AMD RX6800 and 6900 graphic card came into the spotlight recently A bunch of them broke because the GPU actually cracked physicallywhich gave the obvious answer as to why this happened.
This comes from YouTube KrisFix, who runs a German repair shop that fixes hardware. AMD GPUs It had appeared on his doorstep, dying from cracks.
At the time, speculation was rife that AMD drivers were the culprit. All owners of these graphics cards were running the latest version. new youtube videos (opens in new tab) (highlight tom’s hardware (opens in new tab)), it was not.
In fact, KrisFix proposes a theory that the problem was caused by a combination of two factors: GPUs were the previous cryptocurrency mining model, and the way they were stored prior to sale. It’s a way.
KrisFix believes the cards in question were all sold in late November or early December 2022, and are likely from the same pre-owned source, namely the crypto mining farm that sold loads of these AMD Radeon models. It is pointed out that
This means that these graphics cards were likely driven super hard 24/7 in mining operations and stored in a hostile environment such as a humid warehouse.
So when a buyer got their hands on a GPU, it was working fine at first, but gaming (or other intense workload) caused the chip to heat up. clock from mining), the GPU simply cracked. The owner may have used the card for a day, he may have used it for two days, or he may have used it for three days before it popped.
All broken graphics cards showed the same type of damage and were in similar overall condition. The cooler is also cleaned. (Usually used graphics cards have some dust on them, but in this case all the cards were clean, suggesting that the mining farm owner cleaned all the cards before selling them.) doing).
Analysis: The dangers of the used GPU market
When we first reported this issue, we noted that the affected model could be ex-mining GPUs, so this really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Here he says what KrisFix makes sense to us. It also explains why I don’t see this issue elsewhere. A local mining operation was closed and all graphics cards (stored in the same manner) were sold to local buyers. Many people turned to this repair shop to deal with their troubles when their GPU broke.
Luckily this is not a widespread issue on the RX 6900, RX6800 Your model, and AMD’s graphics driver is fine (KrisFix underlines it in this latest video).
Instead, the episode serves as a pretty clear warning about the perils of buying GPUs that were previously used sporadically in large mining farms, and that’s just the workloads they’ve been exposed to. but not the environment (and also post-farm storage before the cards are actually sold).
In short, buy graphics cards for mining at your own risk, as these GPUs come with clear and distinct risks. The problem is that sellers often do not disclose that used cards are mining stock. This puts you in a situation where you have to rely on the seller’s reputation and integrity to be honest about their past use of the graphics card.
All these dangers are greatly amplified in an era when cryptocurrencies fall off a cliff, mining businesses give up and apparently try to sell their shares as a final cash grab, as happened last year. The used GPU market can be a minefield, so Be especially careful when buying second-hand.