Last Updated on: 4th March 2025, 02:50 pm
You Can Buy A Stripped Down GPU For Gaming And Live To Tell The Story
Graphics cards once used for cryptocurrency mining might be just as good as brand-new ones, according to a recent test by YouTuber Linus Tech Tips (LTT).
Over the years, many have raised concerns about mining GPUs, claiming they wear out faster and have a limited lifespan. LTT decided to challenge this idea by comparing 25 previously mined cards with ones that had barely been used.
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The YouTuber bought second-hand mining GPUs anonymously, choosing models that were widely available last year. The test lineup featured multiple NVIDIA RTX 3060, 3070, and 3080 GPUs, along with Radeon RX 5700 XT cards from an AMD partner.
Out of all the cards tested, only two failed as a direct result of mining. The Gigabyte Eagle RTX 3060 OC and the Sapphire Pulse RX 5700 XT had noticeable issues, including unstable clock speeds and overheating. The RTX 3060 model also struggled with VRAM performance.
While the Sapphire RX 5700 XT didn’t pass the combustor test, it still delivered solid results in gaming benchmarks compared to other GPUs from the same batch.
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Every other card held up well against LTT’s own GPUs, suggesting that picking up a used mining card isn’t necessarily a bad choice. Some even managed to outperform the RTX 3080 Founders Edition in gaming tests. That said, buyers should be mindful when making a purchase.

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