AMD RX 6800 and 6900 graphics playing cards just lately got here underneath the highlight after a bunch of them broke because of the GPU truly bodily cracking, and we now have an obvious reply as to why this occurred.

This comes from KrisFix on YouTube (who runs a German restore store that fixes {hardware}), who seen the various such AMD GPUs that have been turning up on his doorstep that had died on account of cracking.

On the time, hypothesis was rife about AMD’s driver being a potential trigger – as all of the homeowners of those graphics playing cards had been operating the newest model – however as KrisFix explains in a brand new YouTube video (opens in new tab) (highlighted by Tom’s {Hardware} (opens in new tab)), that wasn’t the case.

In precise truth, KrisFix proposes a principle that the problem was attributable to a mix of two components: the GPUs being ex-crypto-mining fashions, and the way in which they have been saved earlier than sale.

KrisFix notes that the issue playing cards have been all offered in the direction of the top of November, or begin of December 2022, and certain got here from the identical second-hand supply – particularly a crypto-mining farm promoting off a load of those AMD Radeon fashions.

So, the thought is that these graphics playing cards have been pushed super-hard 24/7 of their mining duties, after which doubtless saved in a poor surroundings, perhaps a warehouse with excessive humidity ranges.

Which means that when the consumers bought their GPUs by means of, they labored okay to start with, however then when gaming (or different intense workloads) pushed the chip temperatures up excessive, because of the injury from the extreme humidity (mixed with all these earlier miles on the clock from mining), the GPU merely cracked. Homeowners might need bought a day or two out of the playing cards – perhaps even three – earlier than they went pop.

The entire damaged graphics playing cards exhibited the identical form of injury, and have been in the same state general – with the coolers having been cleaned, too. (Usually, a second-hand graphics card would have some mud in there, however on this case, all playing cards have been clear, which suggests the mining farm proprietor had all of them spruced up earlier than placing them on sale).

Evaluation: The risks of the second-hand GPU market

That is no shock actually, as once we initially reported on this drawback, we famous that the affected fashions may very well be ex-mining GPUs. What KrisFix says right here is smart to us, and likewise explains why we aren’t seeing this difficulty elsewhere – a neighborhood mining operation shut down, and offered off all its graphics playing cards (saved in the identical means) to consumers within the space, a very good lots of whom turned to this restore store to handle their woes when the GPU went pop.

The excellent news, then, is that this gained’t be a widespread difficulty for RX 6900 and RX 6800 fashions, and that AMD’s graphics driver isn’t at fault (which KrisFix underlines on this newest video).

As a substitute, then, this episode serves as a fairly clear warning on the hazards of shopping for GPUs which have beforehand been run ragged in an enormous mining farm, and that it’s not simply the workloads they’ve been subjected to, but additionally the ravages of the surroundings (and even storage post-farming life, earlier than the playing cards are literally offered off).

In brief, purchase an ex-mining graphics card at your peril, as a result of there are particular and clear dangers related to these GPUs. The difficulty is that sellers typically don’t reveal {that a} second-hand card is ex-mining inventory, as a result of they know that’s off-putting to many of us. So that you’re left in a scenario the place it’s important to belief the popularity of the vendor, and their integrity in being truthful concerning the previous lifetime of the graphics card.

All these risks are very a lot amplified in a time the place crypto falls off a cliff, as occurred final 12 months, and mining operations quit, and clearly look to dump their inventory as a closing money seize. In occasions like these, the used GPU market can develop into a little bit of a minefield, so tread notably rigorously when shopping for second-hand.

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