[SOLVED] Longest Lasting Video Cards

[nazareneisrael]

Hi. I am editing my post, to shorten it up a lot.
My video card (MSI GTX1660) is failing after 18 months.
Video card prices are outrageous right now, but I don't have a choice, as I need a card.
Is there a "most reliable" brand of video card?
I read that ASUS was considered one of the top manufacturers for longevity on video cards. Does that seem right? (Or is that all propaganda?)
Thanks.

 

[Lutfij]

Reliability is something that can exist and never exist in pretty much all brands, considering that they are all electronic devices, they will fail at some point of their operating lifetime. Paying higher(for a premium built GPU) ensures that you get a brand that stands behind their product in case the one you own from them fails. Currently the market has been turned on it's head which is why their prices are high or they are not available. In a nutshell, in our current environment, you can drop your money into any brand of GPU, so long as they are from Asus, ASRock, KFA, Gainward, Palit,. Galax, MSI, EVGA or Gigabyte. Anything outside of them and you will get a dud. Also, most often, GPU's fail if they're left to cook inside your case or if you have a faulty/failing/subpar PSU in your build.

I'm curious to know what the make and model of your PSU is. As for brands, they will all be covered with warranty so if they fail during warranty period, you're going to get it replaced.

FYI, 18 months is still within your warranty period, last I checked, you should be able to RMA the card now.

 

[uppercut4u]

I switched to Galax brand for GPU's I prefer the HOF series but the SG, Gamer, series are just a good. Build quality is excellent and all the Galax GPUs I own continue to perform at a high level with zero issues.

 

[Grobe]

Are there any other criteria for the question?

In general, a GPU that has low power consumption is expected to last longer simply because temperature stress of its components. If you're a gamer this is probably not the answer you seek, but that's just how it is.

 

[InvalidError]

I have never had a GPU fail on me. Then again, I have never owned any GPU that uses more than ~100W.

I agree with Grobe's general impression that failures do appear to be far more common on higher-end/higher-power cards. If you have a part that has 2-3X the complexity and power draw, you can expect it to be 2-3X as likely to fail since there are that many more potential failure points and that much more power available to dump into any fault to make it fatal.

The most you can do about it is keep the card clean so conductive dust doesn't cause a malfunction or overheat that could nuke it. I clean my case's air filters every 1-3 months and do a thorough clean (I even open the PSU to check up on capacitors that may need replacement, remove dust clumps that got sucked in because the stupid case scraped them from the filter during removal and add silicon grease to fan bearings) once every 1-2 years.

 

[hotaru.hino]

I'm sitting on an RTX 2070 Super going on its 18th month. Granted I've power limited and recently undervolted so it runs cooler.

If anything, it's reasonable to expect a video card to last as long as its warranty period.

 

[InvalidError]

If anything, it's reasonable to expect a video card to last as long as its warranty period.

IMO, the manufacturer warranty period on most electronics is far too short. The vast majority of my computer equipment has lasted 10+ years and I generally don't buy components while expecting them to last less than that. In some countries with stronger consumer protection laws, the manufacturer warranty is irrelevant when reasonable consumer expectations are much longer. Personally, I'd like the minimum warranty to be 5-7 years for non-consumable items and if manufacturers don't want to be on the hook for repairing phones and other devices in-warranty for SSD and battery death, make them user-serviceable so they can be sold as a consumable due to their inherently limited life.

 

[Eximo]

My only caveat is that as these process nodes keep shrinking, we have less and less information about potential longevity.

Lower voltage, longevity should go up. But conversely, smaller internal features are more fragile. Applies to the GPU, memory, and voltage regulation modules. Also with higher PCIe standards the PCB is likely to get more complex, require more layers (Though possibly good since it might require thicker copper layers)

And the silent killer of electronics, ion exchange and the growth of little crystals on the metal surfaces. This should have had less impact on older hardware since components were generally farther apart, larger, and lead free solder wasn't in wide use.

