Graphics Cards Get Even Cheaper in China After Crypto-Crackdown!

Earlier this month it was confirmed that following a huge crackdown on mining operations in China, largely due to the exploitation of the relatively low cost of energy there, many industrial-level Cryptocurrency operations were, rather quickly, shutting themselves down. Well, it was either do that or face being thrown into prison, fined, or sent to a reeducation center to learn the errors of their ways. – One of the most notable aspects of this move, from the outside looking in, however, was in the second-hand market. It is literally being flooded with inexpensive modern graphics cards. – Following a report via Videocardz, however, it seems that there are so many to actually purchase at the moment that there is something of a mini-crash happening as former miners look to quickly rid themselves of any evidence to their prior activities!

China Flooded With Graphics Cards – And They’re Getting Ridiculously Cheap!

So, rather than going into all comparative details surrounding how much they cost now and then, we’re simply going to let the figures do the talking here. While we freely concede that this will vary depending on the seller, and also that conversion rates are never entirely accurate, this is how much the following graphics cards are largely hitting the Chinese second-hand market for right now:

• Nvidia 3060 – $270
• Nvidia 3060 Ti – $325
• Nvidia 3070 = $410
• Nvidia 3080 – $550
• Nvidia 3090 – $1,000 (Not quite a fire sale on this one yet)

A bit unusual, but for some reason, AMD GPUs seem to be retaining their ‘value’ a little better. Well, more accurately, sellers are apparently asking more for these. Maybe because they have less of them in stock and as such, the movement of them isn’t quite as urgent.

• AMD 6700 XT – $250
• AMD 6800 – $450
• AMD 6800 XT – $650
• AMD 6900 XT – $850.00

In a nutshell, these are all-around 20% less expensive than when the ‘flooding’ began just over a week ago!

Should I Buy One?

So, with so many graphics cards seemingly available to buy, and pretty damn cheap too, you might be wondering if it would be a great time to try and grab a bargain. Well, the short answer to that is only if you’re willing to take a pretty big risk. Put simply, if these graphics cards have been used for mining, then they’ve had a short but exceptionally hard life. As such, it’s hard to say how long they would last and, of course, it should be noted that you would receive no warranty whatsoever.

The only real silver lining for consumers in the West is that with China seemingly being absolutely mobbed with cheap, ‘new’, graphics cards, this might see a lot of shipments, previously destined for Asian shores, now heading off in other directions. Yes, this might mean that supplies are possibly not only set to get better, but the madness regarding their cost might also be coming to an end!

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!