Palit tells customers to avoid second hand graphics card used for mining

[jsilva]

In brief: With the crypto mining craze settling, listings of used graphics cards have started to flood second-hand product resellers. Pricing of these tends to be more attractive than buying the same graphics card new, but according to Taiwanese-based hardware maker Palit, the risk of getting a damaged graphics card is not worth it.

With Ethereum hovering around $2,300 per token and difficulty back to more than 7.0P, crypto-currency mining isn't as profitable as it was earlier this year. Mineable crypto alternatives are not much better than Ethereum, leading miners to sell some of their cards to recoup costs.

Most listings originate from the Chinese government crackdown on miners, but a quick look at eBay also shows that there's also a decent amount of used graphics cards listed. Some of them may not have been used for mining, but it's hard to know which ones were and the ones that weren't. Vague and empty product descriptions also don't help.

Also see: GPU Availability and Pricing Update: July 2021

Most of these listings come with competitive prices, selling them below what we usually see at retailers (but not MSRP), but because they were used for mining, there's some possible loss of performance. At least that's what Palit says, claiming that independent tests have proven that after a year of use, the GPU's performance is reduced by about 10%.

That loss of performance doesn't always happen. If a miner is careful to ensure that enough air was reaching the card and the card was undervolted, the loss of performance may not be noticeable. On the other hand, some miners simply plug them in cranked spaces and start mining, making them work at higher than recommended temperatures, leading to possible oxidation of the soldered joints and faster deterioration of the thermal pads and paste.

Moreover, used mining graphics cards may also have been modified. Miners may replace cooling systems, thermocouples and fans to max out mining output, voiding the graphics cards' warranty and leaving the future customer unprotected if an issue arises.

As a GPU manufacturer, Palit doesn't get any revenue from users buying graphics cards from other users, so it's not surprising to see them trying to reroute buyers' attention to new cards. Nonetheless, they have a point to make on how careful you should be when buying a used GPU.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/90611-palit-tells-customers-avoid-second-hand-graphics-card.html

 

[wiyosaya]

Given Palit is a GPU manufacturer, I am highly skeptical of this. Unless I were to see independent confirmation of this, I have to doubt their conclusions. Even used for mining, it is not like a GPU is a car ICE engine run without oil.

 

[Dimitriid]

So the solution is that they should just end up on a land field?

If you didn't want your cards to be perceived as X% slower because of the previous use perhaps Palit and other AIBs shouldn't have made it super easy for their cards to end up with miners to the point that we know they HAD TO be at least closely associated with distributors selling direct to miners, if not themselves selling direct to miners.

I'd have stronger language for the cynicism at display here if there weren't moderation and rules here.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

The "independant tests" found on youtube all show the same thing, any performance lost is chalked up to higher temperatures by worn paste and can easily be remedied by a paste swap. Palit even SAYS this.

If your solder is oxidizing from operating temperatures then your card's cooler sucks balls and your solder is low quality garbage.

 

[Achaios]

I can attest to Palit GPU quality of manufacture.

I have owned a Palit GTX 1080 Gamerock, non-premium edition, since the beginning and it still rocks on after 5 years of daily gaming.

I wasn't a fan of China GPUs until I bought this Palit GPU. The Gamerock series are the high end customer line of products, and come with superior quality of manufacture compared to entry models.

Based on my XP with Palit, I'd avoid entry models and buy instead premium/high end second-hand models and repaste before use.

 

[Lew Zealand]

If Palit has a range of 3080s and 6800XTs available for list price, then I'm willing to buy. Oh, don't have those sitting around for me? Then stop the stupid pointless transparent PR stunt.

I'm willing to bet that any "10% reduction" is from custom mining BIOS flashes, which is a risk if you need to flash the BIOS back to gaming performance. That could fail, leaving you with an unusually shaped brick.

 

[Kosmoz]

So the solution is that they should just end up on a land field?

If you didn't want your cards to be perceived as X% slower because of the previous use perhaps Palit and other AIBs shouldn't have made it super easy for their cards to end up with miners to the point that we know they HAD TO be at least closely associated with distributors selling direct to miners, if not themselves selling direct to miners.

I'd have stronger language for the cynicism at display here if there weren't moderation and rules here.

Exactly. All the AIBs (and nvidia and AMD) made a truckload of $$$ selling them to miners and now they also want the same GPUs to not be bought on the used market, at all, by anyone... pffff, sure.

How to have your cake and eat it too, right Palit? Well, these are the consequences of you and your "friends" actions and now you get to taste some of that greed, but backwards.

If only crypto and prices would crash even more faster... Even for a few months only, it would be great. Imagine Bitcoin crashing to $20k and staying there for 3 months, we would have great used prices for GPUs then and even new ones would drop nicely, much closer to MSRP.

One can only dream...

 

[Theinsanegamer]

If Palit has a range of 3080s and 6800XTs available for list price, then I'm willing to buy. Oh, don't have those sitting around for me? Then stop the stupid pointless transparent PR stunt.

I'm willing to bet that any "10% reduction" is from custom mining BIOS flashes, which is a risk if you need to flash the BIOS back to gaming performance. That could fail, leaving you with an unusually shaped brick.

That's only an issue with older cards. The RTX 3000/RX6000 dont allow for custom vBIOS flashes anymore.

 

[stewi0001]

I swear someone posted a YouTube video somewhere on TS of a performance comparison between a new and used graphics card... I can't find it though.

 

[Nobina]

It's like those warnings don't use hair dryers while having a shower. It's got to be said before someone actually does it and the company that made the item is getting blamed. Someone will buy a used GPU that was used for mining and wasn't undervolted and cooled properly and will blame the manufacturer if it dies.

