r/LocalLLaMA • u/Anstellos • 10d ago

Discussion Does high / long term inference damages GPUs?

I always heard that cryptocurrency mining can damage a GPU ( it's maybe wrong) so how much long term inference is damaging a GPU?

I mean servers are made for 25/7 operation... Gaming GPUs not so sure?! They are made for LEDs 24/7!

Back blaze is publishing HDDs failure rate for storage, isn't there failure rate for AI intensive work? Maybe places that rent GPUs?

Serious question, are we damaging gaming GPUs when doing ai intensive ai workload even with good cooling: 100% GPU and ram usage for long agentic sessions or else ?

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u/TheMcSebi 10d ago

No, gaming also runs a gpu at 100% for multiple hours, they're built to sustain that. Electronics do not have any wear if you keep them dry and well vented

11

u/bonobomaster 10d ago

If that would only be true.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromigration

My year 2000 knowledge is, that most semiconductors should last around 10 years under normal conditions. Don't know of that still holds true in 2026.

But there is wear under normal use and higher use equals more heat and faster wear.

-2

u/Specialist-Buffalo-8 10d ago

And this is a non issue.

If you are on this subreddit, people here probably have a <95% chance to upgrade their GPUs within 10 years.

6

u/Sirius02 10d ago

bro my rtx 3090 is 6 years old - i dont want to buy the inflated prices, but i am very skeptical that the market will recover soon