A mined 2080TI for 2 months,or an old card 1080ti used for constant gaming?

[eidairaman1]

Check your math. 24/7 for 2 months is 4 hours a day for a year. Also, mining tends to be a steady state load. As long as the temps were kept under control mining causes less wear. Heatcycles can cause actual mechanical wear.


False. You'll want to test the card, but mining doesn't destroy cards unless the miner is incompetent.

Which most miners are incompetent

 

[Vario]

The Mining gpu has roughly 1440 hours on it, if the gamer played 8 hours a day that's only ~2900 hours.

The only real dif is the heating cooling cycles which the gaming card had plenty of and the mining card didn't.

So is it better to buy the card which has had many heating/cooling cycles or very few? (yes i saw the 2080 ti isn't an option anymore)

I don't think most people are playing 8 hours per day. The difference isn't just thermal cycling, it is the constant current draw, the hot cramped environment the cards are mined in, the rough handling the cards receive, poorly implemented custom mining bioses, etc.

 

[80251]

@Vario
Who has TIME to game for 8 hrs. a day? Who would want to?

 

[Dr. Dro]

@Vario
Who has TIME to game for 8 hrs. a day? Who would want to?

Uhh nothing to see here couldn't be me

 

[oxrufiioxo]

@Vario
Who has TIME to game for 8 hrs. a day? Who would want to?

8 hours is like 1-2 weeks for me..... I'm guessing someone with no job and zero other responsibilities.

 

[N/A]

When I see "used for constant gaming?" i understand 16 hours a day or as much as humanly possible. I mean that is what I normally do.

 

[Vario]

8 hours is like 1-2 weeks for me..... I'm guessing someone with no job and zero other responsibilities.

Yes I don't think the average user is going to do that, so when miners say that their usage is lighter than a typical gamer, I find it hard to believe. I probably do 8 hours per week. However, we can almost guarantee that the typical miner is going to be running the card 24/7.

 

[80251]

At LAN parties I've managed near 48 hrs. of gaming, but that's only with large quantities of caffeine infused drinks on hand and plenty of pizza. After a LAN party I'm so burned out on gaming I don't game for two weeks afterwards either.

 

[Speedyblupi]

Correct, if you're a miner and you aren't limiting power budget then you have no idea what you're doing. The whole equation is cost (electricity) vs return (eth).

A power limited card runs super cool, only the memory is anywhere near stressed, and except for outliers like double sided 3090 memory chip placement, typically the memory is still cool.

RTX 2080 Tis are relatively susceptible to memory problems, so "only the memory" being stressed can still be significant. Thousands of 2080 Tis ended up with "space invaders" image corruption because of failing VRAM. It was very common in the first few months after its launch, and it's still happening to 2080 Tis that have lasted since 2018, presumably due to gradual degradation since then. PointCrow, a streamer I follow, used a 2080 Ti that ended up with this problem just a couple of weeks ago.
But even so, I don't expect that only 2 months of mining would have any more effect on the VRAM than a couple of years of gaming would.

Yes I don't think the average user is going to do that, so when miners say that their usage is lighter than a typical gamer, I find it hard to believe. I probably do 8 hours per week. However, we can almost guarantee that the typical miner is going to be running the card 24/7.

Mining is a mostly-constant moderate load and temperature on the GPU with few transient power spikes. Most graphics card failures are due to power spikes causing the capacitors or power stages to fail, and a lot of other failures are a result of gradual thermal and electrical stress to the GPU itself. Neither of these is a significant concern for graphics cards that have been used for mining.

Mining is much lighter on the GPU and VRM than gaming (especially if the miner is sensible and undervolts the GPU), but shreds VRAM, and the long-term usage can also wear out the card's fans. It's difficult to compare how the stress of mining and gaming affect GPUs, because different graphics cards have different VRMs, VRAM, and coolers; and different cards will therefore be affected differently. Saying that mining is a lighter GPU load than gaming isn't wrong, but is potentially misleading. For a graphics card that's been mined on, the GPU itself isn't what you need to worry about.

A 2080 Ti though... they normally have good enough power delivery (unlike RTX 3080s, which often failed due to cheap or poorly-soldered capacitors), and usually decent coolers too, but early GDDR6X had serious reliability problems.

