With the high prices of new GPUs, I'm looking to save some money by purchasing used ones from the secondhand market. However, I've heard some horror stories about issues like missing VRAM. I've tried asking sellers to run a test using Furmark and send me a screenshot, but many complain about having to uninstall their new card's drivers, which makes it tough. I'd prefer to test the GPUs in person, but carrying my heavy computer setup around is not feasible. Sometimes I offer to bring Furmark on a USB stick, but sellers often get uncomfortable with that. I'm hoping to find some convenient and mobile ways to test used GPUs before buying, even if it's not a foolproof method. Are there any effective ways to test them that don't involve lugging around a full ATX tower?
1 Answer
If you're looking to buy a high-end GPU, you should definitely ask for a GPU-Z timestamp during testing. For mid-range cards, I feel more comfortable taking a risk, since dismantling parts on models like the RX 6800 isn't worth my time. Also, a handy tip: you might want to use a reverse image search tool like TinEye. If a seller is recycling images, it's a major red flag!
Thanks for the tip! I hadn’t thought of that before. Time to go full detective!