More than six months after the release of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, the card is still difficult to find in stock. However, this situation could soon change. [This is because HKEPC Hardware reported that the GeForce RTX 30 series and AMD Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards may soon be available in large quantities. The Hong Kong-based news publication discovered conversations among cryptocurrency mining groups on Taiwanese message board PTT indicating that large quantities of graphics cards are being prepared for resale.

Thus, eBay and other resale sites could soon be flooded with desirable graphics cards. As reported by sibling site TechRadar, the catalyst for this situation is China's aggressive crackdown on crypto mining, which has seen the global value of cryptocurrencies plummet.

As a result, crypto miners who have purchased powerful new graphics cards in large quantities to perform the calculations necessary to "mine" cryptocurrencies are now apparently trying to sell their cards at near market prices.

Given that duffers are driving up the prices of new graphics cards and old GPUs, this sounds like good news. But it isn't.

According to PC Gamer, you may finally want to buy a graphics card, but this may not be what you want.

These cards are likely to be stuffed into a crypto-mining farm and left to potentially run at full capacity 24/7.

Just as you don't want to buy a used car that has been actively driven for its entire life, we recommend avoiding acquiring one of these cards if and when they start appearing on the public market. In fact, some manufacturers have explicitly stated that in certain regions, cryptomining will void the card's warranty.

Some cryptominers talk about lowering the voltage of the graphics card and optimizing it to be more efficient instead of simply maxing it out. Thus, a graphics card that is used for hours on end for high-end gaming could be in worse shape. However, we do not recommend purchasing such a card.

Also, while individual miners may optimize their GPUs for efficient mining, there is no guarantee that large crypto farms are doing the same. In short, proceed with caution here.

Instead, we recommend biding your time and keeping an eye on the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Where to Buy page and other buying guides in Tom's Guide. And if you want the latest RTX graphics power, check out our selection of the best gaming PCs and best gaming laptops.