should I buy a gpu used for mining?

Posted by Timely-Yak-9039@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 55 comments

hello, I am planning to install an egpu in my current setup, and was planning to buy an 1060. the 1060 itself isnt that expensive, but I also have to buy an egpu enclosure which would cost me atleast 60 dollars more. so I went looking for ways to save money and found an 1060 used for mining. my question is, how much will it affect gaming performance? im not looking for something that can run all games on ultra, 1440p, raytracing... im just looking for something that can run games on 1080p because my eyes are really tired of seeing 720p games. also will the gpu overheat quicker if it was used for mining?

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Some-Internet-Rando@reddit

Graphics cards don't "slowly degrade" -- they either work as normal, or they have problems. Problems are typically pretty obvious -- anything from image corruption, to random crashes, to refusing to turn on. As long as it runs fine, it will run at the same performance as any other card of the same generation (modulo any physical alterations that may have been made -- check it!)

FWIW, I think a 1060 might be under-shooting what you could do with an external enclosure -- when the enclosure has a real cost, it might be worth it to get something slightly bigger to get the most out of the investment; i e, the "bang for buck" equation shifts equilibrium upwards. A 1060 isn't recommended for 1440p gaming for modern games anymore.

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Timely-Yak-9039@reddit (OP)

I decided to buy the rx5600 instead of the 1060, currently shipping from usa which will take definetly 3 months atleast in my past experiences. I would've bought a 1070 or maybe even a 2060, but ofc ebay charges 100 dollars for shipping from the usa (note: it doesnt cost 100 dollars to ship from usa to europe.)

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420KillaNA@reddit

just make sure the actual model isn't an ASIC "mining only" type and you can actually use it for gaming as well - just FYI as there are "you can only mine on this shit" GPUs

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Timely-Yak-9039@reddit (OP)

that really exists? wow, thanks for letting me know

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420KillaNA@reddit

yea they're are some that "don't work with monitor" as they're legit mining-only - most still do somewhat as need to configure the miner app itself - but other than a simple image aren't capable of 1080p 60fps or more or less "gaming graphics" (well they are, but disabling/limiting that ability to benefit mining performance instead) -- generally though you probably wouldn't find one - but as this ad you saw, it's always generally a good idea to ask - just to know & most ppl would admit it in title or just "no this GPU is strictly mining only and incapable of gaming" - sometimes, which doesn't always happen, is if they list the exact model # of card in sale ad - usually you could Google it and verify this that way also without having to ask via email or other contact options

I know there is a "subclass" of GPU labels and forget what it is exactly - but say "4090-M" or so may be a "4090 crypto mining only" (something like that, someone here may know exactly but that's not accurate js I made that shit up "4090-M" just as a example) of which you could probably apply "the actual prefix/suffix code" and such to any common GPU reference "4060-M" (also a made up example)

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Timely-Yak-9039@reddit (OP)

fucking mental mate

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clappedhams@reddit

I've owned several used mining cards and never had an issue.

Some people talk about them like they're bombs. They're a piece of electronic equipment and eventually they will degrade internally and cease to operate but that's not to say that it happens quickly.

This is just anecdotal. It might be fine for your entire ownership, it might die earlier than anticipated.

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steaksoldier@reddit

The worst part of mining cards is custom bios installs that make gaming performance worse. Miners tend to run their cards at lower power targets for heat management anyways don’t they?

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turtleship_2006@reddit

You can always just install new drivers

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steaksoldier@reddit

Drivers and bios are not the same thing. Last i checked you need to manually flash the bios on the card itself to replace the mining bios that miners put on their cards.

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turtleship_2006@reddit

Oh right, my bad. I didn't know they had their own bios lol

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Timely-Yak-9039@reddit (OP)

how hard is it to flash the bios? like what do you need to do

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steaksoldier@reddit

Honestly no clue. Might be able to through a windows program. I know for flashing the bios on a laptop you need a tool that kinda looks like a tiny pair of jumper cables and to plug that in to another pc via usb. But thats only if the current bios is corrupt.

