Seeing ppl still buying a lot of the new cards, but why when...

[Old Man]

Been seeing ppl still investing cash for the gtx 1050's or similar even with the price hikes, but why not just go for used cards sold by reputable sellers on Ebay(etc) for just a tiny bit more cash? I have been buying up a couple of the GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming 4096MB OR GeForce GTX 980 G1 Gaming 4096MB cards for some good prices, but wanted to ask if there's something I am missing here other than you are getting a new card?

ty

 

[Drollic]

Less risk, warranty, newer features, mining and power draw etc.

 

[Terrorfirmer]

I imagine for most people warranty is the key issue. It certainly would be for me.

 

[evohicks]

Yeah warranty was a big thing in my case, 4 years on my 1080Ti gives me peace of mind and there's no hidden history to think about, some pricing on 2nd hand cards these days is not far off new prices!

 

[niggyg]

My card failed a couple of weeks ago. I was in need of an upgrade anyway as it was an old HD 7850 but I'd been holding on for either new cards to be released or prices to settle (fall). I ended up grabbing a 2nd hand 10603gb for £195, it was only a couple of weeks old so not a bad deal.

Crazy prices atm and I can't see an end to it.

 

[~>Dg<~]

warranty is most of it.i buy quite a bit of stuff and warranty is one of the main things i look at. especially with rising prices. thing is also a lot of people in last few weeks have been getting rid of mining gear. seen prices on certain cards drop a little and even some in stock.

if i was after a gaming card though for 1080 at moment new i would only get a 1050ti new for cheapest price or a 2nd 970 gtx.for similar money.would pay the silly money some want.

 

[tyler_jrb]

Warranty. Wouldn’t buy a 2nd hand top of the line card or even current gen card unless it came with transferable warranty so I had piece of mind and there aren’t many manufacturers that do that. And as most have said even then you are looking at new card prices possible more!

Old cards I have no issue with as long as they are functioning as described and are not stupid money. Recently picked up a 980Ti with damaged fan for £150 which I replaced for £16. That’s going into my upcoming project mini emulator rig.

 

[Zeed]

Warranty. And There like 0 cards on market that have not been MINED by now.

 

[DampDog]

Only yesterday treated myself to new 1050Ti. As above really, wanted something with a warranty. Also with every man and his dog mining for their lives there's every chance of buying a secondhand card that's been worked hard. Plus my old system would probably be a bottleneck for a powerful GPU anyway.

 

[Shoeyuk]

I brought an evga 980gtx of eBay about a year ago and it had 18months warranty left.

About 6 months in I noticed I had coil whine and evga rma the card and replaced it without quibble.

 

[AthlonXP1800]

It all about warranty!

I rememebered bought EVGA GTX 470 back in 2010 came with 10 years warranty, sold it in 2012 with 8 years warranty so my old GTX 470 seemed still working today so I still yet to hear from him for RMA procedure until warranty expire in 2020. Had bought EVGA GTX 670 SC 4GB in 2012 came with 5 years warranty expired last year in 2017, card developed faulty in 2013 I think and went through EVGA Advanced RMA to received RMA replacement and worked fine for a year until I sold RMA replacement in 2014. MSI GTX 970 Gaming bought from OCUK in 2014 came with 3 years warranty and died around at end of 2015 after Corsair H80 water cooler leaked on MSI GTX 970. After received compensation from Corsair I bought second brand new MSI GTX 970, sold it in mid 2016, the warranty will expire this year at the end of 2018.

 

[Meddling-Monk]

Same as others: Warranty and assurance of a working product over next period of X months (for price paid).

Not everyone has Member Marketplace where things are more vetted (and sellers who will be more likely to help you in a warranty situation). Therefore you're stuck with the bay and other locales for second hand gpus. As others have said, you have no idea if there's been any excessive work applied to said gpu's or in what condition; since we all know prolonged exposure to excessive heat could damage the card in irrevocable ways. It's just their say on it's use in history. No way to prove it. Therefore, having a warranty gives me a period where I know the card can be working or remade to work for the price I put out for it. This can't be done with second hand gpus in most cases.

£200 for a second hand GPU that lasts 1 month and no warranty is £200 a month, that's not worth it. (Worst case scenario) But if it does last, great. But unfortunately there's no net underneath on the off chance it does fail (in the first month; making it the worst case scenario).
£300 for a new GPU with 36 months warrant is £8.30 a month minimum guaranteed and potentially longer if a failure happens close to end of warranty period. That safety net of the warranty protects the investment you make into the GPU for the minimum period of that original warranty.

The chance for a card failure may seem low. But it's the same as winning the lottery. If it happens, it's you. Doesn't matter the odds. Therefore, I prefer the new card with warranty.

 

[Rexton]

I'd rather spend a bit more and get a 3 year warranty, peace of mind is worth the extra.

I bought a used 290 from ebay from a "reputable" seller this time last year for £120, it died within 5 months.

 

[andybird123]

I'd rather spend a bit more and get a 3 year warranty, peace of mind is worth the extra.

I bought a used 290 from ebay from a "reputable" seller this time last year for £120, it died within 5 months.

You get 180 days to raise a claim on ebay, thats nearly 6 months

 

[DampDog]

You get 180 days to raise a claim on ebay, thats nearly 6 months

Which is pretty rubbish when compared to 2,3 or 5 or more years from the manufacturer. I think you pays your money and you makes your choice. If I was building a second rig on the cheap I'd consider using secondhand but not in my daily machine. Also with the take-up in mining the chances of buying a "hardly used" card that has been overclocked and mined 24/7 for 18 months are on the up.

 

[Robbh6]

I bought a brand new Asus Strix 1050ti for a penny shy of £200.

Although just over a month ago before I purchased it I had no idea how to build a PC.
So for me it was peace of mind of all the components working out of the box and the warranty. Especially as it was my first ever build.
I can play pubg on high settings at a steady 60fps so I'm happy and gaming is certainly better than it was on console... .

 

[andybird123]

Which is pretty rubbish when compared to 2,3 or 5 or more years from the manufacturer. I think you pays your money and you makes your choice. If I was building a second rig on the cheap I'd consider using secondhand but not in my daily machine. Also with the take-up in mining the chances of buying a "hardly used" card that has been overclocked and mined 24/7 for 18 months are on the up.

I was replying to the person who said his card gave up before 5 months - he could have done a claim back

 

[DampDog]

I was replying to the person who said his card gave up before 5 months - he could have done a claim back

No worries. I was just making the point most folk prefer the idea of a longer warranty, and potentially less hassle should their card fail. There's no right or wrong to it, you pays ya money ya makes your choice. What suits one doesn't necessarily suit another.

 

[Ayahuasca]

Warranty is a massive part for me when buying used, with graphics cards at least you get a few years usually, although depending on the brand it can be awkward getting a claim accepted if you aren't the original owner.

I'm currently looking at Nintendo Switches and it just isn't worth buying used over new as when pricing is low the console itself is nearly out of warranty or they don't have the receipt/invoice so you're screwed if anything goes wrong.

 

[InfiniteNoise]

Warranty.

Also you can't be sure if used cards haven't been used for mining non-stop, that can affect their reliability, and some (most) of them have been flashed with modified BIOS, some sellers will even lie and say they haven't been used for mining.

For current (and some of the previous) gen cards, used and new costs are about the same, not a really hard choice to make.