Question are video card prices headed down yet?

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Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 13, 2008
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Guys if your a gamer getting 2nd hand cards remember LHR is your friend...
LHR means the card was not able to run at full clock, or the LHR would kick in for ETH mining.
So they usually ran the card anywhere from 60-70%.

So in serious, all you need to do is pop the LHR and run furmark for 15 min as if the card has problems it will be on the memory side, and memory side artifacting happens right away.
This is not entirely true, at least to my understanding. First, I am no fan of LHR on principle. That said, if LHR is effective, depends on what miner was used. While older miners were not able to bypass the LHR limitations, which meant for lower clocks/different settings when mining, I have heard that newer miners are capable of bypassing LHR with autotune, so that most cards are capable of nearly 99% optimum hashrate. There are a few cards where LHR is still not fully bypassed, the LHRv3 cards. (3080 12GB, 3050) These cards still can do about 90% of optimum hashrate via nicehash last I heard.

Anyway, the big picture is, if you buy a used card, the thing to be concerned about generally will be the fans. Whether the card was used for mining, gaming, or both, or what have you, you don't know the environment it was in, how much dust/dirt etc. Also, the fans are mechanical parts, so often will be failing sooner.
 
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GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
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Weird, of all the various components I've had go bad on me over literal decades of PC building, I've only ever had one fan fail, which I was able to revive by adding some oil to the bearing chamber.

My used 980ti is 7 years old at this point with it's stock fans going strong.
 
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aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
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Sep 28, 2005
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I have heard that newer miners are capable of bypassing LHR with autotune, so that most cards are capable of nearly 99% optimum hashrate. There are a few cards where LHR is still not fully bypassed, the LHRv3 cards. (3080 12GB, 3050) These cards still can do about 90% of optimum hashrate via nicehash last I heard.

Yeah but how long did it take for the unlock to release.
The nbminer and excavator hack had at best 1 year.
Your odds are still in your advantage to get a LHR card if your a gamer and a non miner.
LHR has no impact in any games.

Now if your thinking of recycling the cards for mining duty then my statement does not stand.
But not everyone is a miner nor wants to mine, and i can think of a larger majority that wants a cheap card just to game on.

Which then im 100% sure a LHR card will be better then a heavily mined non LHR card, and be cheaper on top.
 

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
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Weird, of all the various components I've had go bad on me over literal decades of PC building, I've only ever had one fan fail, which I was able to revive by adding some oil to the bearing chamber.

My used 980ti is 7 years old at this point with it's stock fans going strong.

Did you keep those fans running at 100% 24/7 for months if not years? It's a common practice for miners.
 
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biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
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I don't know if this still holds true but, according to LTT a used mining card works just fine (except obviously if it is broken):
 

Aapje

Golden Member
Mar 21, 2022
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What are those cards? Are they those XFX cards the Chinese confiscated or are they from some miners warehouse?

They seem to be from when China banned mining. This is an old image. We don't know the specifics.
 

Leeea

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2020
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Gamers Nexus has an excellent cost per frame breakdown. The video is good, but if you want to save time just skip the time to the chart you want to look at and leave it on pause:
Most likely will be accurate for about two weeks.

Interesting to see the Nvidia products beginning to more affordable in the midrange, specifically the 3080 and 3060 ti.

However, the rx6700xt and rx6800xt still remain as the value leaders for midrange, with the rx6600 and rx6600xt being the value leaders for the low end.


The rx6500xt and rtx3050 continue to remain as an awful value and should be avoided.
 
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GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
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The sweet spot for this gen will hit between the reveal/announcement of the next gen and the launch.

That's when the getting is real good, and you have some bracketing around last gen prices (if the 7600xt is $379 as 6900xt speeds, then it makes it hard to move a 6900xt for much more than that).

Hoping to swoop in and pick up something 6700xt/3060ti or up in that timeframe for a discount, new or used.

Once the new gen paper launches then prices on old stuff starts climbing for a bit until supply on the new parts can even put.
 
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DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
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Hoping to swoop in and pick up something 6700xt/3060ti or up in that timeframe for a discount, new or used.
That is going to be a sweet upgrade from your 980ti. Not quite -

1RW1.gif


But doubling the performance is going to be something you can immediately appreciate.
 

GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
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That is going to be a sweet upgrade from your 980ti. Not quite -

1RW1.gif


But doubling the performance is going to be something you can immediately appreciate.

That's the idea! ~100% more performance, 100% more RAM (with a 6700xt) and bunch bunch of modern features (freesync...) That I finally get to use.

If I can pick it up for $250-350 it will be a real coup.
 

videopho

Diamond Member
Apr 8, 2005
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Hi Guys..Need your opinion on this.
Purchased a Asus RTX3080 ti TUF from MC at full MSRP price three weeks ago.
Should I return it before my 30 days expires and get something like an used ASUS 3080 OC (not ti version) for a lot less on eBay?
I have one offer from the eBay seller who said he used this card for mining previously. The asking price is approx. $700. By going this route I'd have saved a few hundreds but in a long run I am not sure this used card would hold. I play mostly MS2020, RPG and FPS games.
 
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dlerious

Golden Member
Mar 4, 2004
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Hi Guys..Need your opinion on this.
Purchased a Asus RTX3080 ti TUF from MC at full MSRP price three weeks ago.
Should I return it before my 30 days expires and get something like an used ASUS 3080 OC (not ti version) for a lot less on eBay?
I have one offer from the eBay seller who said he used this card for mining previously. The asking price is approx. $700. By going this route I'd have saved a few hundreds but in a long run I am not sure this used card would hold. I play mostly MS2020, RPG and FPS games.
I wasn't aware the 3080 Ti had an official MSRP. I don't have a problem buying a mining GPU , but I'm not paying MSRP (or more) for something that is used. I see 3 fan models are going for as low as $780-$800 now.
 

psolord

Golden Member
Sep 16, 2009
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This is how much video cards should cost, based on performance alone. From videocardz and 3dcenter

 

SteveGrabowski

Diamond Member
Oct 20, 2014
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Prices coming back down to an inflated MSRP that was cooked up when mining was super profitable and everyone had stimulus money to spend is hardly comforting at the end of a gpu generation when everyone's just trying to survive the inflation in their rent, food costs, gas, electricity, and so on and crypto is tanking. Still seems very overpriced.
 

mastertech01

Moderator Emeritus Elite Member
Nov 13, 1999
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Prices coming back down to an inflated MSRP that was cooked up when mining was super profitable and everyone had stimulus money to spend is hardly comforting at the end of a gpu generation when everyone's just trying to survive the inflation in their rent, food costs, gas, electricity, and so on and crypto is tanking. Still seems very overpriced.
It will only remain so as long as people are willing to pay the price. Just stop buying and you will be amazed how affordable they will get before Christmas.
 

moonbogg

Lifer
Jan 8, 2011
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It will only remain so as long as people are willing to pay the price. Just stop buying and you will be amazed how affordable they will get before Christmas.

Young gamers are mouth foamy and completely animalistic when it comes to GPUs. When a new generation of GPU drops, their brain turns off and they just start throwing credit cards at the screen. If you attached a new GPU to the end of a pole facing away from the gamer, the gamer won't even think to walk to the other end to grab it. They will just walk straight forward and impale themselves as they try to reach it. They enter a zombie-like state where what little consciousness they have left only shows the image of a GPU in their mind and what direction to go to get it.