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turtleship_2006@reddit

LTT even did a video a few years ago where they compared cards that were used for mining for 3 years and brand new ones and the performance difference was marginal

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Admiral_peck@reddit

You can get a much better gpu for a similar price, rx5600's are very cheap and will DEMOLISH the 1060 in everything thanks to much more VRAM and a simply newer chip. You can also look at 1070's high regular go for $70-80 used on ebay

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Timely-Yak-9039@reddit (OP)

I have had negative experiences with amd gpus before, but since so many people are telling me to buy the 5600 ig I will

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Admiral_peck@reddit

AMD has come a VERY long way with their gpu's over the last several years, both in hardware and in drivers. The rx 580 is the oldest I would go, and you can consider anything after that just as reliable as a comparable nvidia card (as long as you don't care about raytracing)

Probably half the industry now would agree that a 7k series amd card is usually the best value if you don't care about RT, have a budget of less than $2k, and are only gaming. Nvidia is better for non-gaming tasks by a Longshot, that said, a radeon card can still do anything an nvidia card can, it's just often slower outside gaming or specific programs, buy considering how much cheaper they are for the same gaming fps, for many it's still worth it.

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Weak_Lingonberry_641@reddit

What kind of setup you're running that has at least a Thunderbolt3/USB4 that would also have a significant improvement from a 1060?

Ngl, it seems to me like some contradictory parameters (i know it can be an ultrabook)

Also, the enclosure and psu will prolly be more expensive than the gpu

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Timely-Yak-9039@reddit (OP)

i am unable to disclose this due to rule 4, but in my defense the communities where I was directed to were of no help.

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Local-moss-eater@reddit

Yes

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No-Job-4431@reddit

If the price is right i wouldnt mind it.

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Arkennase@reddit

*mine it

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UltimateSlayer3001@reddit

And my axe!

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chevyguyjoe@reddit

I bought a RX5700XT used for mining for my wife's PC. One of the fans was very noisy, so I had to buy new fans for less than $20. After that I've had no issues. It's been almost a year.

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Actual_Cricket4943@reddit

I think it was linius tec talk who did a video about buying used mining cards. This was when nobody could get any gpu. They tested the cards they worked fine.

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beirch@reddit

Linius Tec Talk, bitter rivals of Linus Tech Tips.

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FlukeRoads@reddit

It is likely to need new thermal paste, but either it works or not. Also find it if the vbios has been changed and if you can find a stock vbios to change back to

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ScreenwritingJourney@reddit

I would rather spend a bit more for a 1070 or 5700XT. The 1060, especially the 3GB one, is pretty anemic for modern 1080p. 10 series cards will get support dropped soon too so maybe get a 2060 instead? Idk if your EGPU enclosure would handle that so well though…

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DarkMaster859@reddit

Yes, I’d say it’s probably better in fact. Gaming GPUs have the temperatures sit at 70 degrees for 2 hours then drop back to room temperatures which creates this up-down cycle of temperature. Mining GPUs are usually undervolted and cooled quite well, albeit over longer periods of time. So I’dsay at the very most the fan bearings could wear out quicker but the GPU itself would probably be healthier

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Omgazombie@reddit

I don’t see why the bearing would wear out faster since they’re at a constant speed, gaming GPUs ramp up and down constantly, and some even turn the fans on and off which is pretty rough on bearings

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CockroachCommon2077@reddit

Fuck no

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_Lollerics_@reddit

The fact that cards used for mining are bad for gaming is completely false.

They are even often better in appearence condition due to them being maintained more often since they provided income to the owner, and the fact that mining puts a constant stress amount on the card actually makes it degrade less than when used in gaming and having stress fluctuations

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elgorbochapo@reddit

I'm using one right now. It was unusable until I re-pasted it, and even now sort of has stability issues. Although the stability issues could be because it's an RX 570. Not the most stable cad to begin with

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relevant_rhino@reddit

If you also buy a time machine and travel back to 2013 to mine Dogecoin, then yes.

