Familiarize yourself with the early warnings and try one of these programs to keep tabs on your internal temperatures: It can be hard to tell if your PC is overheating just by looking at it-and physical signs like the smell of burning only indicate that it’s already too late. Follow the steps below, and you should keep your rig in working order for years to come. Keeping your PC clean and well ventilated should prevent your rig from suffering this fate. But overheating does happen, and we'd rather be safe than sorry with such a pricey little toy on the line.
Most factory drivers come equipped with fail-safe routines to turn off the GPU at dangerous temperatures.
How to Avoid GPU OverheatingĬonsumer GPUs are surprisingly resilient-capable of handling low-grade cook temperatures without a blink. This happened to Jared's motherboard when he upgraded his GPU-he lost a fan, and the poor girl just couldn’t take the heat. If your processor can’t disperse the amount of heat it generates, it can experience total meltdown. With any kind of intensive computing, common causes of failure are:Īny of the above can trigger system failure. Effective heat management techniques are the best way to prevent failure. Beat the HeatĮlectronic components don't have to worry about friction, but they are exceptionally sensitive to fluctuations in temperature. Luckily, fans are one of the easiest parts to replace in a gaming PC. When managed properly, prolonged computational activity like cryptomining and gaming shouldn't degrade your GPU's physical integrity.Įven with the best of care, mechanical fans only get a finite number of revolutions before their material begins to erode. Make sure to keep your blades free of any sediment that might cause undue friction, and check every so often to make sure everything is rotating smoothly. To prevent damage to your card, you'll need to clean them often. Since most GPUs rely on attached or auxiliary fans, these parts can degrade faster during periods of sustained use. GPU mining itself isn't a danger to your PC-it's the mileage. Proper maintenance will extend their life for years, but everything chafes eventually. Old-fashioned friction is the number one reason most hard drives, keyboards, and cooling fans have a set expiration date. Mechanical integrity is directly related to usage. Sustained shouldn't wear down your processor unless you're not properly maintaining your PC. The fact is, computer parts don’t degrade linearly like mechanical parts. More often than not, electronic components fail because of their underlying mechanical hardware-and that shouldn't be confused for electronic degradation.