A Black Friday GPU Deal That Was Too Good To Be True
Every PC gamer dreams of stumbling on a legendary bargain. A powerful graphics card for pocket change is the kind of story you tell your friends for years. That is exactly what one hopeful shopper thought they had found during Black Friday at a Salvation Army store.
Sitting on the shelf was an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 box with a five dollar price tag. For anyone who knows PC hardware, that is an insane deal. Even though the GTX 1060 is an older card, it is still perfectly capable of running many modern games at 1080p with decent settings. Picking one up for the price of a snack would be a once in a lifetime score.
There was just one problem. The card inside the box was not a GTX 1060 at all.
From Dream GPU To 2011 Throwback
When the buyer opened the box, they discovered an older Nvidia GTX 560 Ti sitting inside instead of the expected GTX 1060. The GTX 560 Ti released all the way back in 2011. At the time it was a solid gaming card, but compared to the GTX 1060 it is from a completely different era of performance and efficiency.
To understand how big the gap is, it helps to compare what these cards are built for.
GTX 1060: A mid range card from the Pascal generation that targets smooth 1080p gaming in many titles. It offers far better performance per watt, more video memory and much better support for modern game engines.
GTX 560 Ti: A Fermi era card designed for 1080p gaming back when games were far less demanding. Today it struggles with modern titles, lacks newer features and often cannot deliver playable frame rates without dropping settings very low.
In other words, buying a GTX 1060 box and finding a GTX 560 Ti inside is like ordering a current mid range console and receiving a decade old machine instead. It might still turn on, but it is nowhere near what you thought you were getting.
Why This Happens And How Gamers Can Protect Themselves
This kind of mix up is not unique to one thrift store. Mismatched boxes and hardware swaps are a known issue wherever used electronics are sold. Sometimes it is an honest mistake after a move or donation. Other times, someone intentionally keeps the better card and leaves an older one in the box before trading it in or donating it.
For PC gamers and hardware hunters, especially around Black Friday and holiday sales, it is a good reminder to be careful when chasing bargain parts.
Here are some simple tips to avoid getting burned when you spot what looks like a crazy good GPU deal.
Always open the box if possible. If you are buying in person, politely ask staff if you can check the contents. Confirm that the model printed on the card matches the model on the box.
Look for the correct power connectors and ports. Different generations of GPUs often use different power connectors and have different arrangements of display outputs. If you know roughly what a GTX 1060 should look like, you can quickly tell if something is off.
Check the stickers and labels. Most cards have a label on the back or side showing the exact model. If it says GTX 560 Ti or anything other than 1060, you know the score.
Be realistic about price. A five dollar GTX 1060 is already a sign that something might be wrong. Amazing deals do exist, but if a price looks impossibly low there is usually a catch.
Test hardware quickly after buying. If you buy used parts from a store that allows returns, plug them in as soon as possible and confirm they work and match the expected performance.
Even with all these precautions, some deals will still turn out to be disappointments. The important thing is to treat surprise finds as a fun hunt rather than a guaranteed win.
The Fun And Frustration Of Used GPU Hunting
In the end, this story is a perfect snapshot of the used hardware world. On one hand, there is the thrill of possibly landing a great card for almost nothing. On the other, there is the reality that what is on the box is not always what is inside.
For PC gamers on a budget, second hand markets, thrift stores and charity shops can still be worth checking. Old office machines, donated gaming rigs and forgotten components sometimes show up for next to nothing. Just remember that every bargain comes with a bit of risk.
A GTX 1060 for five dollars would have been an unbelievable score. A GTX 560 Ti for the same price is more of a nostalgia piece than a serious gaming upgrade. It might still find a home in a retro build or as a backup card, but it is definitely not the modern budget upgrade the buyer hoped for.
If you are hunting for your next GPU, use stories like this as a reminder to stay sharp, double check what you are buying and treat every impossible deal with a healthy mix of excitement and suspicion. That way, when you do finally land that true hidden gem of a graphics card, you will know you actually got what you paid for.
Original article and image: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/gtx-1060-bought-for-usd5-turned-out-to-be-a-gtx-560-ti-black-friday-shopper-learns-the-hard-way-to-always-check-whats-in-the-box-before-walking-out-the-door