And please call me and let me know that DOGE will be worth more than a cent in the future and that Mining is more important than sleep.

If you don't have a time machine, don't.

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arch111i@reddit

Coming from a former miner.. most likely you will be fine. Typically farm cards are taken good care of, no one wants it to burn out and replace the GPU periodically, nor they run under full load or with fans maxed.

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Ok-Let4626@reddit

Sure

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AnnieBruce@reddit

Should be fine.

Several YouTubers have tested used mining cards and the fears they'd be a nightmare seem pretty unfounded. Of course there's some risk to used in general, but between undervolting and running them under clean, climate controlled conditions because they don't want their mine to blow up at random, miners tend to treat their cards pretty well. They get a lot of use but it's consistent use and rarely at their absolute peak capacity like gaming can often do.

IT's like how a car used mainly on highways will almost always achieve much higher mileage between failures than a city car(the one advantage of my commute).

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kaleperq@reddit

I'd recommend Re pasting the card and I'll run great. Have a 1050 mobile currently and can run a lot in 1080p low to mid settings. Although whith studders from single channel ram.

Hope you enjoy your upgrade, and maybe look into higher performance ones if they are in your price point, considering you'll need a 1080p display and idk if you have ir.

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HotEnthusiasm4124@reddit

Clean it before using. Run a stress test before running any games on it (after driver install obviously). If temps seem high. Replace thermal paste. It should be fine.

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Electric-Mountain@reddit

If the price is right then yes I would. Just repaste it

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OkWoodpecker3491@reddit

Leave the 1060 on eBay and buy a 5600xt

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tekkn0@reddit

Honestly if you find rx570 or rx580 I think it'll be better if it's 1060 6gb that's alright but the 3gb ones are really weak

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SnooDonuts412@reddit

only for the right price half and below. but if your buying premium go for the longest warranty saves you a lot of headaches..

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CtrlAltDesolate@reddit

If it was a responsible miner (undervolted, freshly pasted and not red-lined) then it'll be in a better state than most that were used for gaming probably.

But if it's some idiot that slapped it in, overclocked it and pushed it to it's limit without optimising their config - it could be on it's last legs.

Ask the right questions about what's been done with it, hopefully all good- if the guy can't answer or seems like a gormless dork, hard pass.

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threehuman@reddit

They tend ot be in better condition than cards used for gaming because of less thermal cycling

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Atrium41@reddit

Also less gamer ball cheese

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M0HAK0@reddit

No only because it may have less life in it. Im starting ti think my 3080ti ( im using 4090 now) was a mining card. Used to BSOD while playing apex. Switched to 4090 and have never BSOD on apex. Guess i didnt have the best of luck. Everything looked pretty good when i bought it.

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FlavoredAtoms@reddit

If your 3080ti was seeing 100°c hotspots it was never mined in and still had the shitty stock thermal pads. 90% of miners repasted and put proper thermal pads on bringing the hot spot temps down to the 80’s and saved the life of the card.

Mined cards also ran undervolted to run as efficient as possible. Also extending the life of the cards

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Fawkr86@reddit

Modern GPUs are designed to run for years and years. Buying a used mining card is a great way to get a good deal. Be prepared to tear it down and down out the dust. Don't forget to reapply thermal paste.

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Very_Ok_Shape_1703@reddit

Hello, I had a Gtx1080 that I used for mining, it died 4 weeks ago, so my advice is no, don't buy that...

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sharpedge69@reddit

Well, I was a miner. And you got a bad deal. Gamers OC a GPU by OC'ing the Core Clock. Miners do the complete opposite by OC'ing the Memory Clock and reducing Core which in turn reduces heat on the Vram. Also, gamers GPU temps go up and down constantly which increases wear and tear on your GPU. Where miners keep the temp as low as possible and constant.

So it seems to me the person who you bought your card from didn't know what they were doing. Plus you don't know how long the person had that card or what was done to it prior to you buying it.

So you just can't put a blanket statement saying don't buy one because you got a bad deal. There's more to a GPU failing besides it being a "mining" card.

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