jackofalltrades
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2006
- Messages
- 3,740
my question is what does mining do to video cards?
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They list it for full disclosure... any serious miner is undervolting the card and keeping the temps far below the heat and cool cycle (in a confined case) that a gamer will put it through.
This is so misleading that it needs to stop being repeated. ETH is currently the most popular form of GPU mining and while people undervolt and under clock the GPU, they also at the same time crack up the VRAM speeds to clocks that are MUCH higher than any gaming card would see because it would crash or artifact at a far lower clock speed. Then there’s the fact that it’s under load 24/7 which also doesn’t happen in games.
Have you actually used a former mining card and noticed any issue in your gaming performance?
Basically if you're a gamer I'd avoid them, unless they were available at a decent discount.good to know I really haven't kept up with stuff like this.
Me personally? No, but that isn’t what I said.. I said people need to stop saying it puts less stress on them then gaming. It doesn’t, and it isn’t even close. If you say otherwise you’re either lying or have no idea what you’re talking about. Both would categorize you as someone who shouldn’t be bought from.
And where did I say it puts less stress? It's entirely different stress comparisons but having actually used cards that have been mined with for gaming purposes, in additional to having friends that still use 7950/7970s without issue for gaming, I'd say you have no idea what you are talking about. A well taken care of mining card is going to be able to perform and last for a gamer, no different than a non-mined on card. Period, end of discussion. I would have absolutely no qualms about buying a used mining card for either further mining purposes or gaming if it came from a serious miner (now, that's half the battle of weeding through the shit miners that go balls-to-the-wall). Frankly, non-miners need to quit parroting the same shit about former mining cards being used for gaming.
As for buying from me, don't. I'd prefer not to deal with ignorant buyers; and full disclosure, when I do list cards (rare at best), I always state whether they have been mined on or not.
It is in fact entirely different stress mechanisms. Mining puts more stress on every single component. GPU and power delivery for being under load 24/7, memory from being over locked to the moon AND being under load 24/7 and the fan for running 24/7
You can certainly buy a card that has been used for mining and have no problems, but your risk is significantly higher. Why do you think it’s common practice to disclose? You think people want to know if a card has been mined on because they’re getting a card in BETTER condition than a gaming card? Lol
You failed to mention any of that in your post and only mentioned temperature cycling (which they’re actually designed for) as some sort of benefit to buying a card that has been mined on. So which is it? Are you really that clueless or just FOS? Take your pick. After your most recent reply, I don’t see that you have a 3rd option.
Wow I didn't think my question would spark a debate. But all of this is good information anyway. I kind of figured it was on the thought that mining overstressed the cards even if that wasn't really the case. I personally don't game but I'm thinking of buying a used card and was only wondering if I should look into this as an option for my purchase. if the price is cheap enough and what I could use, I guess so for a $50 savings no I think not.
Wow I didn't think my question would spark a debate. But all of this is good information anyway. I kind of figured it was on the thought that mining overstressed the cards even if that wasn't really the case. I personally don't game but I'm thinking of buying a used card and was only wondering if I should look into this as an option for my purchase. if the price is cheap enough and what I could use, I guess so for a $50 savings no I think not.
As for memory clocks, while some miners can push a card hard in that regard, I'm willing to bet the majority have overclocks of being more inline with a respectable overclock (maybe in the ballpark of +125-300mhz). I suppose you have never overclocked a gpu, your cpu, or memory either.
The science is that the wires/devices in these cards do wear down as electric currents run through them, in a way like water erodes whatever they're flowing through. After a certain amount of use, some connection somewhere will break. When that happens, things stop working as they're designed to.
I’m not going to get in the debate but wanted to point something out. When ever these threads come up, look at who’s commenting. It’s generally 2 groups - People who don’t want to buy used mining cards, and people who sell mining cards trying to convince everyone that their cards are fine.
I am an EE and I've never seen that as a derating on any component, ever.
Deratings for heat is normal though.
Dayaks is right, it is really not an issue to worry about.
If you don't believe us (both EEs) - I'll quote the link you posted:
"In modern consumer electronic devices, ICs rarely fail due to electromigration effects. This is because proper semiconductor design practices incorporate the effects of electromigration into the IC's layout."
When we design chips (and boards), we're actually are expecting you to run them 24/7. That's not the exception, it's the expectation.
I don't think you need to be an EE to know that not all components are equal. These days, the quality of individual components are vastly better in some cases and vastly worse in others. Maybe graphics cards have the best components relatively speaking compared to motherboards or power supplies. I can see that. But all it takes is that one. A phrase that comes up in my mind and still holds true to do this day is "you're only as strong as your weakest link". Under "normal" usage this component would be fine, but under constant stress it will eventually fail. Let's say after 10,000 hours for shits and giggles. A mined card will hit that number much sooner. On the flipside, when conductive materials cycle through hot and cold on a regular basis it can cause premature failure. Kind of how light bulbs often pop when you flip the switch on. That same light bulb may have lasted a lot longer if it was just left on. Anyway, personally I'm in the camp that mined cards should be avoided, however for the right price I might go for it. With the current market, it just makes sense to buy new right now. Piece of mind which is very important.
Can I be an EE too?
Sure thing. Just find a pleasure island to vacation at for 4 years and it can be arranged.
The closest island to where I went to school is Alcatraz, I think. Not sure that qualifies as a pleasure island.
Considering I am mining on some 7950's from 2012 that were used in the litecoin days.........I have no idea why people get their pants in a wad over it. Nobody asks someone selling a used CPU, "How much rendering did it do in PovRay? Was it idling or clocking up when you owned it?"
Mostly butthurt gamers mad about GPU prices being high demanding a discount I think.
Last time I sold off all my mining cards (here on [H]), not one person complained of problems with the video cards. I was even expecting problems and told people to let me know if they have issues.