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Ask the seller for a video of the card running a game or a stress test before any money changes hands. Request a quick GPU-Z scan in the video so the GPU die and VRAM show up correctly; it takes seconds to run. Sellers who dodge either request are suspicious. Answered

Because rising memory prices and tighter supply have made GPU dies and VRAM individually valuable, scrappers can recover and resell those expensive components from dead boards for profit. Commenters also suggested stripped boards may be used as sources of spare parts or kept as donor PCBs for repairs, which explains why dies and memory are being removed. Answered

Ask the seller for a video showing the card running a game or a stress test, recorded before payment. Also request a quick GPU-Z scan in the video that clearly shows the GPU die and VRAM reported correctly. Sellers who dodge either request are suspect. Answered

Yes. The primary article documents a Reddit user who bought an MSI GeForce RTX 4080 for $200 and found the PCB missing the GPU die and VRAM, and it also references a prior TweakTown report of an RTX 5090 buyer who found the same components missing (titled "RTX 5090 buyer found the exact same thing missing"). The article notes these stripped high-end cards have appeared in secondhand listings and warns buyers to request videos or GPU-Z scans before purchase. Answered