 

[Dr. Dro]

Mining is much lighter on the GPU and VRM than gaming (especially if the miner is sensible and undervolts the GPU), but shreds VRAM, and the long-term usage can also wear out the card's fans. It's difficult to compare how the stress of mining and gaming affect GPUs, because different graphics cards have different VRMs, VRAM, and coolers; and different cards will therefore be affected differently. Saying that mining is a lighter GPU load than gaming isn't wrong, but is potentially misleading. For a graphics card that's been mined on, the GPU itself isn't what you need to worry about.

A 2080 Ti though... they normally have good enough power delivery (unlike RTX 3080s, which often failed due to cheap or poorly-soldered capacitors), and usually decent coolers too, but early GDDR6X had serious reliability problems.

So much lighter and quite the moderate load that I see them scorched and yellowed left and right, and often with substrate discoloration and other things that I'm used to seeing on circuit boards from TVs made in the 80's and used almost all day ever since

 

[lexluthermiester]

Cheers to all,
These day i have a few offers of video card to buy. One is Asus Dual Fan Rtx 2080Ti,the other one is KFA2 2080TI and last one is Msi gtx 1080Ti Gaming X.Each 2080Ti cards is in price range of ~300$.Gtx 1080Ti i found in range price of 200$. I discuss with sellers and told me the truth , he used both rtx 2080ti in MINING for 2 months.
On the other hand 1080Ti card was used only for gaming.As far as i know, the Mining operation is bad for any gpu video card right?.The sellers told me he used both card 2080ti at mining in a Ventilated room with constant ambient temperature for 2 month,and never reach 65 degree,and he claims there are in perfect condition and i can test each card with Furmark stability test program, before i buy.

I want an advice from you all,because i don't know what to do.My dillema is: is better to buy a NEW and mined card like rtx 2080ti or old card like MSI 1080ti used only for gaming??What option is better?


1.https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/asus-dual-rtx-2080-ti.b6853 -used in mining for 2 months
2.https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/galax-rtx-2080-ti-general.b6126 -used in mining for 2 months
or
3.https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/msi-gtx-1080-ti-gaming-x.b4362 -used only for gaming

Some advice....?
thanks in advance,

I know I'm late to the party.... Seriously, choose a 2080ti. 2months or even 2years on mining will have little effect on gaming performance. As long as the card shows no signs of abuse, it'll be fine..

 

[Indigox_]

hoenstly mined cards are fine as long as they are kept in a good state. as long as it's stable in furmark then
usually miners don't want to destroy their cards and they'll keep the power usage down so that thehy dont waste too much money

 

[eidairaman1]

I don't think most people are playing 8 hours per day. The difference isn't just thermal cycling, it is the constant current draw, the hot cramped environment the cards are mined in, the rough handling the cards receive, poorly implemented custom mining bioses, etc.

Dusty or humid environments

hoenstly mined cards are fine as long as they are kept in a good state. as long as it's stable in furmark then
usually miners don't want to destroy their cards and they'll keep the power usage down so that thehy dont waste too much money

Buying used mining card is a crapshoot, aka a timebomb. Neither are worth it today. RX6800 and call it a day.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Buying used mining card is a crapshoot, aka a timebomb.

Not in my experience. Most work just fine and keep doing so.

 

[sepheronx]

6800 or 6900 would be a fantastic purchase. Solid cards, great performance.

 

[El-Presidente]

I know I'm late to the party.... Seriously, choose a 2080ti. 2months or even 2years on mining will have little effect on gaming performance. As long as the card shows no signs of abuse, it'll be fine..

.Well i still oscilate between 1080ti or 2080ti,but i think i will make some effort to increase budget for 2080ti and i think i will chose 2080ti because is newer than 1080ti,and have dx 12_2 ultimate

Generaly speaking,what brand of 2080ti GPU card to choose: Evga,MSi,Asus Strix or Aorus?Which is better?

And someone can tell me what code to follow on the back of the card.to be sure is from the second generation without space invaders problems,and memory changed???All 2080Ti gpu card with Micron memory end with space invaders problems,or not?
Many people tell me to choose only with Samsung memory or Hynix,and avoid Micron memory.Is true?
I found and 2080ti Gigabyte O,C but have Micron memory type,and the sellers tell me, he have no problem with space invaders artifact on the screen....
Don't know what can i do...This space invaders it scares me like hell......that's why i hesitate so much.All people scares me ALL 2080TI gpu card soon or later ended with space invaders,because this card have GDDR6 and memory tend to die because is very fast.Is true or not,or is just a LOTTERY?

