View Full Version : When buying a second hand GFX card.
I have a GFX card on the way to me shipped from durban. I have the opportunity to test it a bit before I pay the guy. What sort of stuff should I be looking out for? Is there some sort of a stress test I can do to see if it has been damaged? This is a chaintech card. Does anyone know how the warranty works? If something goes wrong, will I be able to get it swapped out?
Thanks! :bounce:
[N]Haja
16 Apr 2007, 12:34
get Ati Tool. Yes, they work on Nvidia cards too (in case yours is an Nvidia card).
Run some artifacts, and see if it gets any errors. You can also check if it is running on stock frequencies and what not, to ensure it has not been OC just to get decent performance.
Also, look at the temps just to make sure it is not running extremely hot (use google to check for average operating temps)
Warranty normally works if you have proof of purchase, it is not dependant on the 'original' owner, just proof of purchase from sid supplier. But I suppose if it was bought at a shop in dbn, you would need to return it to them.
Thanks Haja, thats some good advice.
How long does one need to do those test before one can call it comprehesive?
Another thing... He wants me to send the original invoice back to him once I have made a copy of it. Why would he want that? Can still go back to the shop if its just a copy of an invoice?
slayer676
16 Apr 2007, 18:51
his orignal invoice probley has other items on it that is still under warrenty and i know some shops are strick on things like that...
O yeah, sharp thinking there. I Think I want to kee p it though in that case.
How long does one need to do those test before one can call it comprehesive?
Until it overheats..
GM<Jaymac>MF
16 Apr 2007, 22:37
He probably wants his original invoice for tax purposes.
[N]Haja
17 Apr 2007, 09:24
Well, in essence, if you can run artifacts for a good long time, maybe an hour o rso (never really run them longer than 10 min myself, as when I OC, it picks up errors in a few mins), with no error's, it is comprehensive. If there is a problem though, you should pick it up in a short time (5-10 min)
Spitfire
17 Apr 2007, 20:29
i got a 6600gt. i plan to have a major upgrade by october. but i wanna have a slight upgrade for now. do you suggest i wait or try find a cheap better 1. does any1 have a cheap better 1 out there for me?:rolleyes:
I picked up up a problem a bit earlier than that...
I got the 8800 gtx yesterday. I agreed to pay him once I got the card. He wanted me to deposit cash into his account immediatly so it did seem a bit strange. I decided to first test the card and althought it started in windows, it crashed and gave a "device error: 8800 gtx" as soon as I installed the driver. He blamed my 1 day old power supply. It also doesnt show up when you boot the pc. I dont know if that means anything but with all my previous cards it was the first thing you see when you boot the pc. I'm sending it back today. My advice is to save yourself the trouble and just buy new...
[N]Haja
18 Apr 2007, 08:46
lol, dodgy deals suck opi. Not sure about the GTX, but my 8800 gts worked off the bat, never a seconds problem.
What OS you running? If its XP, it should work no problem, vista, I have no experience with.
aaah, it just clicked, its the guy off prophecy selling his chaintech for R4250 or some change? The bastid!
Yep, thats the one. :P Plus a gig of ddr2 800 that I wanted. I'll just have to save up a bit more... =]
LordScallyWag
18 Apr 2007, 10:02
well opi all i have to say is wp for doing your homework, and thus for not getting screwed. :D
peter_parker
18 Apr 2007, 16:55
yHi Guys
Yes I did send him the ram and the card before payment was received by me, so why would I send him a bust card? The card was working 100% when I shipped it to him, the card WILL arive tomorrow morning as promised I will take screenshot of the serial number on the card and confirm that the card is working or not
GM<Jaymac>MF
18 Apr 2007, 17:24
If it's not working just take it back for warranty... or tell the transport company they stuffed up your stuff. Then get a new one and sell it to Opi. :)
cYan1D3
18 Apr 2007, 17:33
Yo spider-man, do you play some unreal ;)? Yeah it sucks that card doesn't work, I got my sapphire x850xt p.e like almost 3 years back and I got it from an uncle in Poland who organised it when my mom went their, luckily it worked first time and still works perfectly fine :) . Otherwise I would have been really sad.
Ye I can't wait to upgrade, the 22nd April the R600 is coming out yeppie 4 more days and just have to wait for the new quad cores thinking of the barcelona or the new intel processors. But before I buy I will make a thread for it :P been saving up for a while now so I am really anxious to buy something new, a 3 year old pc and I score 2062 on 3d mark 06. not that bad I think
peter_parker
20 Apr 2007, 16:49
Well got the card back at around 2:00 today went home put the card back into my 680I asus motherboard with the 2 x 512mb ddr800 ram and Vista Ultimate, ran 3dmark about 4 times, (13 odd thousand score) left the PC on came home at 4:00 ran 3dmark again and played C&C 3 till about 5 minutes ago, cannot say that there is ANYTHING wrong with the card.
Spitfire
20 Apr 2007, 20:31
:eek: i want it if no1 else does!!!:o
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