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high end video cards-fyi - 3/26/2007 10:11:05 PM

jtareb

Posts: 44
Joined: 10/19/2003
Status: offline

I'm having to get a replacement geforce 7900 gtx card from alienware due to the current on wearing out after less than a year. The alienware rep said they are seeing a lot of this and judging by the complaints on the nvidia boards it is becoming a major problem. The rep said the cards are being worn out in 6months to year due to the heavy demand placed on them by the latest games and software. Luckily I kept my warranty up to date and there will be no cost to me.

Post #: 1

RE: high end video cards-fyi - 3/27/2007 8:51:42 PM

redwolf

Posts: 152
Joined: 9/19/2002
Status: offline

The 7900GT and to a lesser extend the 7900GTX (the first 90 nm chips made by NVidia) had huge problems with reliability, many showing graphical artifacts or broke entirely. Neither the 78xx nor the 8xxx show the same.

And contrary to some claims that is not limited to the factory-overclocked cards, the hardware forums have many examples of stock speed cards breaking.

I can only recommend to limit your choices to either 7800GTX or else jump directly to 8x00 cards. Under no circumstances buy a used "lifetime warranty" 7900 from a vendor like eVGA, the warranty is only valid for the first owner. There are better vendors who have a true lifetime warranty.

The claim "the cards are being worn out in 6months to year due to the heavy demand placed on them by the latest games and software" is the biggest rubbish I heard all week, and I already visited said hardware forums :)

(in reply to jtareb)

Post #: 2

RE: high end video cards-fyi - 3/27/2007 9:52:11 PM

JAMiAM

Posts: 6165
Joined: 2/8/2004
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: redwolf
The claim "the cards are being worn out in 6months to year due to the heavy demand placed on them by the latest games and software" is the biggest rubbish I heard all week, and I already visited said hardware forums :)

LoL! Yeah, it's all those big electrons wearing holes through the tubes in the copper wire...

On a more serious note, I've been running a pair of factory-overclocked, BFG 7900 GTX's, in SLI, for the last 7 months, with no video problems. Most likely, what is happening is that a lot of these cards that are failing are not being kept clean, and in a clean, well-ventilated enclosure. They do get warm, need adequate power supplies, fresh air, and the occasional dusting off. If someone hasn't cleaned the insides of their PC out in 6 months of constant activity, then they may be getting some airflow problems and overheating.

< Message edited by JAMiAM -- 3/27/2007 9:53:30 PM >

(in reply to redwolf)

Post #: 3

RE: high end video cards-fyi - 5/6/2007 2:14:44 AM

Scott_WAR

Posts: 1020
Joined: 2/24/2005
Status: offline

Dust in the fan. These newer cards get HOT. They need good/fast air flow. The faster air flows, the faster dust builds up,... on the fan blades, and ESPECIALLY on the fins in the heatsink. You must remove this dust buildup around every 6 months or the cooling will be drastically reduced, heat will build up, artifacting will appear, and the card may die.

Edit- I need to read better, JAMiAM covered it.

< Message edited by Scott_WAR -- 5/6/2007 2:17:39 AM >

(in reply to JAMiAM)

Post #: 4