The graphics cards for this process are unnecessary totally or at least, in such a massive way. Yes, powerful systems are needed to perform the verifications, but not systems with a lot of graphics anymore.
Since the graphics cards are no longer needed, what do they do with them? About him 45% of the power of the Ethereum network before the change passed to other networks What ravencoinGrhine and other graphics card friendly. The remaining 55% has disappearedwhich in other words is: they have shut down the miners and the hardware is sold.
Thus, we have a massive sale of graphics cards that come from mining. Now we need to know how to identify them, something that is really simpler than you might think.
So we can identify a graph from mining
We are now going to see what are the considerations or factors that can tell us if a graph has been used in mining. We will explain from the simplest and most obvious identification to different ways to detect it if we have doubts.
One vendor, many charts
The first thing we should always do is enter the seller’s profile on Wallapop, Segundamano and any other website that we visit for the purchase. It is important to see the items you have for sale and those who have already sold. If you have many graphics cards for sale, may have been used in mining of Ethereum. Additionally, we can see if it sells high-power power supplies or specific motherboards for the mining process.
They don’t always have to come from mining, in this case. Can be a user who is dedicated to the purchase and sale of second-hand hardware or some retail store. They could even be trefurbished graphics cards or what have been repaired. It is important in these cases to make sure that they give us guarantee of at least six months and thus verify the purchase.
Something that also usually gives them away is not showing images of the graph. Usually usual that some go up images taken directly from the internet, whether they are generic of the product or reviews of different websites. You always have to verify and request images of the product to see the state.
Specifications are very important.
First of all, you should know the complete specifications of the graphics card, especially the amount of VRAM memory. This may seem silly to you, but it has a technical explanation. The Ethereum DAGs requires the graphics card to have at least 6 GB of VRAM memory. Said DAG file weighs more than 4 GB and of course, if the card has that amount of video memory or less, it would not be good for mining. It does not mean that it has not been used for mining, since there are other blockchain networks that have DAG of less than 4 GB, but it is not the most common.
We must also know if it has protection measures against mining. Most of the NVIDIA RTX 30 Series already include LHR (Low Hash Rate) this measure identifies if the GPU is used for mining and reduces yield to the half. That measure has been broken countless times, so it’s not a guarantee either. We also have to know that AMD has never included measurements against mining in their Radeon products.
It is important that you know the specific model to verify the working frequencies and other parameters such as the working voltages. Perhaps this last parameter is more complex to find, but if we search the internet, we can find it.
come with box
It still seems absurd to you, but what do not have the box is an important indicator. If he was a small miner, he may have kept the boxes, but if he had a large mining farm, he may have thrown them away. You must think that the boxes take up an enormous amount of space and can be annoying elements. Normally they throw them away and when they sell them second hand, they sell them without a box and that sings.
As an example, we have a stall in Vietnam at street level. We see a person with a large number of graphics cards piled up on the floor and selling without further ado. It looks like a fast food stall, but here you get a graphics card used in mining at a very low price. At least curious.
Price difference
There are two common price ranges when it comes to graphics cards that are sold on the second-hand market and have been used for mining: vendors keep the price much higher than the average, or they sell it at a much lower price.
In the first case, they state that the GPU they are going to sell you has been from personal use and that has hardly been used, it is obviously false. This is a dishonest tactic and you should be very careful of sellers telling you this: just because it’s expensive doesn’t mean it’s in better condition.
In the second case, the sellers will explicitly say that the GPU has been used for mining and that its price is lower for that, although there are those who do not give any explanation about it. If a GPU is priced noticeably lower than average, you should be suspicious. The key in any case is to look at the average price of the second-hand market of the model you intend to buy.
Take a look at the GPU status
Right off the bat, the most obvious thing you might notice is PCB discoloration. If you detect visible defects, it is likely that the unit has suffered from heat damage due to intense loads for a long time, and precisely this problem is quite frequent in graphics that have been used for mining.
The next thing to look for are the video connection ports. The GPU who are especially ddesigned or adjusted for mining don’t have as many DVI, HDMI or DP ports like average. Another thing to keep in mind is overclocking: While many miners don’t overclock their GPUs for mining, many others do, so you should look if the DRAM chips are visible and if they have PCB discoloration around or have oily glossessign that something is not right.
The last thing you could look at externally is more complicated because it requires that remove the heatsink, since it is the thermal paste of the GPU. Nap parched and solidified probably had to withstand more heat than necessarygiving the same problems as the previous ones.
BIOS and tests
GPUs used in mining often have settings in the BIOS different from the factory ones or modified. So one thing you can do is ask the seller for a GPU-Z screenshot and compare it with the original graph that you can most likely find easily on the Internet. If the values are changed, that graphics card has probably been overclocked and used for mining.
Finally, another thing you can do is ask the seller to subject the graph to a Furmark test and send you a screenshot of the operating temperatures. This will help you determine if the chart is working properly or if it is getting too hot.
