How often are 3080s dying?

[-]

nightw0lf23@reddit

Both my buddy and I had both had 3080 12GB that died after about 3.5 years, both from MSI. Obviously a very small sample size but if it’s significantly cheaper I would take the chance, the card is a beast. It’s exceedingly rare for cards to die, but up to you if you want the risk.

Our cards would crash infrequently, black screening our pcs and forcing hard restarts. Happened more frequently during heavy gaming loads but also infrequently while browsing YouTube or the internet, increasing in frequency until one day it wouldn’t boot anymore. Make sure you test any used card if you can, my card’s tell was that it would instantly crash when launching Valheim.

[-]

telldavizion@reddit (OP)

How much gaming did you do on it?

[-]

nightw0lf23@reddit

Only ever gamed on it, use it pretty much daily for the 3+ years I had it. Had a mild overclock + power limit increase, not anything crazy, turned that off once the first black screen happened. Don’t think you can tune the voltage directly on it so didn’t touch any of that.

[-]

bowzer1919@reddit

Mine has been doing these black screens and I have been going crazy to diagnose it. Its so non reproducible. Im almost wondering if its a psu thing, but I am at a loss. No logs, inconsistent info about it online. I hope its not just dead.

[-]

nightw0lf23@reddit

Yep exact same thing that was happening to me and my friend. Tried a psu swap, ditched my riser cable, reseated it more times than I could count. Nothing in the logs. Everything I did would make it go away temporarily but then it kept happening and would do it more and more frequently. I think from the first time it happened to when it fully died was I want to say ~8 months.

[-]

DifficultWalrus8811@reddit

Start with replacement of the HDMI or Display Port cable - sometimes they just go bad over time and it's a cheap troubleshooting option. Monitors can also blink black when the capacitors start to die, so if you have a 2nd monitor or a TV, swap it out for a bit to see if you have the same issue.

[-]

hayydebb@reddit

I’m having a similar issue. My card will basically just die and my pc tries to switch to onboard graphics. I have to restart pc I have a 1000w gold rated corsair power supply that’s only a couple years old so I doubt it’s that

[-]

The_Schan@reddit

Running valheim seems to be an accidental vram consistency test, same thing happened to my buddy, but a different GPU

[-]

Flaky_Preparation409@reddit

Mine died last week after 5 years and half.

[-]

PixelPete27@reddit

If you can find one that wasn't used for crypto mining, they're not bad. I have friends that have been running them from release with no issues, until today.

[-]

JayPag@reddit

This is not even that true, mining GPUs can be also treated and cooled well, so it's not necessarily a bad indicator.

In any case, GPUs rarely die anyway.

[-]

skypatina@reddit

i actually feel like those who mined with their gpus probably took way better care of it. Me, for example, i replaced the stock pads and i annually clean my gpu of dust. It runs great to this day with not a single hiccup.

[-]

croholdr@reddit

sometimes when u buy a crap ton of gpus you get duds that arent as fast and/or just crash when doing core locking and overclocking. anyway those only last 4-8 years and the others go longer. its really all about the enviornments its operated in; but those duds just go pop one day and its good riddiance.

[-]

croholdr@reddit

huh? i mine hard core on my 3070 when it was new. still works today.

[-]

PixelPete27@reddit

I'm just saying, those are the ones that die early, cause they're on 24/7 for 6 years straight.

[-]

Curun@reddit

Powered on is how uou keep them alive.

Cool hot cycles is what causes solder fail under the bga

Nvidia laptop chips used to be notorious

[-]

drewts86@reddit

Most of the time miners undervolt the GPUs. They’re not looking for outright speed, they just need the core count. Undervolting allows the card to run a lot cooler and saves money by not requiring fancy cooling solutions if they’ve got tons of mining rigs all running in the same building.

[-]

DarthWeezy@reddit

Most of the time miners are especially looking to push the VRAM to the absolute limit. Power draw and underclocking the GPU isn’t the issue, it’s that mining is a VRAM killer.

[-]

nru3@reddit

The reality is, as long as temps were kept under control you probably do more damage to a card turning it on and off regular than you would if you just leaving it running/mining

[-]

kind_bros_hate_nazis@reddit

Well ya they're just saying

[-]

No-Actuator-6245@reddit

This has been proven to be an internet myth. A key part of mining was efficiency to reduce electricity costs, this meant running lower voltage which also resulted in lower and importantly very constant temps (less stress than thermal cycling). In the reviews I’ve seen that investigated this there was never any evidence that mining shortened a GPU’s life and some theorised they may be lower risk but unproven.

[-]

TheOriginalKrampus@reddit

I mined and gamed extensively on 30 (and 20, and 40, and AMD 5000) series cards. I know lots of people who did the same. The #1 thing all miners are concerned about are high power draw. Profitable mining is about efficiency. In nearly all cases, that means running the GPU at below stock power draw.

The #2 biggest concern is temps. With the 30-series cards that had GDDR6X (like 3080s), NVIDIA exposed VRAM temps and the mining software shows memory temps. We all knew that those chips could run way too hot and shared solutions to keeping them in safe ranges.

When core or memory temps get too high, the mining software actually shows them in red, and will throttle the GPU. So we had plenty of tools for monitoring them and making sure they did not get into degredation ranges.

Regular maintenance on mining GPUs is also really important. We regularly clean, and semi-regularly repaste mining GPUs/replace dried up/insufficient thermal pads on the VRAM. GPUs cost a lot, and no miner wants theirs to go bad or degrade.

