Cryptocurrencies tend to go crazy every few years, and the best graphics cards all disappear into the eager hands of miners.
Even though we’ve all been using graphic cards for years, some of us still have no idea what they are. Well, before getting into the heart of this discussion about whether you should buy a used graphics card and, if so, what the benefits and drawbacks are.
Let’s define a graphics card first as many readers may not be tech-savvy and may be technologically inept and unfamiliar with technical vocabulary. To make it easier to comprehend and define graphics cards, I talked to Byron from Evergreen Traders. Byron has been working with Digital World and now Evergreen Traders for over a decade and he’s a pro when it comes to anything techy.
“So the graphics card is the part of your computer that displays images on the screen. More Powerful graphics cards can display more powerful or more detailed images. So that’s basically it in a nutshell,” says Byron.
Graphics cards, like anything else in the market, have competitors and types. The foundations of the manufacturing of graphics cards are based on power and performance. Byron says as far as kinds are concerned there are two main manufacturers and a third, a smaller one. “Basically, an infinite variety is made by these companies to hit every price point, you can get old cards, new cards, powerful cards, and cards that are just basically there to add an extra display output for HDMI.” And then “the smaller players, Intel actually has their own integrated graphics that are very low power and low performance.”
There always has been a long debate, when it comes to purchasing graphics cards. One side supports that you should only buy new graphics cards and the other states that repurposing obsolete graphics cards is something that people should do. Byron says there are different points of view to both of those. “Brand new graphics cards come with a warranty and they’re brand new, so you’re not gonna have any major issues with them. The used graphics cards, you don’t necessarily know the history of it. If you’re buying it off of a place like eBay, you might not get a working card at all, which is kind of part of the risk. With a used graphics card, you definitely want to buy it from a reputable place, whether an eBay store or us as we sell used graphics cards, and we warranty them.” He says there is nothing wrong with buying a used graphics card as long as it’s working and the biggest thing is you just want to have a functional card. “If it’s working correctly, there’s nothing wrong with buying a used graphics card to save some money.”
In the era of cryptocurrencies, there is a major possibility that graphics cards were being used for mining before they hit shelves on second-hand online markets like eBay. But what is Mining?
Mining is the process of using your computer to generate cryptocurrency. Mining with a graphics card entails using your graphics card to generate virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. Bitcoin generation necessitates difficult problem-solving and/or calculation, which can only be accomplished by extremely powerful processors.
Byron says “if you’re buying a card locally from us, I doubt something will be used for mining, it is definitely possible. “However, the best way is to always take a look at the card in person before buying it. “You don’t want to buy it from a faceless entity on eBay because that’s where all of these cryptocurrency miners sell their cards when they’re done with them. So if you’re buying from someone in person, and you can physically inspect the card and make sure that it’s not just covered in dust and has obviously been used heavily for years, or if it’s whistle clean, it looks like it’s been turned on for a couple of hours every day. So when you’re in person, you can definitely tell the difference visually, although you can also clean a card very well,” he adds.
Can old cards ‘function’ properly?
“Absolutely they can in most cases they do function properly. This is why you always want to test it if you can before you make a purchase.”
A bit of cleaning can make the old struggling card run like new. “These cards are designed to run at full performance. So if you run it for an extended period of time, and you don’t maintain it properly, like making sure that there’s no dust in it so it doesn’t get too hot, then there’s no reason why even a used mining card would work fine for many more years as a gaming card after it’s done. As long as it’s been maintained, keeping the dust out of it is the biggest thing because it will kill computer components faster than anything else.”
Tomshardware.com recently published an article on used graphic cards that inspired me to dig deep and talk to our tech expert Byron about it. The article states a tremendous price hike among used graphics cards on eBay, which is basically because you can’t get new ones, says Byron. “So what cryptocurrency mining does, they use graphics cards for complex computations, as what a graphics card is good at is many complex computations every second, it’s a very dedicated piece of hardware for that. So it’s perfect for mining cryptocurrencies because it’s not specific to one you can use it for any cryptocurrency, so it can work with any of them. So all the cryptocurrency miners are buying them. And that’s driving the price up because everybody wants a graphics card for their computer. And unfortunately, supply and demand kick in and you end up seeing graphics cards for 3- $4,000 on eBay that are supposed to be like 1500 bucks or less.”
