What is the average GPU lifespan?

[TheSpartaGod]

Some people say that a gpu's normal life is 4 years, without overclocking. My GPU is currently over 3 years old now and i was wondering if this is a good time to upgrade. I currently have a GTX 660 and i was planning an upgrade to GTX 960/70

 

[ak47jar3d]

Well, it depends. If you keep you gpu in low temps, it can last 10 years. Upgrading from 660 is a good idea. You want a better card at 1080p at this point.

 

[atheus]

I don't know, but usually the reason to upgrade is more to do with increased performance needs for newer games and higher monitor resolutions than the health of a card. Consumer CPU's used to have a MTBF (mean time before failure) of 5 years, but Intel no longer specifies the MTBF of their CPU's, from what I hear. I would guess that's a pretty normal target for longevity of consumer computer equipment, though.

On whether to upgrade or not, just think about what games you want to play, what resolution, and what settings, and check reviews to see which kind of card will handle that. If your current card is handling it, then don't bother. If you've got features you want but don't have, then think about upgrading!

 

[smorizio]

with computer parts like gpu there are two issues for life span of the card. one is the thermal paste that was used or thermal tape. tape does not age well. if it thermal paste if it drys out and the gpu temps start running hot if you catch it before the gpu chip cooks. it a cheap fix. the other issue is capacitors that were used. few years bad a whole bunch of bad ones got into everything from cars to hard drives to mb. those caps lasted less then a year on some parts and a lot of vendors had recalls. a lot of the mb and 3 party vendors now uses non china parts...you see it with msi and there mb. there listing to people feedback that they dont want there parts failing just after the warranty is over. there using better parts that if cooled and keep from filling up with dust can last 10 or more years now.

 

[guanyu210379]

According to my experience,
if your PSU is stable, if your 220V/110V power is stable, if the temperature is always max 70'C -80'C, if you used it under full load at max about 8-10 hours per day, if you keep the dust away, the GPU usually can survive at least 5 years, regardless of the brand and type.

Edit: you should usually replace them due to game demands earlier.

 

[deuce_23]

I have a friend who goes around on pick up day and picks up most of the old computer towers. Most of these towers simply need a new capacitor cost a few dollars then he can resell. My old HD 4870x2 that i sold him for $100 died and it was just a blown capacitor. so as said above the thermal paste and the temp that your card runs at is what makes the difference and also the fans and dust factor.

I should have stuck with the Hd4870x2 i think it would run all the games i play today. You would be surprised how many older cards run 1080p quite well. You may need to lower some settings depending on the game. My advice wait until you are getting unplayable frame rates or your card dies, then upgrade.

 

[Adrelv]

my 780 ti died after 2 years...