I think I got a good deal on a rig that a friend at work built for me. For $400 I got a new Thermal Master case, Nvidia 1060 GTX 3GB GPU, 8GB DDR3 RAM, i5 3.6Ghz processor, 600W power supply, a 250GB SSD drive, Windows 10, a Razer Black Widow gaming keyboard and a Steel Series Sensei mouse.
The processor and mobo were used, as are the keyboard and mouse, but we ditched the processor’s POS cooling fan and put in a Cooler Master Hyper 212 fan (the kind with the copper tubing). We also put in three case fans, two intakes in front and one exhaust in the rear.
So now when I run say, Battlefield 1 on max settings, the core temps stay stable at about 60 degrees C when run hard.
I’d say you got a great deal, seeing as how the Graphics Card and Memory alone would run you about $300 these days. The SSD is around is $40, and the power supply is around $60.
So you’re already at $400 at this point.
And that’s assuming your RAM, SSD, and Power Supply aren’t anything special that would add a bit of a premium.
I found out yesterday that the GPU is also used. He told me he’d need to go the used route on at least some of the parts to keep everything in budget, and I was fine with that.
Those who know more: I am foreseeing a ton of GPUs hitting the used market as cryptocurrency hits a few lulls. I have a 750ti and am looking to upgrade. To finally play Witcher 3 and Fallout 4 if nothing else.
Is buying a GPU that’s likely been sitting in a mining rig an idiotic idea, or a not-bad way of upgrading without paying the new tariff?
Depends. Some cards were underclocked to help preserve operating life and lower electricity costs since they didn’t need to be running full tilt to mine. But I wouldn’t trust that someone who jumped in to get rich quick knew what he was doing to underclock the cards. Or someone might have gotten in right before the crash and barely had any time to run the cards before trying to get out. Or if you upgrade semi-regularly, you might assume that even a 1080 that’s been run hard has enough life left to get you to your next upgrade cycle.
But I wouldn’t assume that a 1060 3GB was a mining card. It could have been, but it’s more likely (in my mind) that someone else jumped on a deal on a cheap 1080 with the new 2080s coming out and the old 1080s going as low as $400.