I had a 3080 FTW3 in my own desktop PC, in addition to those I had in rigs. I mined and gamed on that 3080 for, what, 3-4 years? I babied that GPU. Replaced the thermal paste, replaced the garbage stock thermal pads with high end pads. And I got EVGA to send me a replacement fan when one of them died. That thing was always running well within safe temps. When I gave up my desktop PC in favor of a laptop, I reached out to a friend who was sourcing parts to build a PC for another friend of his. I disclosed its use, and offered a fair price. It's now living its second life hopefully making some other young person very happy.

[-]

Thomas5020@reddit

As long as the miner ensured the VRAM was kept cool it'll be fine.

[-]

smoothartichoke27@reddit

I got mine at launch. I even mined with it for a couple of months (it quite literally kept our lights on during the pandemic lockdowns). I replaced it with a 5080 last year (10GB was a problem), but passed it on to my brother who only games at 1080p. And it's still kicking - haven't even needed to repaste yet.

[-]

ArseholeryEnthusiast@reddit

The chips are for the most part reliable. Most ones that will die have died already.

[-]

ThatGuyFromThe213@reddit

I had a 3080TI for almost a year until it fried itself for some reason. RMA it because I still have my warranty on it. Gigabyte basically upgraded me to a 4080 for free because 3080s were phasing out of production for 4000 series.

[-]

telldavizion@reddit (OP)

man those warranty stories makes me want a new card lol. I never had a card die and use warranty to get a series leap like that

[-]

ThatGuyFromThe213@reddit

It does happen from what I've been told. It's likely Gigabyte didn't have a spare Aero 3080 TI or parts, so their solution was to give me a Aero 4080 for my troubles.

[-]

the_duck17@reddit

I have an EVGA 3080 12GB Hydro Copper FTW, so waterblocked and also undervolted.

So far it's been OK but I heard not so great things about EVGA so I'm holding onto hope I'll be OK.

But yeah, it's been a great card and I don't have any reason to upgrade yet.

I dread the day it dies because another waterblocked 80-series equivalent is stupid expensive now and I just can't even think about how much that's going to cost me.

[-]

Lymez18@reddit

Had PNY one since launch, never repasted, just regular dust cleaning. Sold it a few months back just because I had a good deal on a 9070XT. My 3080 worked as a beast as stock and never got higher than 70c under load.

[-]

blindato1@reddit

Mine was thermal throttling bad after 3.5 years. So I sold it and upgraded to a 5070ti. Fortunately got that at MSRP.

[-]

Robberg118@reddit

I had a 3080 Ti for almost 5 years with no problems at all. Sold it on ebay and never heard back from the buyer, so I assume he's happy with it. TBH, like most things, it's just the minority that you hear about making people think product XYZ is no good.

[-]

JinTheWindMSTR@reddit

Was probably me lol I bought one in December and LOVE it

[-]

JinTheWindMSTR@reddit

I just spent $385 on a used 3080Ti back in December (upgraded from a 2080) and LOVE it

[-]

Thelgow@reddit

I expect they are fine? Im on a 3090, and I mined for about 3-4 months on it. But I also repasted and repadded it when I got it. It's still going like the day I got it.

[-]

Hrmerder@reddit

3080 is rock solid. Yes buying used you have no idea what you are getting but they are very solid devices.

The number one I would stay away from however is gigabyte 3080… Why? Go look at how many there are ‘for parts’ on eBay… been that way for years now.

Even if you bought one that was mined to hell and back, as long as it all works fine now, repaste/ re thermal pad and new fans. Good regardless

[-]

telldavizion@reddit (OP)

My z490 board is gigabyte and had a lot of issues with it so will be staying away from gigabyte. Thanks

[-]

DrZeroX3@reddit

Mine works perfectly well. And all I’ve done is game with it.

[-]

Xp3nD4bL3@reddit

Have 3080 from long time ago, used for gaming and mining, it's dead a couple of months ago but service save it with relatively cheap cost. Still breathing up til now, gave it to my little brother.

[-]

VersaceUpholstery@reddit

My EVGA ftw3 3080 10gb is still kicking since 2021. Never getting higher than 77c

[-]

deTombe@reddit

No used 4070's in your price range?

[-]

telldavizion@reddit (OP)

I can get a 3080 for 450 cad and 4070 is 600-650 on marketplace. So its a bit of a price leap

[-]

deTombe@reddit

True I'm a Canadian also know about that lol. I had to finance my 4070 for more than the cost of a entry level 5070. But have no complaints the 3080 is a great card. Probably would just add some fresh paste. If it's a longer card get a GPU stand.

[-]

telldavizion@reddit (OP)

Honesty a 3070 would probably tie me over and just upgrade later to a less power hungry card. I mostly just do emulators and old games nowadays.

What do you mean by finance the 4070 more than the entry 5070? You bought used or new?

[-]

deTombe@reddit

Monthly payments and just being bitter always a newer similar priced card coming out faster than the previous generations. And I agree for your use case 3070 should be plenty.

[-]

pattperin@reddit

I’m still rocking a 3080ti and it’s been a great GPU for me

[-]

Eastern-Web-7989@reddit

I ran a 3090 with the VRAM at 112C 24/7 for a year straight mining crypto.

Still works fine.

[-]

telldavizion@reddit (OP)

Good to know. That's why I feel like not taking the risk and just getting something cheaper for now

[-]

flips89@reddit

How often any gpu dies? Its super rare for gpu to die if handled properly - or has factory issue.

Most 3080 nowadays have require pad and paste replacement and will perform normally.

Some fans can degrade over time and need replacement but not an issue if can be replaced.

Its up to you to determine the condition of the gpu and find trustworthy seller.

Have a good PSU is a must for 3080 it can spike over 400w, usually around 330w in gaming without undervolt.