What to do with old video cards?

I have four GTX 580 hydrocopper 2's in my main machine, and I'm looking to downsize to maybe just one water cooled new one, or a gtx1050ti in the meantime, but what should I do with the other cards?
And yes power draw is a concern.

Offer them to the gpu gods by sacrificing their mortal bodies to the fires of hell?

But on a more serious note, the Hydro Coppers keep value pretty well so can likely sell them.

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hock them on craigslist, throw them in a deep learning/F@H/BOINC/SETI rig, Fry an egg on them, or, (much more profitably):

  • Buy a 1080Ti/Titan XP heatsink and packaging on Ebay (or here, several people were selling them, just ask around), JB weld it to one of their PCBs, and shoot it or detonate it with explosives while filming at sufficient distance to make it look real.

  • Upload said footage to youtube, with adequately clickbait title, and sign up for adsense. Make your money back on the card in a few weeks as the tech press make it a viral hit.

  • Later, when people start to pick apart the video (read:after you've made your money) contact Jimmy Kimmel and explain your hoax. You will be invited on and get an interview spot. Use this to launch a youtube tech destruction career along the lines of techrax.

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I got like 2 R9 280s, I don't think people will even bother with these cards these days.

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280's are still completely viable for 1080p.

The vast majority of core gamers play either LoL, DoTA, CS, Wow, or Overwatch to near exclusivity, with one or two other titles. All of these games run great on a 280.

Sold a 7970 Ghz ed. last week for $90

make a [wts] thread here. if the price is right or you OBO, you'll move em.

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Good to know. I guess i can still sell to make some buck.

I live in Hong Kong so its gonna be a little difficult for me to make a wts thread. Shipping is a bitch ye.

I don't know about that I've been looking around for awhile for some R9 280x's or 290x's non-Reference Design.

too bad what I have are 280s and not 280X.

still not bad.

Make into coasters, conversation starter for the home and they are great for it

Or make into coasters, sell on esty. Talk about the environment, how upcycling saves lives and how you hand cleaned them to make them perfect. Set at 100 per, then sit back and relax

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You could always mine some Zcash on them (which would be rather unprofitable I might add, simply due to older card's power draw).

That and the fact that that crypto is a ponzi.

"Never always mine at scale at industrial power rates, sometimes™" -- Andreas Antonopolous

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Send them to me.

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I have 2 280Xs and when Vega 10 comes, I'll also have 2 390s with water blocks. The intention for now is to sell one of each and keep the others because horder....and to be cool in the year 2032 like the guys now that still have a Radeon R300 or something.

usually, sell them cheap; or give away for free to people who needs it most. (running ancient gpu's, and have no $ to buy it/don't work etc)

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Sell.

I have two workstations. My secondary machine has a GTX570 and a Phenom X6 in it and it runs Linux. Most of my actual, productive work happens on this machine. So, while power efficiency could be a concern, that is a perfectly good GPU for anyone who is interested in productivity and light gaming.

TL;DR: Don't throw those GPUs into the trash bin; there is still a lot of life left in them!

I just give mine away to friends..

in the last year alone I have given away 2x r9 290's and a 7970 ghz...

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Thanks for all the suggestions!
My main concern is of course, power draw, with the ever increasing cost of electricity where I live. Also these cards do require a custom loop, and have been very happy being cooled by a Mo-ra 3 9x140. Now I have to find a use for the old loop.. Maybe water cooling a 1700x or three?

Your making me more jelly I haven't studied any of that stuff yet.