Is there a way to check the "mileage" of a video card?

ice_v · Dec 3, 2012

Hi, just wondering if there is some kind of procedure or program that let's you know for how long has a video card been running? Thanks.

W1zzard · Dec 3, 2012

You could check for physical wear/dust. There is no hidden counter or similar

ice_v · Dec 3, 2012

W1zzard said:
You could check for physical wear/dust. There is no hidden counter or similar

Of any sort?...not even at low level, like bios?

Oh well, that's all I needed to know...Thanks. :respect:

natr0n · Dec 3, 2012

You could check the thermal paste as a reference. If its dried up then you know.

3870x2 · Dec 3, 2012

natr0n said:
You could check the thermal paste as a reference. If its dried up then you know.

Most stock thermal paste is going to be dried up, so it would be hard to say for sure.

If a company would say that they would be using something like IC Diamond or another big name on their graphics cards, I would immediately switch to and support them.

McSteel · Dec 3, 2012

You could also check for PCB bending/warping (if the VGA uses a heavy heatsink), and for faint color shifts in the PCB lacquer (from heat exposure). If the card hasn't already been tempered with, and it doesn't void any warranties it might still bear, you could take off the heatsink and inspect the thermal paste/compound. Usually if it's fully hardened it means the card was used for a good while. Also, laser etching on the RAM chips gets darker and duller/more blended with the rest of the chip as it goes through thermal cycles. This takes some time, so it's also a possible pointer. In sleeve bearing fans, resistance to manual spinning can tell a little about how long and how intensively the card has been used.

All of this is very circumstantial and indirect evidence, you won't get any concrete numbers with any of it.

W1zzard · Dec 3, 2012

ice_v said:
Of any sort?...not even at low level, like bios?

The card will never write to the BIOS during normal operation (unless you manually flash), so no

TheMailMan78 · Dec 3, 2012

You can always look at the surface of the caps also. Not always an indicator of wear but if any of them are bulging you might wanna pass on it.

de.das.dude · Dec 3, 2012

most stuff wont die if you use properly and keep them clean.
most cases the capacitors leak, but even that has been fixed nowadays.

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Is there a way to check the "mileage" of a video card?

ice_v

W1zzard

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ice_v

natr0n

3870x2

McSteel

W1zzard

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TheMailMan78

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de.das.dude

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