[resale value] reference vs aftermarket gpu

[waldoh]

If I were to upgrade every cycle (780-880-980 etc...) which would have a higher resale value, reference, aftermarket cooler w/ reference board or custom cooler w/ custom pcb?

 

[greenhawk]

aftermaket coolers done yourself generally do not see any improvement in most cases. People will look at the specs of the card more (ie: factory overclocking speeds ect) I would think.

Of course, if you wait for the ideal custom card, most of the second hand market would have been satified with the cards sold by people selling similar cards( these sellers would be buying reference design cards as replacements).

Once the second hand market is initially satified with people upgrading, people generally do not buy a similar card to do a small upgrade.

The only pattern I have seen that might work would be to sell your video card a month before the expected replacement cards are due (sell early), then wait for a good card. The wait though for a good non-reference card could be 1 or 2 months after the reference cards, so you would be without a GPU for upto 3 months following that approach to retain the most money.

Non-reference cards, depending on where you sell the card, can add extra price as it is reconized by overclockers as a better card, but that being said, some people might see those non-reference cards as attracting overclockers and so are avoided as they fear the card has been pushed too hard / damaged.

Personally, reference gets you a card sooner, and you can sell sooner while prices are still nice and you can be assured of a constant price (ie: they are more common so you can compare easier).

If you always want a GPU installed, then you will suffer having to pay "new release" price premiums as well as selling into a market where others have already sold their cards (smart sellers sold a month before), causing a bit of a over supply in the second hand market. Of course, by that time of selling, people with lots of money will be looking at the new card just released instead of the second hand market.

In short, you either have to ware loosing money or do not upgrade every release cycle.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

It depends on a case by case basis. Custom coolers and custom PCBs can be sold for more since they're expensive in the first place.