Used NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and AMD Radeon RX580 are reportedly the latest graphics cards to be converted for the exploding AI market. The life for these graphics cards has already been a rough one as it’s claimed they have gone from being used for crypto mining to being stripped and modded for increased VRAM and then fitted with blower-style coolers so they can now be used as cards for AI workloads. A similar process was recently reported on regarding NVIDIA’s flagship graphics card, the GeForce RTX 4090 which suddenly became scarce in the US during recent weeks where prices soared for it once again similar to what happened at the height of the crypto mining craze. This time, at least, it’s older cards that are getting new life, albeit, still not what they were intended for, instead of current-gen gaming products.
Per VideoCardz:
“Most of the blower-style cards on the Chinese market are old cryptomining GPUs that are no longer profitable to use. Companies like Jieshuo are buying them in masses and giving them a second chance.”
Some "3080 20G AI Blower" warehouse I found on Xianyu app 😂 pic.twitter.com/u1FRTe5Spc
— I_Leak_VN (@I_Leak_VN) November 28, 2023
At one point NVIDIA was said to be working on releasing a version of the GeForce RTX 3080 with 20 GB of VRAM but despite a few test models appearing, it seemingly never made it to mass production. However, the path was paved and now tech firms are hard at work in upgrading used cards en masse with the increased memory. Modders had already previously found profit in doing this and versions of these cards have been on the market for over a year, but in recent months prices have begun climbing from $600 (then) to about $900 now.
In addition to this AMD Radeon RX580 8 GB cards are getting a similar treatment in getting upgraded with 16 GB of memory. Much like crypto mining, AI appears to be very VRAM dependent and recent US sanctions banning GPU exports to China are believed to be the root cause for this new practice. The biggest concern for anyone buying either of these graphics cards is that they are used, potentially heavily used, and could fail at any time but could be a viable alternative as prices, once again, look to be skyrocketing in various markets.