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How long do video cards last?

VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Both of my probably 2.5-year-old Gigabyte GTX460 1GB OC WindForce cards, seem to have a failing fan.

One card it's the first fan (slow RPMs reported). The other card, it's the second fan.

Should I RMA them, will Gigabyte give me two new fan shrouds for the cards? Or will they replace them with some other card? (Hopefully NOT a 192-bit GF114-based "V3" model.)

The cards themselves seem fine otherwise. And because they have two fans, and not just one, the other non-failing fan seems to keep temps in check, at least according to the temp sensor read by Precision.

Edit: Do you think I could contact them about some replacement fans/shrouds? Would I have to remove the heatsink, unscrewing from the back of the card, to replace the fan shrouds? Or do they just clip on? I think that the fans are plugged into the PCB using a connector that can be removed.

I don't really want to mess with the heatsink, I would be concerned that I would screw it up, but if the fan shrouds snap off, then I would replace them.

Edit: Hmm, just tried taking one of them apart. Apparently, you have to take the whole heatsink off, using the screws on the back of the card, to get the front plastic shroud with the fans off. Sucks.

Will probably have to RMA them.
 
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i have an x1950 pro in a spare computer that still works fine, even after 200+ days of Wow being played on it. I got it over 5 years ago.
 
My 1GB Diamond Radeon 4870 from September 2008 still works fine. Paid $299.99 at the time. It's earned its money. 🙂
 
Asus DK 4870 1GB since Dec 2008, still working. Before that I had MSI's nV Ti 4200 since summer 2003, it was working the last time I tried. I only had one HDD fail 7 years ago.
Yeah, I don't change GPUs often...
 
DominionSeraph said:
My Geforce 2 GTS lasted 10 years.
Click to expand...
My Geforce 2 MX is still in service. Had the fan replaced twice, though. In my experience, the entry to mid-range cards last longer. I have lots of 1993-2000 issued cards that I regularly check (a valuable reminder of how semiconductor tech has progressed), they are still fine, but I can find no use for them, because their 2D output/quality is not adequate for todays panels. Sadly.

Larry, just RMA it, there is *always* a chance, you can screw something up.
 
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On my old computer the ATI x800XL fan only works part time, I think it is about 5 or 6 years old. Fans seem to be the weak link, which makes sense since they are the only mechanical part.
 
I am still using my old Powercolor Radeon HD 4850 1gb which i bought in 2008. It has played many games including Rage, Mass Effect 3, Crysis 2 and has never let me down. 🙂
 
Graphics cards usually last for years and years.

However I get the impression that in general AMD ones last longer.
There are so many threads about bakeing GPU's that are nvidia's ones failing.

Stuff like under engineering with power caps, that blow out, is again more common with nvidia cards.
Custom design cooling ect, comes down to the card manufactor in this case "Gigabyte".

Yes I think you should RMA your graphics card if it has failing fans.
 
It has been said that AMD cards are over engineered, while Nvidia uses the bare minimum to get by on their reference designs.
 
My old 7600gt in my nieces PC. Been running almost daily since 2006. I should say its a fanless design. 😀
 
dave_the_nerd said:
Back about ten years ago and more, all ATI cards were made by the same manufacturer in Canada.

Today? Not so much.
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I don't think they MANUFACTURED the cards in Canada even back then. They were designed in Canada at ATI in Toronto but I think they were still manufactured overseas. I could be wrong.
 
To the original question: they last 1 day beyond whenever your warranty expires. 🙂

That is one good thing regarding aftermarket cooling solutions like the AC TT II. You can buy a replacement fan shroud + fans from their website for $7.
 
thilanliyan said:
I don't think they MANUFACTURED the cards in Canada even back then. They were designed in Canada at ATI in Toronto but I think they were still manufactured overseas. I could be wrong.
Click to expand...
Maybe not all of them, but my Rage 128 and Radeon Mac Edition cards both had the little "Fabrique en Canada" stickers on them.
 
My Palit 8800GT from early 2007 is still running (as a backup card) and considering all the botched volt mods, I'm surprised it still is lol. 🙂
 
I still have a old.....

ATi 9600 AGP
ATI X1800 XL
EVGA 7600 GT OC
EVGA 9800 GTX
BFG 7900 GTX OC

All still work great.
 
So I guess I'm just unlucky that my fans failed? I don't live in an especially dusty environment. (I haven't ever dusted my 26" LCD monitors, and they aren't seemingly covered in any layer of dust.)

There is some dust in the heatsink and covering the fans on the video card though.
 
Also, life time of cards also varies depending on their use. Idling for days and days? They will last for ages. Bitcoining 24/7? Not anywhere near as long.
 
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