 

[Kwerpi]

I wonder how much profit this “independent test” made from mining lol

 

[shark975]

Company that makes new things advises against buying used things, news at 11

 

[Peter Farkas]

What Palit says is rubbish.
They just try to sell more cards, but an ex-miner GPU with new thermal paste and pads (and new fans if they are too noisy) is just as good as new.
Unless they mined with it without any expertise and operated the cards at 75+ Celsius for years without stop.

 

[elementalSG]

When my GPUs are mining when I’m not gaming, the cards are undervolted and running well below the normal TDP compared to when I’m gaming because you want to hash at the highest rates while using the least amount of power!

This also means my GPUs are running at only 50-65 Celsius and so much cooler than when I’m gaming (By default NVidia sets the fans to keep the GPU at 80C).

No idea what Palit is talking about

 

[MasterMace]

Palit confirming they make garbage

 

[pcnthuziast]

Funny how just hearing that brand Palit mentioned I instantly think of mining and not gaming. I feel like brands like that were the choice of miners and other non game use long before the current market and shortages. I have never heard Palit and thought quality gaming graphics.

 

[Burty117]

I mean, if all the manufacturers could echo the same message, it'd bring second hand pricing down a bit. They don't lose anything since they don't don't get a cut anyway.

 

[Dimitriid]

Funny how just hearing that brand Palit mentioned I instantly think of mining and not gaming. I feel like brands like that were the choice of miners and other non game use long before the current market and shortages. I have never heard Palit and thought quality gaming graphics.

They're known to target the chinese market so most western users haven't but that is not reflective of their popularity.

EDIT: That was Galax, not Palit, but the first part applies.

 

[CrisisDog]

I can’t wrap my head around a graphics card loosing performance due to use. Yeah, it may overheat / downclock if the thermal paste and pads are dried out, or if there’s dust in the heatsink fins. Repaste, clean the fins out, and you should be good to go. It’s not like a car with moving parts that would wear out with friction. Minus the fan, of course.

 

[cuerdc]

Gpu price crash come on....been waiting a long while can wait longer...evergiven has finally docked in rotterdam unknown stock on there hope it fully loaded with ps5s and gpus.

 

[Austinturner]

So the solution is that they should just end up on a land field?

If you didn't want your cards to be perceived as X% slower because of the previous use perhaps Palit and other AIBs shouldn't have made it super easy for their cards to end up with miners to the point that we know they HAD TO be at least closely associated with distributors selling direct to miners, if not themselves selling direct to miners.

I'd have stronger language for the cynicism at display here if there weren't moderation and rules here.

If a manufacturer actually cared about waste in this case they would have a buy-back refurbishment program to replace the thermal pads and then warranty the refurbished cards. But most companies do not care about waste or recycling.

 

[duckofdeath]

So the solution is that they should just end up on a land field?

If you didn't want your cards to be perceived as X% slower because of the previous use perhaps Palit and other AIBs shouldn't have made it super easy for their cards to end up with miners to the point that we know they HAD TO be at least closely associated with distributors selling direct to miners, if not themselves selling direct to miners.

I'd have stronger language for the cynicism at display here if there weren't moderation and rules here.

They're saying it's a bad investment, which is true. It's up to you to choose if you think you're savvy enough to turn that into a bargain. Obviously you aren't, as these mining farms has already been seen selling of worn out cards in bulk to "refurbishers", who will make you pay way more than you should, for a "renewed" card or other scams.

 

[Moochy]

Given Palit is a GPU manufacturer, I am highly skeptical of this. Unless I were to see independent confirmation of this, I have to doubt their conclusions. Even used for mining, it is not like a GPU is a car ICE engine run without oil.

Don't buy used GPU's, buy new so we can make money.

 

[nismo91]

Seriously, what else can they say?

I used to work for a heavy equipment rental company. one day someone asked me to rent a crane for construction, but it must be brand "A" because their engineering company is associated with the brand "A". they were not pleased when I told them we only have few "A" and it is rented by someone else.

so he asked me whether our company would consider buying new "A" to add for our fleets. I frankly told him that we rarely buy brand new "A" because "B" is more competitive so we only get used "A" periods.

then he told me: sigh.. I understand, "A" biggest competitor right now is their own second-hand units. we have difficulties selling new cranes because our 10yo cranes are still running very well.

I bet the CEO of Palit would say the same thing. let's tell everyone to avoid our second-hand units so we can sell more cards. let's face it, we're not gonna say no to used RTX that costs less than a third of their new counterpart.

 

[Dimitriid]

Seriously, what else can they say?

I used to work for a heavy equipment rental company. one day someone asked me to rent a crane for construction, but it must be brand "A" because their engineering company is associated with the brand "A". they were not pleased when I told them we only have few "A" and it is rented by someone else.

so he asked me whether our company would consider buying new "A" to add for our fleets. I frankly told him that we rarely buy brand new "A" because "B" is more competitive so we only get used "A" periods.

then he told me: sigh.. I understand, "A" biggest competitor right now is their own second-hand units. we have difficulties selling new cranes because our 10yo cranes are still running very well.

I bet the CEO of Palit would say the same thing. let's tell everyone to avoid our second-hand units so we can sell more cards. let's face it, we're not gonna say no to used RTX that costs less than a third of their new counterpart.

While the analogy example you provide would be understandeable, I don't really think is comparable: the amount of mining cards being resold right now would barely put a dent on the built up backlog demand we have right now: Palit can still sell every single card they'd manage to produce even if 100% of the former mining Palit cards on the markets was also sold and it would still keep prices inflated a great deal that's how bad the situation is.

So to answer the initial question, saying nothing at all would have been way better than putting their foot in their mouth unnecessarily.