Graphics cards are being repurposed by Chinese off-brand VGA manufacturers from mining GPUs.

It appears that individuals who have been hoarding GPU-based crypto-mining cards in the hopes of a mining resurgence have given up, resulting in a flood of cards that need to be sold. Chinese off-brand VGA vendors have acquired large quantities of these cards and have repurposed them into functional gaming graphics cards through some modifications. Mining cards typically lack display connectors and SMDs necessary for driving display I/O, making them "headless." Two examples of such cards have been discovered, namely the "RTX 3080 20 GB Blower AI" and the "Radeon RX 580 16 GB." Repurposed mining cards are equipped with new display I/O if missing, a new cooler to replace the worn-out cooler from their previous mining use, and given a refreshed appearance through PCB cleaning. These cards are frequently appearing on Chinese online marketplaces like AliExpress.

Jerry Lawson Jerry is a hardware reviewer and benchmark specialist with a keen eye for detail. He focuses on testing new GPUs, CPUs, and motherboards, delivering in-depth analysis that helps readers make smarter upgrade decisions.