Prices go up when the demand is high and the supply is less. However, it appears that in this case, supply is at an all-time high, but it still can’t keep up with demand. “There’s no shortage of graphics cards. Nvidia and AMD are pumping out more graphics cards right now than they ever have in the past. It’s just the demand is so high, they simply cannot make them fast enough. If they could make them faster. It’s kind of like printing free money for them at this point. So there’s no reason why they wouldn’t if they could, they’re just maxed out, says Byron.
The left side might argue that the used graphics may stop working right after you purchase them.
Shelf life of a used Graphics card-
“So the average shelf life or like usable age of a graphics card varies pretty big like right now, I would say anything back to a 900 series graphics card, which is I believe four generations old at this point is still fine. If you’re running like a 970 or something that’s a perfectly acceptable graphics card. If you’re not playing the latest games, anything older than that, it might start to struggle, mostly because they don’t have enough video Ram,” adds Byron.
Normally, if given the option of paying MSRP for a new graphics card or saving a little money by purchasing a used graphics card from a previous generation, we would advise buyers to bite the bullet and get a used graphics card. “Right now. It’s just a complete mess. Everything is going for almost double or more of MSRP which is fairly insane. So yeah, just doing your research is the best thing I can advise everyone when they’re buying a graphics card,” advises Byron.
All it requires is a little research and an understanding of comparing the prices while browsing options.
Here’s the full conversation between Simran and Byron.
Simran
Well, a lot of my readers might not be tech-savvy and not familiar with the technological terms at all. Despite the fact that we’ve all been using graphic cards for years, some of us are still unsure what they are. So before we get into the meat of this discussion, let’s define what a graphics card is. As for today’s discussion, I have Byron with me from Evergreen Traders, and he will be sharing information on graphics cards with us. And trust me, he’s a pro. So let’s hear from Byron, what a graphics card is?
Byron
Hello, I’m Byron. So the graphics card is the part of your computer that displays images on the screen. More Powerful graphics cards can display more powerful or more detailed images. So that’s basically it in a nutshell.
Simran
Alright, so how many kinds of graphic cards are available?
Byron
As far as kinds, there’s two main manufacturers and a third, smaller one. As far as kinds of graphics cards, there’s basically an infinite variety made by these companies to hit every price point, you can get old cards, new cards, powerful cards, and cards that are just basically there to add an extra display output for HDMI. But the big players are AMD and video. And then the smaller players, Intel actually has their own integrated graphics that are very low power and low performance.
Simran
Alrighty, and there has been a long debate going on with two wings, one saying that you should use only new graphic cards. And the other one saying that you know, using old graphic cards is something that people would like to do. So what do you think? What is your take on that?
Byron
I understand the point of view of both of those. So brand new graphics cards come with a warranty and they’re brand new, so you’re not gonna have any major issues with them. They use graphics cards, you don’t necessarily know the history of it. If you’re buying it off of a place like eBay, you might not get a working card at all, which is kind of part of the risk. With a used graphics head, you definitely want to buy it from a reputable place, whether an eBay store us we sell us graphics cards, and we warranty them. So there’s that takes a little bit of that worry away when you’re buying them from us. But the biggest thing is you just want to have a functional card. If it’s working correctly, there’s nothing wrong with buying a used graphics card to save some money.
Simran
Right? And do you believe that purchasing a used graphic card raises the possibility that it was used for mining especially when we are in a world of cryptocurrencies?
