The forums begin to fill with second-hand mining GPUs because once again mining cryptocurrencies with these components begins to be unprofitable for many, so, is buying a graphics card that has been used for it safe?
Palit talks about the performance of mining GPUs
Controversial topic like few others and where now Palit gives his vision of the facts about these uses in his GPUs. Is there a performance loss between a GPU that has mined 24/7 and one that has not? The company claims that there is a possible loss of performance.
To be more specific, Palit has conducted a series of independent tests that have shown that after a year of use the performance of the GPU that it was mining was reduced by approximately 10%, no less. On the other hand, this loss of performance is not produced 100% of the time and the degradation depends on a series of associated factors: the aeration of the card depending on where it is placed, the correct voltage for the desired frequency and, to a lesser extent, the humidity. ambient.
Those who have not conditioned their rig for these purposes offer higher temperatures for their cards, which in conclusions of the brand allows a possible oxidation of the welds and a faster deterioration of thermal paste and pads.
Other drawbacks added to mining graphics cards
Palit claims that many users are modifying graphics cards with liquid cooled heatsinks or blocks, thereby dispensing with the original heatsink and thus voiding the warranty they offer. This leaves the second-hand buyer unprotected even though the card has a valid guarantee and invoice.
In short, a 24/7 mining GPU can suffer a performance drop due to causes such as those subscribed above and other derivatives such as dust, but in any case its welds and components are being exposed to continuous stress that makes its effectiveness is lost. In thermal pastes and pad, it is enough to replace them, but in terms of fan bearings and degradation of the chip and the PCB there is no going back, especially if the card has a very high TDP where the effects are pronounced to a greater extent and more. quickly.
Now, do these effects occur in just one year due to inadequate quality of the components? Or instead, is it inevitable that it happens? No one is going to argue that PCB and electronic systems that now include GPUs are much more advanced and expensive than before. A current phase controller can regulate the same or greater number of phases without problem. VRM than before, but with much higher peak voltage and amps.
Does this only happen in Palit or do all manufacturers suffer from the same symptoms? Does the average user trust a second-hand GPU knowing they’ve mined?
