An unlikely source of inexpensive Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics cards has emerged

As reported by The Block, former bulk buyers are looking to sell large quantities of graphics cards as the Chinese government's crackdown on mining farms continues The GeForce RTX 3060, in particular, is listed for as low as 1,760 yuan (about $270) on the secondhand site Xianyu

Similar listings have been appearing for several weeks, but only recently have the prices dropped so close to the cards' original MSRP Apparently, with many mining operations closing up store, current owners of GPUs are competing with each other on the used market, forcing prices down

The lack of supply has kept current generation GPU prices high, and this problem is exacerbated by the strong demand from crypto miners, which can be a huge loss for those who have yet to recoup their mining expenditures Let us appreciate this irony

Sadly, other than mild doom and gloom, this is not seemingly good news for hopeful PC owners; even if you have been struggling to find a place to buy a GeForce RTX 3060 and didn't mind importing, many of these listings, as opposed to individual cards, for bulk purchases; according to The Block, one ad requires buyers to pick up their cards at "a power plant along the Yarlung Tsangpo River"

There is also the question of whether one really wants to use retired crypto mining cards as everyday gaming GPUs: playing Cyberpunk 2077 for a few hours is one thing, but these cards will be running non-stop at maximum capacity for weeks or months! It would be Therefore, the likelihood of future hardware failure is greater than if you purchased a used graphics card from a fellow PC gamer

It is hard to say that the decline in interest in cryptocurrency mining, including those close to home, will not have a positive impact on GeForce RTX 3060 inventory levels We may have to wait patiently until we get a chance to restock