I also haven't had a GPU fail on me yet, and have had some ludicrous ones. Though my last few have been water cooled, so keeping temperatures down has been happening.

 

[Oxicoi]

FYI, 18 months is still within your warranty period, last I checked, you should be able to RMA the card now.

RMA, you'll get it months later. Not the best option.

 

[nazareneisrael]

Reliability is something that can exist and never exist in pretty much all brands, considering that they are all electronic devices, they will fail at some point of their operating lifetime. Paying higher(for a premium built GPU) ensures that you get a brand that stands behind their product in case the one you own from them fails. Currently the market has been turned on it's head which is why their prices are high or they are not available. In a nutshell, in our current environment, you can drop your money into any brand of GPU, so long as they are from Asus, ASRock, KFA, Gainward, Palit,. Galax, MSI, EVGA or Gigabyte. Anything outside of them and you will get a dud. Also, most often, GPU's fail if they're left to cook inside your case or if you have a faulty/failing/subpar PSU in your build.

I'm curious to know what the make and model of your PSU is. As for brands, they will all be covered with warranty so if they fail during warranty period, you're going to get it replaced.

FYI, 18 months is still within your warranty period, last I checked, you should be able to RMA the card now.

Lutfij, thank you, that was extremely helpful! I assumed (there's that word) that the RMA period was only one year. I checked, and you are right, it is three years!

It is a PC Power & Cooling Silencer MKIII Series 850 Watt 80+ Gold Semi-Modular Active PFC Industrial Grade ATX PC Power Supply. Long story short, it has maybe the equivalent of 5 years of daily use on it. Only, I do not know if it is the PSU, because I swapped in a Gigabyte GTX1070 and the problems disappeared.

I keep all of my equipment very well ventilated and clean. The last time I checked the GPU was running about 34C. I never game it, or push it hard. It looks new.

Thanks again.

 

[nazareneisrael]

I switched to Galax brand for GPU's I prefer the HOF series but the SG, Gamer, series are just a good. Build quality is excellent and all the Galax GPUs I own continue to perform at a high level with zero issues.

Uppercut, thank you, that is good to know. I had not heard the name, so I looked it up. They are a subsidiary of Palit. I used to have a Palit card until recently, and had zero problems with it at all. I think it was maybe 10 years old, and running well.

 

[nazareneisrael]

Are there any other criteria for the question?

In general, a GPU that has low power consumption is expected to last longer simply because temperature stress of its components. If you're a gamer this is probably not the answer you seek, but that's just how it is.

Hi Grobe. Nope, no gaming. We capture video and edit it. The capture card is an AVerMedia Live Gamer 4k, but we use it for capture only. We try to keep everything super ventilated and cool (cold as possible), and clean, to get the longest lifespan possible.

 

[nazareneisrael]

I have never had a GPU fail on me. Then again, I have never owned any GPU that uses more than ~100W.

I agree with Grobe's general impression that failures do appear to be far more common on higher-end/higher-power cards. If you have a part that has 2-3X the complexity and power draw, you can expect it to be 2-3X as likely to fail since there are that many more potential failure points and that much more power available to dump into any fault to make it fatal.

The most you can do about it is keep the card clean so conductive dust doesn't cause a malfunction or overheat that could nuke it. I clean my case's air filters every 1-3 months and do a thorough clean (I even open the PSU to check up on capacitors that may need replacement, remove dust clumps that got sucked in because the stupid case scraped them from the filter during removal and add silicon grease to fan bearings) once every 1-2 years.

Hi InvalidError, good points. I did not think about that. And I am glad I asked.

I try to dust the case out maybe four or five times a year (basically, whenever I think about it, and we use a lot of fans and high quality CPU grease, to keep everything cool. My theory is that if we maintain everything, and keep it cool, it should last a lot longer, and cost less money. Not sure what went wrong with this particular card. It looks new. When I opened the case the fans were at idle, because the system was cool. CPUID said it was maybe 34C.

But now I am curious, how does one add silicone grease to the fan bearings?

 

[nazareneisrael]

RMA, you'll get it months later. Not the best option.

