Graphics cooling.

[gamerguy2]

Hello.

I bought a 4870 Vapor X Graphics card about 8 months ago. I bought it so that it would have more longevity and paid a premium for it. It is not the toxic version so I am leaving at reference speeds.
my question is that after reading a couple reviews, that the vapor cooling keeps the temperatures down and that it had a higher quality design than less expensive cards. Now I am reading that it is best for acoustics and that the temperatures are actually higher on the Vapor X card. Can somebody explain whether this was a good card to last me 2-3 years, or can I expect this to have no more of a lifespan (if I run it into the ground) than say other reference or non-reference designs?
I dont plan on replacing it so this is curiosity for now. I plan on replacing a videocard around Christmas. Definitely a dx11 card and maybe a Windows 7 upgrade to go with it.

 

[firewolfsm]

Temperature differences under 20C will not have a measurable effect on the lifespan of any GPU.

Also, any chip should be able to last three years, as long as its running somewhere under 100C.

 

[Zap]

Don't overclock it, keep it clean and keep it cool. There! It should last many years.