard the card has been pushed and for how long.  Lots of unknowns.

Yes, this is what I was afraid of.  That's why I figured unless I get it at a deep discount, it's not worth buying used.  Buy how deep of a discount is sufficient to make it worth the risk?  50% off?  75% off?

[Streets 2.0]

There is always the option to mine an alternative coin

http://dustcoin.com/mining

[WuLabsWuTecH]

There is always the option to mine an alternative coin

http://dustcoin.com/mining

\

What does this have anything to do with the risk of a used GPU breaking???

[sikman]

If you want to save $$$ then buy a used 7950 for around $200-250 or cheaper and it will still have at least 2 years warranty left if you go with Gigabyte or Asus brands, personally I go with GB 7950 then do the bios to F43 and will happily mine at 650kh/s++

[solitude]

Funny how people are so quick to dismiss GPU's and say "ASIC's or bust" when the reality is all the companies "selling" asics require you to wait months to receive them, and there isn't even a company selling ASIC's that has a proven track record.

I haven't done my research but I'm sure if I could order 50+ GH today and receive it in less than a week I would get absolutely RAPED on the price, because the companies know people would pay for it.

Look at the people paying $10,000 for those lucky enough to have a 60GH asic in their hands.

Who in their right mind would pay 10k for an ASIC that might burn out in a week.

[WuLabsWuTecH]

If you want to save $$$ then buy a used 7950 for around $200-250 or cheaper and it will still have at least 2 years warranty left if you go with Gigabyte or Asus brands, personally I go with GB 7950 then do the bios to F43 and will happily mine at 650kh/s++

Interesting,  the warranty transfers even if I'm not the original owner?

[silicont]

Gigabyte for one, uses serial number for warranty.  They don't asks for a receipt or personal info to verify the warranty.  The SSN has it all.  So yes, it transfers painlessly.

[zvs]

yeah, some warranties use manufacture date

MSI is another