Refurbished GPUs - how well do they OC?

[Murderotica926]

So I recently RMA'd a Sapphire HD 7970 Vapor-X after it failed within the first month of use. I didn't do much overclocking with it because it had a very low OC ceiling to the point where it wasn't even worth it. I'm waiting on my replacement from Althon Micro to arrive, but I've recently learned that these GPU manufacturers almost never send out brand new cards as replacements and always sent out refurbs. Kind of disappointing news to me but I'm wondering about how refurbished cards overclock. Are refurbs generally terrible OC'ers? I get the feeling most refurbs are simply from people who return the card to a retailer like newegg within the 30 day period simply because they get a lousy OC. Anyone here have any experience with overclocking refurbished cards?

 

[Derza10]

Eh, I would say it will be about the same as a new card - So luck of the draw, some won't OC well some will, Cards get RMA'd for many reasons, as far as I know "not being able to OC well" is not a reason a card can be RMA'd... So I wouldn't worry to much about it and just hope you get a good one

 

[maxinexus]

My Sapphire HD 7970 Vapor-X did not overclock much as well...until you cranck up the voltage. I was able to push core to 1265@1.275v and memory to 1590.
Anyway, refurbished cards are as any other card most of the time capacitor was replaced.

 

[Murderotica926]

I couldn't get mine past 1150 no matter how much voltage I gave it. 1150 at the stock 1.256v and still 1150 at 1.375v. Just wasn't worth it. I'd love if it I could get a card that reached 1250 stable...

 

[joe_newbuilder]

They should be slightly better than normal. A refurbished card has already gone through a second validation and QC process to be in a refurbished category. In general refurbished electronic are of slightly higher quality than new because of this extra QC.

Still how many others have reached the OC you are trying to achieve with that manufacturers card? It may be out of reach.

JNB

 

[Murderotica926]

well for this particular card 1200 is a given. About half of them seem to get 1250+

 

[Derza10]

well for this particular card 1200 is a given. About half of them seem to get 1250+

I wouldn't worry about it... From the looks of it any card they give you will most likely OC better than your original one.

 

[xomm]

In general, they should be of the same or better quality (since they've gone back for a second check).
My refurbished 550 Ti gets an ASIC score of 82.9%, while my factory-new 550 Ti gets an ASIC score of 78.1%.

Luck of the draw, I suppose.

 

[Murderotica926]

interesting information... thanks a lot guys! I'll report back on ASIC quality and OC ceilings once I get the card =)

 

[Murderotica926]

Well here's my update... replacement GPU arrived. Much to my display, it has an ASIC of 56.3. >.< Seriously 56.3!! That is literally the lowest ASIC I have ever heard of. It seems to overclock just as bad as the previous card, if not worse. Once again, cannot hit 1200Mhz on the core. Ugh. Really starting to regret this purchase.

 

[xomm]

Well here's my update... replacement GPU arrived. Much to my display, it has an ASIC of 56.3. >.< Seriously 56.3!! That is literally the lowest ASIC I have ever heard of. It seems to overclock just as bad as the previous card, if not worse. Once again, cannot hit 1200Mhz on the core. Ugh. Really starting to regret this purchase.

That's a massive bummer. I suppose you can't really RMA this one again, since low ASIC/bad OC isn't really a reason you can send it in for.

It'd irk me as well, not being able to max out a component (my 3570K's OC ceiling is currently being limited by my old Hyper 212+), but I'd just live with it for now. Unless you need to OC for any reason other than benching, not really worth the extra mile to ebay this 7970, then getting another and gambling for ASICs again.

 

[Murderotica926]

No I really can't RMA this one for those reasons. It's just really frustrating to see almost every other regular HD 7970 achieve 1200MHz on the core. 1150Mhz isn't the biggest difference but it's just the fact that I specifically dished out the extra cash for the premium GHz Vapor X version to improve my chances of a higher overclock(1250-1300). I could have saved a good deal of money by buying a basic 7970 for $80 less and had the exact same chances at getting identical or better performance.

My benchmark scores are also noticeably lower than other 7970s at identical clock speeds. That alone makes me want to take the hit on ebay and try somebody other than Sapphire, but my luck with GPUs makes me think it will be the same story.

 

[maxinexus]

Well here's my update... replacement GPU arrived. Much to my display, it has an ASIC of 56.3. >.< Seriously 56.3!! That is literally the lowest ASIC I have ever heard of. It seems to overclock just as bad as the previous card, if not worse. Once again, cannot hit 1200Mhz on the core. Ugh. Really starting to regret this purchase.

What version of software did you used to get your ASIC? Once I get home I will check my with the same version and let you know...hopefully it is in 90s

 

[Murderotica926]

GPU-Z, latest version