Basement Treasure: Redditor Unearths Dozen RTX 3070 GPUs From Defunct Mining Operation
A fortunate discovery has yielded 12 Zotac Nvidia RTX 3070 graphics cards pulled from cryptocurrency mining rigs that spent years gathering dust. The cards show minimal deterioration despite their extended storage period.
An unexpected windfall came the way of one Reddit user who acquired two decommissioned mining rigs containing a dozen Zotac-branded Nvidia RTX 3070 graphics cards. These systems had operated during the height of cryptocurrency mining activity spurred by the COVID era before being abandoned in a basement, likely after Ethereum mining ceased to be profitable. The find was documented in the r/PCMasterRace subreddit, where accompanying images reveal that despite years of basement storage, the components have retained their structural integrity with minimal visible degradation.
Beyond the graphics cards themselves, the recovered equipment includes an MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Plus motherboard, a 1000W Gold-rated Rosewill power supply, two 4GB DDR4 RAM modules, and a pair of 120GB solid-state drives. Upon examination, the Reddit user identified minor silicone bleeding present on most of the GPUs—a typical result of thermal pad deterioration and subsequent oil seepage. Community members noted that while the cards would benefit from cleaning using isopropyl alcohol and replacement of thermal pads and thermal paste, the underlying hardware appears entirely recoverable.
Found used mining rigs with 12 x RTX 3070
from r/pcmasterrace
Introduced in 2020, the RTX 3070 occupies the upper mid-range segment of Nvidia's product lineup. Built on the Ampere architecture, it features 5,888 CUDA cores and 8GB of GDDR6 memory, engineered to deliver solid performance at 1440p resolution. The card gained considerable popularity during its generation and proved particularly attractive to cryptocurrency miners due to its balance of computational capability and electrical efficiency.
Graphics processors sourced from mining operations need not be viewed as inferior for gaming purposes. Mining setups typically operated GPUs at reduced core voltages and power consumption levels to minimize heat generation and electricity expenditure. This operational approach simultaneously reduced thermal and electrical stress on the silicon compared to standard gaming configurations.
The Reddit user has not committed to retaining the entire collection. The immediate priority involves testing each RTX 3070 individually to determine how many remain functional. Should the majority pass testing successfully, the user intends to retain one card for personal use while selling between 10 and 11 of the remaining units. The total haul represents 96GB of VRAM across all 12 cards, a substantial amount of graphics memory that carries significant value in the current market, particularly given the elevated pricing of contemporary GPU models.
Source: Tom's Hardware