Byron
If you’re buying a card locally from us, I doubt something will be used for mining, it is definitely possible. But again, you want to buy it from someone in person. You don’t want to buy it from a faceless entity on eBay because that’s where all of these cryptocurrency miners sell their cards when they’re done with them. So if you’re buying from someone in person, and you can physically inspect the carrot and make sure that it’s not just covered in dust and has obviously been used heavily for years, or if it’s whistle clean, it looks like it’s been turned on for a couple of hours every day. So when you’re in person, you can definitely tell the difference visually, although you can also clean a card very well so
Simran
and is it possible a bit of cleaning will make the used card that was struggling run like new?
Byron
It is definitely possible These cards are designed to run at full performance. So if you run it for an extended period of time, and you don’t maintain it properly, like making sure that there’s no dust in it so it doesn’t get too hot, then there’s no reason why even a used mining card would work fine for many more years as a gaming card after it’s done. As long as it’s been maintained, keeping the dust out of it is the biggest thing because he will kill computer components faster than anything else.
Simran
So is it true to say that the old cards can function properly?
Byron
Absolutely they can in most cases they do function properly. This is why you always want to test it if you can before you can purchase a pre-purchase something
Simran
right and I was recently reading this article online that said that there has been a certain hike in the prices of the used graphic cards, the ones that were being sold for around $300 the used graphic cards they have been now selling for like $500. Why do you think we’re seeing a drastic change in the prices of the used graphic cards?
Byron
basically, because you can’t get new ones. So what cryptocurrency mining does, they use graphics cards for complex computations, as what a graphics card is good at is many complex computations every second, it’s a very dedicated piece of hardware for that. So it’s perfect for mining cryptocurrencies because it’s, you can, it’s not specific to one you can use it for any cryptocurrency you can program it, so it can work with any of them. So all the cryptocurrency miners are buying them. And that’s driving the price up because everybody wants a graphics card for their computer. And unfortunately, supply and demand kicks in and you end up seeing graphics cards for 3- $4,000 on eBay that are supposed to be like 1500 bucks or less. And it’s kind of sad to see, but that’s just the world we’re living in currently.
Simran
Right? Absolutely. And well, can we call it an official graphics card shortage, then?
Byron
I think the shortage is the wrong term. There’s no shortage of graphics cards. Nvidia and AMD are pumping out more graphics cards right now than they ever have in the past. It’s just the demand is so high, they simply cannot make them fast enough. If they could make them faster. It’s kind of like printing free money for them at this point. So there’s no reason why they wouldn’t if they could, they’re just maxed out.
Simran
Totally makes sense, and who doesn’t like free money. Well, if we’re leaning towards buying used graphics cards, what about the average shelf life of a used card? How long do these used ones survive?
Byron
So the average shelf life or like usable age of a graphics card varies pretty big like right now, I would say anything back to a 900 series graphics card, which is I believe four generations old at this point is still fine. If you’re running like a 970 or something that’s a perfectly acceptable graphics card. If you’re not playing the latest games, anything older than that, it might start to struggle, mostly because they don’t have enough video Ram.
Simran
Absolutely. Alright, so do you think it is a good idea to buy a used graphics card? What would you support the left-wing, New graphics card side or the right-wing, Used graphics card side?
Byron
I buy all my graphics cards used. I have never purchased a new one. Actually, that’s all I did buy my very first graphics card brand new, but that was about 15 years ago. But since then, I’ve only ever had used graphics cards. I just make sure that I test them before I purchase them. And I’ve never had an issue.
Simran
And is there any message that you’d want my readers to know?
Byron
The biggest thing about graphics here is you’ve got to do your research, you’ve got to look at comparables, you’ve got to kind of understand how these things work and how they compare to each other. So if you’re looking for a graphics card, look around and see if you can find it for a better price somewhere else because I’ll bet you you can, especially with us ones with new cards. Right now. It’s just a complete mess. Everything is going for almost double or more of MSRP which is fairly insane. So yeah, just doing your research is the best thing I can advise everyone when they’re buying a graphics card.
Simran
Perfect. Thank you so much Byron for sharing all this information. And thanks so much for taking out time and being here.
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