How long do laptop graphics cards usually last?

[The Future Hacker]

Let's say that I have a brand new GTX 960M graphics card that I use for balanced gaming. I don't allow it to overheat. I never overclock, and I always play video games every 2 hours and allow it to rest for an hour before playing again. I also clean my laptop every 6 months, especially the cooling fans.

How many years do you think will this graphics card serve me well in gaming and other tasks like video editing and others? How can I prolong its life?

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

The card will almost certainly become obsolete long before it dies.

How long a component will last depends on how happy you are with its performance over time. Will you be happy running games at lower settings or a lower frame rate, or will you want the crank the settings and shoot for the highest frame rate? It all depends on your own preferences.

 

[The Future Hacker]

The card will almost certainly become obsolete long before it dies.

How long a component will last depends on how happy you are with its performance over time. Will you be happy running games at lower settings or a lower frame rate, or will you want the crank the settings and shoot for the highest frame rate? It all depends on your own preferences.

Being able to play games at about 40 FPS or so in medium settings will do. As for your answer, I need a specific lifespan, even if it is a smart guess.

 

[geofelt]

21.5 years

 

[Snipergod87]

Its variable, the GPU is unlikely itself to die but power delivery or memory modules could go bad.

 

[dudeman509]

The AMD discrete ones tend to go bad in the lifespan of a few years. I would say poor cooling solutions are probably to blame for this.

But yeah, it'll probably be obsolete before it happens. Look for a laptop with dual fans or dual heat pipes for the best type of cooling solution.

 

[bloodroses]

It all depends on laptop/video card build quality and heat issues. I had one laptop who's discrete card died in a year that was due to defective Nvidia 8600m SLI cards they eventually got sued over. I have a friend though that has a Alienware laptop with a discrete Nvidia card that has been going strong for quite a few years; although it sucks for gaming now.

For general maintenance, you're doing just fine. The only thing I can suggest getting though is a laptop cooling pad as it helps with underside ventilation and are pretty cheap:

https://www.newegg.com/Laptop-Cooling-Pads/SubCategory/ID-319?Tid=7639