
GPU Sagging Can Corrupt VRAM on Models 20 and 30: Report
German laptop restore technician KrisFix on YouTube studies that GeForce RTX 2080 Tis, probably the greatest graphics playing cards of 2018, typically die late of their lives as a result of intense stress from GPU sag. The technician demonstrated this with a broken RTX 2080 Ti, exhibiting how the underside of GDDR6 reminiscence modules can lose contact with their respective solder factors on the PCB after a number of years of use beneath intense GPU sag.
If KrisFix’s report is right, 2080 Tis are beginning to die out in rising numbers from that quantity on. And sure, they’re doubtlessly greater than 4 years previous now, however the playing cards stay fairly succesful, and lots of are being resold as used playing cards when earlier homeowners have upgraded to one thing newer and sooner just like the RTX 4070. even should you see this downside pop up on triple-socket RTX 30-series and RTX 40-series GPUs in a number of years – and AMD’s bigger Radeon RX 6000- and 7000-series will not be immune both. This may increasingly require an anti-sagging bracket or vertical GPU mounting to increase GPU lifespan.
The issue with the RTX 2080 Ti is with the underside of the GDDR6 reminiscence modules closest to the PCIe x16 slot. KrisFix says this space of the PCB is topic to essentially the most PCB flex of any heavy GPU cooling answer, which places a pressure on the PCB and reminiscence parts in that space.
It is not simply PCB flexing that causes reminiscence failure; it is a mixture of GPU resiliency with on a regular basis GPU utilization that in the end hurts the GDDR6 ports. Moreover, thermal drift from years of every day operation of the graphics card beneath heavy sag circumstances causes the GDDR6 contacts to interrupt whereas flexing PCB reminiscence ICs pull in undesirable methods.
KrisFix demonstrated this completely with an RTX 2080 Ti in his store that he says has failed because of the uncomfortable side effects of sagging. After eradicating the underside three GDDR6 reminiscence modules from the PCB, he discovered oxidation issues at a number of contacts of the chip (BGA balls) related to faulty solder joints on the PCB itself.
KrisFix was capable of restore this broken RTX 2080 Ti by efficiently reassembling the reminiscence chips. Basic points are definitely worrisome, nevertheless, and we may even see this proceed to extend in newer, bigger and heavier GPUs as they age over the subsequent few years. Check out all three-slot, 1.5kg or extra RTX 40 collection and RX 7900 collection playing cards launched within the final six months.
The very best countermeasure towards this downside is to buy an anti-sagging bracket or mount your GPU vertically with a vertical GPU mount. Alternatively, and possibly as a result of card producers realized this may very well be an issue years in the past, many fanatic graphics playing cards now embody a “stand” you can place beneath the graphics card to alleviate stress. Certainly one of Asus short little support on some playing cards MSI (opens in new tab), Colourful (opens in new tab), galaxy (opens in new tab), gigabyte, penny (opens in new tab)and others have included varied different assist mechanisms.
Regardless of the answer, it is essential to keep away from flexing the PCB and hold the board fully flat if you wish to lengthen the lifespan of your GPU. In any other case it might doubtlessly result in untimely GPU loss of life.
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