Will overclocking wear down my video card?

[Metalloid]

I know that overclocking can damage your video card if you go to high but Im not worried about that because I have overclocked before. But will overclocking wear down my video card and decrease the life of it? I mean, if my card were to last 5 years if I didnt overclock, would it last less than 5 years, say 3, if I did overclock it? Thanks

 

[AA0]

pretty much, most good hardware can keep running a long time, if you oc it, it should last, but its not set in stone. If you want the card to run for 5 years, don't oc it.

 

[nRollo]

"would it last less than 5 years,say 3, if I did overclock it? Thanks"

Don't you think the answer to this might depend on things like:
1. The quality of the silicon of your specific chip
2. The method of cooling
3. How much you run it above spec
4. How many hours a day you run it
5. What you're running
6. Temperature in case

And even if you had answers to all of the above, do you think there are graphs available that show the diminished life by MHz overclocked?

I don't think anyone has an answer to your question that is anything more than idle speculation.

 

[pillage2001]

At the rate new cards are coming out these days, would you keep it longer than it's expected to be working??

I've never had any components died on me through overclocking. The longest that I've kept a component which was overclocked about 2 years and it's still working on my older computers.

 

[BFG10K]

Like any computer components, video cards' life spans are shortened when they're overclocked.

 

[cmaMath13]

If you have the card adequately cooled, then I would say you don't have to worry about it. But, if it running right on the edge of locking up because of poor cooling OR extreme overclocking, then your concerns will be warranted. I too have never had a failure due to overclocking, but then again I can keep from upgrade either.

 

[RudeBoie]

Yea, I doubt anyone has kept any cpu/vc long enough to notice that it's life has been reduced, UNLESS they did some supreme extreme oc'ing and were basically asking for it.

But even then, everyone has been able to run at default stable again

 

[Metalloid]

Rollo, I think you misunderstood me. I wasnt looking for a specific time period that my card will last at a certain overclock. I was just generally asking if it will wear my card down. I think that BFG10K pretty much summed up what I was looking for. Thanks guys.

 

[RudeBoie]

See, the thing about that is, has it been proven 100% that oc'ing willl in fact guarantee a shorter lifespan?

Since things are supposed to last 20 years under 100% usage (I think so anyway), who's been oc'ing for even 10 years(a 50% drop in lifespan would be pretty damn huge)? Are there any numbers/theories that say that your component life will linearly decrease by x for every y you oc?

I think a lot of it depends on how much you oc and how you cool it/protect it from long term damage. Can we really say for sure that something will not last as long as a regularly clocked item?