Some Chinese language crypto miners are doing all the things they will to dump their closely used mining GPUs now that they’ve nothing left to mine. They will fascinating lengths to promote their stock, like repainting them and deceptive patrons by itemizing them as new on some retail websites.
Because of the Merge, which shifted crypto mining from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, the necessity for warehouses stuffed 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 (by way of 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 conceal the truth that they had 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 not directly. The best methodology was all the time to search for a yellow tint on the reminiscence on the GPU, which is brought on by one in all two methods; extended use or they have been resoldered onto newer boards.
The video reveals the reminiscence of a mining GPU at totally different levels of use, and you’ll 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 appear new at a look. On this a part of the video (opens in new tab), you possibly can 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 simply Chinese language retailers both; TecLab identified a yr in the past that repainted GPUs have made their method onto some Brazilian tech retailers.
Resoldering reminiscence onto a brand new board is a typical trade follow for repairing and refurbishing graphics playing cards. Nonetheless, in that case, the product would usually be listed as ‘refurbished’ or ‘renewed’ at retail and never ‘new.’
So for those who’re out there for a brand new GPU, stick to first-party distributors with beneficiant return insurance policies.