Oxicoi, I understand it will probably take months. Only, I ordered a replacement GPU yesterday, and it will get to me soon. So then if this one can be sent in for an RMA, then I will have a replacement. And shipping should cost a lot less than buying a brand new one at today's absurd prices. But I appreciate the heads up.

 

[USAFRet]

But now I am curious, how does one add silicone grease to the fan bearings?

One does not.

Fan bearings are rarely in need of a "relube". And adding some foreign substance to what is already there may make things worse.

'rarely', as in never.

 

[nazareneisrael]

One does not.

Fan bearings are rarely in need of a "relube". And adding some foreign substance to what is already there may make things worse.

'rarely', as in never.

USAFRet, thank you for that.

 

[InvalidError]

But now I am curious, how does one add silicone grease to the fan bearings?

Fans with ball or sleeve bearings usually have a rubber plug hidden under the sticker. Pull the sticker to reveal the plug, pull the plug, put some lithium grease in, put the plug back on to push the grease into the bearings, put the sticker back on, then let the fan run pointing downward so the grease can work its way in some more. If you want to be even more thorough, you can undo the circlip holding everything together and lubricate the back bearing that cannot be reached otherwise, though the tiny clips are difficult to undo without destroying them.

You need to use silicone or lithium based grease on plastics since oil-based ones will eat away at plastics and rubber compounds. Also, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I grease fans when their bearings are getting noisy and the alternative to corrective maintenance of what is already there would be replacement.

One does not.

Fan bearings are rarely in need of a "relube". And adding some foreign substance to what is already there may make things worse.

'rarely', as in never.

You can get many extra years of useful life of an otherwise unusable or unbearably loud fan by giving it a shot of appropriate grease. I haven't had to throw away any fan since I started doing this around 10 years ago. The latest fan to have received my lithium grease treatment is in my ~10 years old Antec EA650 PSU that got annoyingly loud recently. Packed the bearing with grease, made a racket initially, grease worked its way through to the inner bearing over the next hour or so, then got progressively quieter until it was back to just normal fan noise.

Fans are serviceable items as long as the bearings aren't too far gone.

 

[nazareneisrael]

Fans with ball or sleeve bearings usually have a rubber plug hidden under the sticker. Pull the sticker to reveal the plug, pull the plug, put some lithium grease in, put the plug back on to push the grease into the bearings, put the sticker back on, then let the fan run pointing downward so the grease can work its way in some more. If you want to be even more thorough, you can undo the circlip holding everything together and lubricate the back bearing that cannot be reached otherwise, though the tiny clips are difficult to undo without destroying them.

You need to use silicone or lithium based grease on plastics since oil-based ones will eat away at plastics and rubber compounds. Also, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I grease fans when their bearings are getting noisy and the alternative to corrective maintenance of what is already there would be replacement.


You can get many extra years of useful life of an otherwise unusable or unbearably loud fan by giving it a shot of appropriate grease. I haven't had to throw away any fan since I started doing this around 10 years ago. The latest fan to have received my lithium grease treatment is in my ~10 years old Antec EA650 PSU that got annoyingly loud recently. Packed the bearing with grease, made a racket initially, grease worked its way through to the inner bearing over the next hour or so, then got progressively quieter until it was back to just normal fan noise.

Fans are serviceable items as long as the bearings aren't too far gone.

InvalidError, thanks. That seems good to know. I will bear that in mind if one starts to get noisy.

 

[nazareneisrael]

Fans with ball or sleeve bearings usually have a rubber plug hidden under the sticker. Pull the sticker to reveal the plug, pull the plug, put some lithium grease in, put the plug back on to push the grease into the bearings, put the sticker back on, then let the fan run pointing downward so the grease can work its way in some more. If you want to be even more thorough, you can undo the circlip holding everything together and lubricate the back bearing that cannot be reached otherwise, though the tiny clips are difficult to undo without destroying them.

