The market for used graphics cards in China is currently flooded with RTX 3080s and the like. Individual models are even being offered below the RRP.
In China, used graphics cards are currently being sold at the lowest prices in months, namely at around the recommended retail price, as The Block reports.
Unfortunately, this is not meant ironically, but in view of the recently exorbitantly high acquisition costs for RTX 3080 and co. almost a reason to rejoice. But only almost, because the cards are not available in this country.
RTX 3060 for 229 euros
In China itself, however, some buyers may even be happy to acquire an RTX 3060 at a price below the RRP. For example, an RTX 3060 from the manufacturer Colorful is being offered for 1,760 Chinese renminbi yuan (CNY). This corresponds to around 229 euros.
The RRP for the RTX 3060 in the Founders Edition is 329 euros in Germany, but it is hardly available at this price. According to Geizhals.de, the cheapest offer is currently around 580 euros, and the cheapest models recently changed hands for around 500 euros on Ebay.
The asking prices of the sellers in China are currently as follows – apart from the particularly cheap offer mentioned above:
– RTX 3060: 2,499 CNY = 325 EUR (UVP: 329 EUR)
– RTX 3060 Ti: 2,999 CNY = 391 EUR (RRP: 399 EUR)
– RTX 3070: 3,899 CNY = 508 EUR (UVP: 519 EUR)
– RTX 3080: 5.499 CNY = 716 EUR (UVP: 719 EUR)
– RX 6800: 4,599 CNY = 599 EUR (UVP: 579 EUR)
– RX 6800 XT: 5,099 CNY = 664 EUR (UVP: 649 EUR)
– RX 6900 XT: 7.999 CNY = 1.041 EUR (UVP: 999 EUR)
Find out how fast the individual graphics cards are and in which performance class they fall in our overview with more than 50 GPUs in direct comparison:
Why are the cards offered so “cheaply”?
The Chinese government openly declared war on cryptomining some time ago (via Spiegel.de). Since then, the air has become thinner and thinner for miners in the Middle Kingdom. Many are therefore forced to dissolve their farms and make money by selling their used graphics cards.
Is this also conceivable for Germany?
In this country, cryptomining is less widespread. The reason for this is that mining is hardly worthwhile in Germany: the acquisition costs for graphics cards as well as the electricity prices are simply too high in the Federal Republic.
Nevertheless, GPUs from mining rigs can also find their way onto the second-hand market here. In our estimation, however, this is unlikely to result in significant benefits among the broad mass of offers.
The indirect consequences are different: Demand for graphics cards for cryptomining has been falling for some time, partly due to the measures in China. So the general downward trend in graphics card prices is definitely also due to this.
Is there a danger in buying used cards from miners?
Most cards from the RTX-3000 or RX-6000 series, depending on the model and release, are in use for no longer than nine months. Most even tend to be considerably shorter.
Even if the accelerators work 24 hours a day, seven days a week under full load, the lifespan is not decisively affected – as long as the miners handle the cards properly and within the intended specifications. When buying such a GPU, however, it does not hurt to think about changing the thermal paste.
