Some Chinese language crypto miners are doing every little thing they’ll to dump their closely used mining GPUs now that they’ve nothing left to mine. They will attention-grabbing lengths to promote their stock, like repainting them and deceptive patrons by itemizing them as new on some retail websites.
Due to the Merge, which shifted crypto mining from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, the necessity for warehouses filled with video playing cards has gone down dramatically almost in a single day (opens in new tab).
An investigation by Youtuber Iskandar Souza (opens in new tab) and Paulo Gomes (through Videocards (opens in new tab)) claims that some third-party retailers in China are promoting GPUs that seem new however have been touched as much as cover the truth that they have been used for crypto mining.
The Brazilian duo shared some tell-tale indicators that reveal whether or not a GPU has been used or altered ultimately. The best technique was at all times to search for a yellow tint on the reminiscence on the GPU, which is attributable to one in all two methods; extended use or they have been resoldered onto newer boards.
The video exhibits the reminiscence of a mining GPU at completely different phases of use, and you may see that the reminiscence is black on the brand-new playing cards. The extra they’re used, the extra yellow it will get. To cover this, sellers are repainting the reminiscence chips on the GPUs, so they give the impression of being new at a look. On this part of the video (opens in new tab), you may see the paint being peeled off the chip.
There are extra apparent methods to inform if a card has been tampered with—lacking or discolored guarantee stickers in addition to lacking or loosened screws. This difficulty is not reserved to only Chinese language retailers both; TecLab identified a yr in the past that repainted GPUs have made their means onto some Brazilian tech retailers.
Resoldering reminiscence onto a brand new board is a typical business apply for repairing and refurbishing graphics playing cards. Nonetheless, in that case, the product would typically be listed as ‘refurbished’ or ‘renewed’ at retail and never ‘new.’
So for those who’re available in the market for a brand new GPU, persist with first-party distributors with beneficiant return insurance policies.