Phone Repair Glossary / Graphics Cards / GPU Grades
GPU Grades
Not all used graphics cards are equal. New, refurbished, and pulled cards differ significantly in testing, condition, and risk. Understanding the grades helps you know exactly what you’re buying.
The Grades Explained
| Grade | What It Means | Warranty? |
|---|---|---|
| New (retail) | Sealed box, never used | Yes — manufacturer |
| Refurbished | Used, load tested, cleaned, thermal paste replaced, warranted | Yes — shop |
| Open box | Returned unused or barely used, may or may not be tested | Sometimes |
| Pulled | Removed from a working system, sold as-is without testing | Rarely |
| Second-hand (untested) | Sold as-is, no testing, no recourse | No |
Why “Pulled” Isn’t the Same as Refurbished
A pulled GPU was working when removed — but it hasn’t been tested since. It may have been removed from a system that was upgraded, which is fine. Or it may have been removed from a faulty system where the GPU happened to be unrelated to the fault — which is not fine, and you have no way to know.
A refurbished card has been put through load testing after removal. That’s the critical difference. Load testing under full stress surfaces instability, thermal issues, and memory errors that visual inspection alone cannot catch.
What to Ask Before Buying
- Was this card load tested after being removed? For how long?
- Was thermal paste replaced?
- What’s the warranty period and what does it cover?
- Is there a physical outlet I can return to?
If the seller can’t answer the first two questions, the card is pulled or untested — not refurbished.
What Certified’s Refurbished Cards Include
All our RTX 30-series cards (3060, 3070, 3070 Ti, 3080, 3080 Ti) are load tested, cleaned, thermal paste replaced, and sold with a 90-day warranty from our physical outlets in Singapore.
Related Terms
- Refurbished Graphics Card — the full testing process explained
- GPU VRAM — matching VRAM to your resolution
- RTX vs GTX — NVIDIA naming explained
People Also Ask
Is refurbished better than second-hand?
Yes — refurbished means tested and warranted. Second-hand marketplace listings are typically sold untested with no recourse if the card fails after purchase.
Can a refurbished GPU fail?
All hardware can fail. The warranty is what matters — 90 days gives you coverage through the early-failure window, which is when failures are most likely to occur if they’re going to happen at all.
What makes a GPU fail?
The most common causes are thermal issues (dried-out thermal paste, clogged heatsink), VRAM faults, and power delivery problems. All of these are surfaced by load testing — which is why tested refurbished cards are significantly lower risk than untested pulled cards.
