Lucky PC scavenger discovers 12 RTX 3070 GPUs from the crypto mining era
A Reddit user has discovered a significant haul of hardware while clearing out old mining rigs, uncovering 12 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 graphics cards that had been sitting unused in a basement for several years.
The Discovery
The hardware was found in two old cryptocurrency mining rigs, reportedly used during the peak of the Ethereum mining boom during the COVID-19 era. According to the user who shared the find on the r/PCMasterRace subreddit, the machines had been stored in a basement since mining became unprofitable. Despite the long period of inactivity and storage, the components appear to be in surprisingly good condition with only minor signs of wear.
The haul consists specifically of 12 Zotac-branded NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 GPUs. In addition to the graphics cards, the discovery included several other components from the old setup, such as an MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Plus motherboard, a 1000W Gold-rated Rosewill power supply, two 4GB sticks of DDR4 RAM, and a pair of 120GB SSDs.
Condition and Maintenance
Upon closer inspection, the user noted minor silicone bleeding on most of the cards. This is a common phenomenon in older hardware where thermal pads degrade over time, releasing silicone oil onto the PCB. While this might look messy, commenters on the thread noted that the hardware is likely salvageable. To restore them to optimal condition, the cards would likely require a thorough cleaning with isopropyl alcohol and the application of new thermal paste and thermal pads.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, launched in 2020 based on the Ampere architecture, features 5,888 CUDA cores and 8GB of GDDR6 memory. Its balance of performance and power efficiency made it a highly sought-after model for both gamers and cryptocurrency miners alike.
Future Plans
The owner does not intend to keep the entire collection. The immediate plan is to test each of the 12 GPUs individually to verify their functionality. If the majority of the cards are found to be working correctly, the user intends to sell 10 or 11 of them, while keeping at least one for personal use. Given the current market value of video memory, the total haul represents 96GB of VRAM, making it a substantial find in the current hardware economy.
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