The 3060Ti has ceased functioning and has returned; its reliability remains uncertain.
The 3060Ti has ceased functioning and has returned; its reliability remains uncertain.
Used a 3060ti (gaming and pool hashing) from a friend about two weeks ago. It stopped working suddenly with a blank screen, the motherboard VGA light glowing white, and no PCIe slot functioning. Sound and inputs remained normal—no other issues occurred. I thought it was nearing the end of its lifespan, so I reinstalled my previous GPU (2070) using fresh drivers. About a week later, the 3060Ti came back to life after one final test. After playing a game, another identical crash happened, but it recovered during reboot without problems. It has now been running smoothly for another 2.5 weeks. Temperature readings before and after crashes aren’t unusual (below 70°C hotspot, overall under 50°C). Currently I’m lowering its clock speed by 90 MHz just to test reliability. I need to find a better way to assess how long the 3060 will last. I have until the end of this week to bring back a unit I bought with the intention of swapping it in. Specs:
I personally wouldn't trust it. If you already have a new one in hand then I'd say just stick with that. No point in banking on a maybe when you already have a new unit. I get being able to get the money back but ultimately if you're questioning it at all there's no point in gambling it.
It seems the goal is to understand why a second-hand unit might need replacing during an upgrade, especially if it’s still functional. The overall 40x line appears to offer poor value for money.
If you plan to use it for 2-3 years, I’d definitely stick with the new unit. Imagine returning it after a month or a year and the used one stops working—then you’d have to buy another one, even though they’re still in stock. Getting your money back and saving it now seems logical, but with the data we have, we can’t be sure how long it will last. Still, if you’re comfortable with the possibility of it failing eventually (maybe due to mining use, a faulty power rail, or poor PCIe slot seating), go ahead and keep it until then. It could very well have been a driver problem at first, especially since it was used for mining. The contacts might have gotten dirty during installation, and cleaning them out wouldn’t help much. Your motherboard or power supply could also be the issue. If it’s still functioning well after the latest drivers and hasn’t had any problems, you’re probably dealing with the original problem. Overall, I think you’ve answered your own question.