 

[Indigox_]

silicon lottery does exist

 

[nomdeplume]

I think you should approach this creatively and with an open mind. There is no golden answer on the used market; series, make and model, etc... Educate yourself on how to spot signs of abuse and questions the seller should be able to provide answers to instead of stats and figures and the massive amount of opinions contradicting each other. Mining sucked for gaming, period.

We can help you make better informed decision and correct issues. The right decision for you needs to come from you.

 

[Chrispy_]

Have you not bought a card yet, and is your budget still $300?

I joined a mining discord and so many miners were clueless. Realistically, I would be okay buying a GDDR6 ex-mining card that you could test before buying to ensure that it had the correct BIOS on it and to visually inspect the condition of the fans and thermal pads. The worst issue with mining cards is neglect - so worn out fans and long periods at a high temperature. ETH mining pushed VRAM hard, and GDDR6X got hotter than GDDR6 whilst also having a 10C lower safe temperature. I would avoid GDDR6X cards for that reason alone, but it also helps that most of the GDDR6X cards (except the 3090) don't have enough VRAM for 4K gaming any more.

I would be looking at a 6700XT, or a 6800 if you can find one in your budget. A used 3060Ti/3070(non-Ti) is probably in your budget unless you're still strictly locked to $300, and with the caveat being that it's slower and has less VRAM, it's going to have better raytracing performance than either of the AMD options.

 

[El-Presidente]

before buying to ensure that it had the correct BIOS on it and to visually inspect the condition of the fans and thermal pads.

how can i know if BIOS was changed?It is a clue or something?I don't know how can i know if a Bios was changed....

 

[Chrispy_]

Fire up GPU-Z and check the BIOS version number isn't a custom string. I renamed my BIOS versions - and whilst it's not a guarantee I would assume miners would also rename modified BIOS versions to make life easier for themselves.

Additionally, check the default core and memory clocks match what they are supposed to be against Techpowerup's GPU database - there's a lookup button to the database right there in GPU-Z's interface and if you're suspicious it's been bios-modded to a different model you can check the GPU model, shader count, bus width, ROP/TMU count are what they're supposed to be.

For ETH mining, the most obvious sign of BIOS modding was faster memory clocks than listed in the database.

 

[1freedude]

Our good friend @Vario posted a hot deal for Zotac refurbs.

Here is the link to get you to Zotac

Refurbished Graphics Cards | The ZOTAC Store

ZOTAC, the creator of the Original Mini PC, derives its name from the words

www.zotacstore.com

$332 for 2080 Ti Amp

 

[El-Presidente]

Our good friend @Vario posted a hot deal for Zotac refurbs.

Here is the link to get you to Zotac

Refurbished Graphics Cards | The ZOTAC Store

ZOTAC, the creator of the Original Mini PC, derives its name from the words

www.zotacstore.com

$332 for 2080 Ti Amp

sorry,but i don't trust in Zotac company..Almost every Zotac GPU card die very quickly,because they push limits in overclock segment.
No way !!
I don't trust in this company !!I don't even want to hear of them....
I accept any company,but NO ZOTAC !!

 

[Chrispy_]

sorry,but i don't trust in Zotac company..Almost every Zotac GPU card die very quickly,because they push limits in overclock segment.
No way !!
I don't trust in this company !!I don't even want to hear of them....
I accept any company,but NO ZOTAC !!

LOL, that's FUD.

I've built a few thousand PCs with probably 300+ Zotac cards and can't recall RMA'ing a single one of them. I've definitely given up on Palit and Powercolor due to higher RMA rate and some models feeling cheap and undercooled for the money I paid but even then I can't just generalise the whole brand on a few of their lower-end offerings, as I know from reviews that some of their product lines are very good.

The brand I've personally had the most hardware failures with is PNY, but IIRC all of those cards that died were old models from the GTX 285 era and those Geforces had a reputation for burning up from a number of manufacturers, so I'm not sure I blame PNY for that, I think it was an Nvidia fault.

 

[pavle]

Well I'd say 2080Ti, but under condition that you can inspect the card bare - without the cooler and check for any discoloration of RAM or around RAM or anywhere on the PCB really - that will tell if any component has been overheating.