I'm looking to buy a second-hand graphics card since my old one broke. The repair guy told me to just replace it and even suggested listing my old card at a much higher price, but I think I'll find a used one instead. I've narrowed it down to either an RTX 2070 mini or an RTX 3050. I found out that the 2070 performs better, scoring around 148 fps on the FurMark test and hitting 71°C, while the 3050 only hits about 73 fps at 68°C. I'm leaning towards the 3050 since it's newer and I thought it might last longer, but I'm not sure if that's the right choice. Can anyone help me figure out which card would be better in the long run?
5 Answers
Just a quick question: what did you mean when you mentioned the repair guy listing your broken card at a higher price? Was it really more expensive than when you bought it?
Honestly, a second-hand card like the 2070 probably won’t last forever, especially since the 20 series will soon be out of driver support. If you mainly play less demanding games, consider what your performance needs are before deciding. The 2070 is likely to give you better long-term performance for gaming, but it might not be as supported down the line as the 3050.
When buying a used GPU, the biggest factor for longevity is whether it came from a mining background — those cards often have high usage hours. So avoid any used cards with signs they were mined. As for performance, the RTX 2070 usually outperforms the 3050 significantly, scoring about 17,000 points on benchmarks compared to around 11,500 for the 3050. Just keep in mind that while both might hold up for a while, the 2000 series cards won't be getting future DLSS updates, whereas the 3000 series might have better upgrade potential in that area. So despite the newer model, the 2070 could be the safer bet for performance right now.
What signs should I look for to know if a used card was mined? Anything specific?
Look for excessive wear and tear on connectors or signs of overheating. If it has a very high power-on time, that's a red flag too!
I can relate! I'm running a Vega56 and wishing for better CPU performance. It's tough finding a balance between budget and longevity with these cards.
Oh! I might have phrased that poorly. English isn’t my first language. He suggested I replace it with the same model, but because of inflation, the new price seemed much higher compared to what I paid for my whole PC three years ago!
I mostly play casual games and the most demanding one I have is Elden Ring, so I might not need top-tier performance.