You need to use silicone or lithium based grease on plastics since oil-based ones will eat away at plastics and rubber compounds. Also, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I grease fans when their bearings are getting noisy and the alternative to corrective maintenance of what is already there would be replacement.


You can get many extra years of useful life of an otherwise unusable or unbearably loud fan by giving it a shot of appropriate grease. I haven't had to throw away any fan since I started doing this around 10 years ago. The latest fan to have received my lithium grease treatment is in my ~10 years old Antec EA650 PSU that got annoyingly loud recently. Packed the bearing with grease, made a racket initially, grease worked its way through to the inner bearing over the next hour or so, then got progressively quieter until it was back to just normal fan noise.

Fans are serviceable items as long as the bearings aren't too far gone.

InvalidError, do you have a preferred applicator?

 

[InvalidError]

InvalidError, do you have a preferred applicator?

The simplest way is to buy the grease in a small squeeze tube with built-in conical tip and use that to deposit a fresh layer of grease on top of the bearing.

 

[nazareneisrael]

Thank you

 

[digitalgriffin]

Hi InvalidError, good points. I did not think about that. And I am glad I asked.

I try to dust the case out maybe four or five times a year (basically, whenever I think about it, and we use a lot of fans and high quality CPU grease, to keep everything cool. My theory is that if we maintain everything, and keep it cool, it should last a lot longer, and cost less money. Not sure what went wrong with this particular card. It looks new. When I opened the case the fans were at idle, because the system was cool. CPUID said it was maybe 34C.

But now I am curious, how does one add silicone grease to the fan bearings?

Depends on fan and axle type. Some bearings are sealed so you can't get ready access to them without breaking something. But usually 1 drop light machine oil works best. The problem with such is it has a tendency to attract dirt in the long term.

That said after watching a whole host of blog post and video post on youtube with people who try to recover video cards for a hobby, it's usually the power delivery systems that fail. NVIDIA nd AMD OEM Reference designs usually have the best power delivery and filtering setup ironically, but often the worst cooling. ?Go figure?

If you were ask my personal opinion who builds the best coolers (which often leads cooler temps and longer life) Power Color - Red Devil. This followed by Sapphire then EVGA. But take that with a grain of salt. Each company has had their fair share of lemons. I would consult with gamers nexus to see if they covered the video card model you are interested in.

 

[nazareneisrael]

Depends on fan and axle type. Some bearings are sealed so you can't get ready access to them without breaking something. But usually 1 drop light machine oil works best. The problem with such is it has a tendency to attract dirt in the long term.

That said after watching a whole host of blog post and video post on youtube with people who try to recover video cards for a hobby, it's usually the power delivery systems that fail. NVIDIA nd AMD OEM Reference designs usually have the best power delivery and filtering setup ironically, but often the worst cooling. ?Go figure?

If you were ask my personal opinion who builds the best coolers (which often leads cooler temps and longer life) Power Color - Red Devil. This followed by Sapphire then EVGA. But take that with a grain of salt. Each company has had their fair share of lemons. I would consult with gamers nexus to see if they covered the video card model you are interested in.

DigitalGriffin, thank you.

 

[nazareneisrael]

Lutfij wrote:

> I'm curious to know what the make and model of your PSU is. As for brands, they will all be covered with warranty so if they fail during warranty period, you're going to get it replaced.

 

[nazareneisrael]

Hi Lutfij.
Is it too late to revive this thread?
Long story short, I replaced the motherboard, and it did NOT resolve the problem.
Then I replaced the MSI GTX1660 video card with a Gigabyte GTX1070, and it SEEMED to have resolved the problem.
But then on a hunch, I put the ailing GTX1660 into a different PC, and it functioned perfectly--which leads me to believe that it was not the GPU!

Then I thought about your earlier comment about the PSU.
Is it possible that the PSU is failing, and for some reason the GTX1070 is not throwing an error, but the GTX1660 is?
And do I get a multimeter, and then hit YouTube for some tutorials?
I watched one and it said to test to see if the voltages are within +/- 5%. Is that all there is to it?
Thank you.