Should you buy a gpu from an internet cafe?

[John Lomg]

The gpus I'm interested in are, the GTX 1070 G1 Gaming 8G (rev. 2.0) at 75 € and the GTX 1080 G1 Gaming 8G at 90 €.
The owner says that they were used from launch until 2 years ago and since then they have been idle.
Also it's said that they are tested and are normally working.

 

[dgianstefani]

Bad idea.

 

[thesmokingman]

Yea, heavily used aircooled cards will have their lives used up. Do not want!

 

[bonehead123]

yea, for either of those cards, you'd be better off paying an extra $40-50 & getting a less-abused one from the marketplace here or over at Hardforum or even fleecebay

 

[Apocalypsee]

They been neglected and abused. Treat them like ex mining card of unknown origin

 

[freeagent]

The only good thing about those cards is that they probably have not been thermal cycled too much. I leave my stuff on 24/7 unless I am swapping out parts or cleaning.

Old habit I guess.. if I can hear my fans I know the system is running, aka still works haha. I try to keep the temps relatively level. If you do buy it, I would change the pads and TIM if it runs warm.

Worst case scenario you are out a hundred bucks.

 

[eidairaman1]

From what website are you buying said cards?

The gpus I'm interested in are, the GTX 1070 G1 Gaming 8G (rev. 2.0) at 75 € and the GTX 1080 G1 Gaming 8G at 90 €.
The owner says that they were used from launch until 2 years ago and since then they have been idle.
Also it's said that they are tested and are normally working.

 

[QyInvoLing]

Add 50euro and get a brand new 6650xt instead

 

[Ferrum Master]

If they give warranty, like even month or so to test it out/

But.... they should cost no more than 50e... basically you are taking out trash in his place.

 

[Macro Device]

since then they have been idle.

That's the worst part. Idling hardware dies faster than that constantly turned on.

If (and this is a big if) you have an easy way to test all the resistances, voltages, etc and you don't mind losing a hundred bucks in a matter of months because it's a really thin chance these GPUs are mint condition you might go for it but as pointed out already, I highly recommend buying RDNA2/Ampere and more modern stuff. Preferrably with 6+ months leftover warranty.

 

[Ferrum Master]

That's the worst part. Idling hardware dies faster than that constantly turned on.

Are you still living in 70ties? Forget that bullcrap. It is neither.

 

[Macro Device]

Are you still living in 70ties?

Yeah, in 2077. And I've seen a lot more hardware dying of doing nothing than of doing something.

 

[bug]

That took me back. My first 3D card was a used Radeon 9100 from an Internet Cafe.

The upside of Internet Cafes is they don't overclock the cards. A video card that runs stock 8-12h a day can have more life left in it than an overclocked card that only runs 2-6h a day. But it also depends on how well the fans are holding up, how carefully these have been stored since...

 

[Ferrum Master]

Yeah, in 2077. And I've seen a lot more hardware dying of doing nothing than of doing something.

Does it still has tubes in it? Because then the thermal expansion could case severe damage still.

To be honest, it is device specific and it has always been like that. There are multiple component concerns and life spans, so leaving device shelved is not bad for those, especially capacitators, that have limited amount of working hours for ripple suppression, the fact they aren't budged and look good does not mean they do anything good anymore. Same applies to semiconductors and possibilities of electron migration and causing holes. Let's leave OLED screens powered on and cause burn in too, actually cycling those things is good.

So leave this saying aside... it is a myth for modern electronics.

Few days ago I powered this one, that was in the rubbish bag for over than ten years... so what's your point?

 

[John Lomg]

From what website are you buying said cards?

It's a well known site in my country called insomnia.gr

 

[Marcus L]

Add 50euro and get a brand new 6650xt instead

On what planet can you get a 6650xt for 140?

 

[eidairaman1]

That took me back. My first 3D card was a used Radeon 9100 from an Internet Cafe.

The upside of Internet Cafes is they don't overclock the cards. A video card that runs stock 8-12h a day can have more life left in it than an overclocked card that only runs 2-6h a day. But it also depends on how well the fans are holding up, how carefully these have been stored since...

Also internet cafes tend to not be hotboxes like garages, attics, sheds

It's a well known site in my country called insomnia.gr

So you are buying from a forum/classifieds, where there is no consumer protection?

 

[QyInvoLing]

On what planet can you get a 6650xt for 140?

Oh sorry, I remembered a wrong exchange rate of eur:cny (1:10), so it's 180eur

 

[Shihab]

It's not the internet cafe part that would make worry, it's the fact that the cards have been running for 6 years. That's too far up the bathtub curve's rising limb for my taste.

 

[freeagent]

My GTX580 ran for 8 years 24/7 nearly solid, if dropped it in a system now it would fire right up.. I hope lol

But I have had hardware die out of the blue.. that's why I always leave my system running. No sleep, no biternate, just chew power, stay warm.

 

[lexluthermiester]

The gpus I'm interested in are, the GTX 1070 G1 Gaming 8G (rev. 2.0) at 75 € and the GTX 1080 G1 Gaming 8G at 90 €.
The owner says that they were used from launch until 2 years ago and since then they have been idle.
Also it's said that they are tested and are normally working.

As long as you can see the card working, I'd be ok with it. Internet cafe's are not the worst places in the world to buy from because the parts generally have to be taken care of to work well.

It's a well known site in my country called insomnia.gr

So have them so it to you working/running(if they're being honest, they'll be happy to show it off), I say go for it.

 

[eidairaman1]

As long as you can see the card working, I'd be ok with it. Internet cafe's are not the worst places in the world to buy from because the parts generally have to be taken care of to work well.


So have them so it to you working/running(if they're being honest, they'll be happy to show it off), I say go for it.

Has he even been back on honestly? I agree with you 90% about a gpu from a internet cafe where the environment is technically controlled via temperature, 10% says to have it verified before buying and if there is no consumer protection from a scammer I'd walk away.