Hello my friends,
first of all I want to warn -
do not buy a card without checking, even if there is a check, the box and the card looks like new.
You met with the seller, in the beginning you need to look at the video card, pay attention to:
1) Presence of
seals (not an indicator, because you can disassemble the card without damaging them)
2) The color of the
textolite. If the card was being repaired, for example, the video chip was heated, the card would be
slightly darkened\brown. It is best to focus on the
white silkscreen, which is drawn around the details and written the names of the elements. First of all it darkens.
Left example of a normal color of textolite(images from Google):
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.radikal.ru%2Fa22%2F1806%2Fd5%2F007c05fa7c35t.jpg&t=665&c=lNutvyJpba6QPQ)
And
right this is how it looks
after repairs(They are more brown)
You can see with the naked eye the difference of the color shade. It is better to bypass these cards, because it is not clear what they did there and how long she will live. Here is another example of a repair card:
the
PCI slot is darker than the rest of the textolite
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fb.radikal.ru%2Fb00%2F1806%2F30%2F084df94b2ec6t.jpg&t=665&c=QGDcZnrfHkq3Vw)
3) If there is a possibility to look under the radiator, then it is worth to look there. Around the video chip should be clean (does not apply to memory chips, because many cards leak thermal pads).
On the left photo this is how a card looks like in which 99% of people have not repaired anything
![](https://ip.bitcointalk.org/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fa.radikal.ru%2Fa09%2F1806%2F4e%2F04921c5f58e4t.jpg&t=665&c=pCZnHkA_4M1L4Q)
On the right everything is clean, the edge around the chip is white and one shade. Well, even comments are superfluous. Do not take it in any way.
4) Also it is worth paying attention to all the stickers, everything should be evenly glued without any signs of dismantling. On the card there can't be no stickers, even on the cards with the backplane there is a sticker with the serial number.
5) Turn the fan with your finger, without fanaticism. It should spin easily and without unnecessary sounds, there should also be no backlash if you swing the blades sideways.
P.S.:
How to programmatically using GPU-Z, 3dmark and FurMark(or another software) to check the video card, I will not write here, there are a lot of guides/topics, if there are needy people, I will write
Update:
If some one will be interesting, I make part 2 guide on "how How to choose\check USED graphics card before buy". there I will explain how to test the graphics card programmatically
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4455948.0