constant swapping in & out can harm gpu?

[vish1756]

i have two systems.. one with an intel 3770 and one with a ryzen 1700x and a single gtx 1080 so i intend to keep swapping my new gpu as per my requirement.. ill be using it with the i7 for gaming and with ryzen for productivity work but i want to know if constantly swapping my gpu can cause harm to my gpu or any other components as i might be swapping it as frequent as once everyweek. please help?

 

[DRagor]

Installing and removing GPU causes damage to card pins and socket pins due to friction. It is not serious thing if you do it once in a while, but doing that very often may shorten lifespan of both GPU and involved motherboards. However if you do it no more then one change per week, and make sure you are careful about it, I doubt you will notice any problems before GPU becomes obsolete anyway.
Other then that, I see no possible problems.

 

[Corwin65]

Maybe buy a cheap GPU for the non gaming pc?

 

[BFG-9000]

The typical x16 slot, such as the common Tyco 1746220, is only rated for 50 insertions. It may last longer than that but is only guaranteed to work for 50, which you will exceed in less than a year at once per week. The local used computer store here tests every used GPU in an actual board by installing the drivers to actually run it in 3D, and they say that after 70 or so mating cycles a motherboard is no longer reliable enough for further use in testing. Nobody manufactures a high cycle-count x16 slot.

The printed edge connector itself is generally rated higher, about 100 cycles, depending on what the pads are plated with. You should expect the card to last about as long as the motherboards though, because in the situation you describe there is only 1 card and two motherboards, so the card would be used twice as often as any slot.

There is also the 8-pin power connector to consider. Those are also rated for 50 insertions before they can get loose enough to show high resistance and melt. As there are two PSUs, they should also last about as long as the motherboards.

So the final tally is that after just over a year of use like this you will need to replace two motherboards, one GTX1080 and two PSUs. You could probably extend this a bit by lubricating the contacts with Deoxit oil, but the point is this would quickly cost more than a 2nd GTX1080.