So you are thinking of buying a used graphics card but not sure what to look out for. Well, I'll be addressing what I think are good things to note when buying a used graphic card. If you are buying from a reputable retailer, then there's every chance it will come with some warranty or guarantee. From the private seller, the story is different, how can yo be sure you aren't buying a 'brick'?

1. Do not buy a card you can't see working....if a seller tells you he is unable to test the card in your presence...DO NOT buy it. It's probably a 'dead card'

2. If the seller can test, then have it running for at least 20-30 mins on a software that can stress test or put a 100% load on the GPU. Unigine Valley or Heaven (linked below) can be used to stress test the GPU. Unigine Heaven can be saved on a portable USB drive and carried around with you. Always tell the seller how long you wish to see the card running, the best policy trust me...it removes any form of awkwardness and you can chat about something else while you wait.

Ok, now the GPU is being stress tested what should you look out for.
a. Temperature: Every GPU has a operating temperature limit when loaded. Once this temperature is exceed the performance of the card drops also known as 'thermal throttling'. The cards algorithms will cut down the GPU clock speed to try and reduce the temperature. Using Unigine's Valley(linked below) keep an eye on 'graphics' in the top right hand corner of the screen. If it consistently stays below the cards rated clock speed under load there could be an issue with it's cooling. The screen shot posted is one for the Saphhire R9 380, rated to operate at 985Mhz on load and this one sticks doggedly to it.

b. Fan noise: damaged fan bearing will usually emit a sound. Another noise that may be noticed is 'coil whine'..this is not a fault. PCB components like capacitor are frequency dependent and can be remedied (more on coil whine in another post).

c. Artifacting: This is the result of compressing a video feed, causing distortions and other visual inconsistencies and can be noticed on the PC monitor, it will flicker, you'll see random colour patches pop-up and disappear on the screen. This usually signals a failing card.

Unigine Valley, I've split the file into sizeable chunks for download, so download all the parts first. Using winrar, run the 'part01' file and it will automatically decompress the rest. - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5gP1lXvmMe5MkVVWHhRaUZyNFU

Install, choose Extreme Settings, tick full screen and run.


Related Post - https://www.nairaland.com/3271154/graphic-cards-wyntk

nice one, man ur really baddass in this stuff.

venal:
nice one, man ur really baddass in this stuff.

Thanks bro, I think this is a reminder I spend too much time messing with PC's