We continue to learn of new cases of cryptocurrency miners who are painting and blasting GPUs to resell them to gamers. A couple of months ago. We saw how they were even soake in water to make them look as good as new, but now the roguery has gone up a notch.
It has been in Brazil, where it was discovere that cryptocurrency miners. Using more creative solutions to „restore” hardware that no longer serves them. The reason for this lies in the resale of hardware, the most common being the „restoration” of VRAM memory chips. It should be remembered that, in Ethereum mining, the component that suffered the most from a GPU was precisely the memory.
Cryptominers paint GPU memory to make them look new
The easiest ways to see at a glance if a GPU has are dust. Missing stickers, or use screws. However, even if these GPUs look brand new. Perhaps someone has been behind the idea of making any used GPU look like a brand new product right out of the factory.
Of course, if someone were to open up their new GPU. They would find that the VRAM memory is already well worn, revealing that it is a used GPU being resold as new. One of the most noticeable features of wear and tear is that the memory tends to turn yellow as the GPU chip does. This may be due to prolonged use at high temperatures. It may also be due to miners re-soldering these components onto newer PCBs. Whatever the reason, seeing a yellowish tint to any component is not an indication of new hardware.
Cryptominers paint GPU memory to make them look new
Clearly, such a case has come to light because of suspicions that several companies in Brazil were selling used GPUs as new.
On YouTube channel Iskandar Souza, expert Paulo Gomes showed how he disassemble one of these. Graphics cards live to demonstrate that there was no cheating involve. They stood out as having a different colour of epoxy than the same graphics cards sold by other suppliers.
Following this, the sale of „new” cards that had been recycle from the mining era was confirme. A clear example was scratching the surface of the memory chip of several GPUs. This showed that these chips had been painte and silk-screened to look like the original chip.
After seeing this, it is now virtually impossible to tell the difference between a new GPU and a GPU that has been refurbishe to only look new. It stands to reason that if you buy from reliable shops there shouldn’t be any problems, but you never know. A shop can always resort to a cheap batch without knowing that they are being taken for a ride.
