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Inno3D Warns that mining can break Warranty on their GPUs
Well, that was bound to happen. Inno3D is the first manufacturer to warn cryptocurrency coin-miners that they are possible voiding the warranty on their cards. See, graphics cards are not design to do full load 24/7/365, and that is exactly what miners are doing.
We're pretty sure that the RMA return rates have gone up ever since the mining hype started. Inno3D is the first to issue a warning. Thing is though, if a card breaks down after all that abuse, how would Inno3D ever figure out that it was used for mining?
It brings up the question, what is the lifespan of a graphics card with normal usage? I had this discussion once with folks from Nvidia, and in their believe with pretty hefty daily gaming that would average out roughly at 5 years. At one point the GPU will start leaking. If you place that 5 years into perspective compared to what miner are doing with them, I dunno maybe the cards are bound to die after a year or less?
So, while this info is not listed at their website, a reddit user recently bought a (GTX1060 6GB Ichill x3 V2), Inno3D is adding a sticker onto that packaging that makes the message clear, as spotted on reddit. I can see other AIB partners following this protocol, I just cannot see how they would validate the fact the card was used for mining.
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Inno3D released some photo's of what seems to be CAD images, showing a new cooling design for the GeForce GTX 470. The cooler will have three fans and the name for this series ironically is HAWK. I sa...
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Ay .. that's like a tutrle on its back isn't it ? Expreview captured photos of the new GT240 Silent Edition graphics card from Inno3D, this GeForce GT240 features passive cooling. Inno3D GT240 Silent...
chronek
Senior Member
Posts: 185
Joined: 2016-09-19
Senior Member
Posts: 185
Joined: 2016-09-19
#5466396 Posted on: 08/25/2017 03:12 PM
solution: then just do not buy Inno3D cards...
solution: then just do not buy Inno3D cards...
ObscureangelPT
Senior Member
Posts: 545
Joined: 2012-07-10
Senior Member
Posts: 545
Joined: 2012-07-10
#5466397 Posted on: 08/25/2017 03:15 PM
Ye, sure.
And how the hell they know if I have been mining, playing for 8 hours, or leaving Niko stopped in GTA IV for 1 entire week (This last one happened, I forgot to turn off the pc and was out of the house for one week).
My GPU have been doing this for 5 years now, mining 24/7 for some days, I only disable the mining to play or do any activity that requires GPU Power.
It's still alive and fine.
It's logical that if somebody is using the GPU at 100% all the time, or gaming for more hours than the average joe, that the card will be under more stress, and that might impact the life time of the card. But if a GPU breaks just because mining for less than 2 years, then probably your card is lower quality and if things were that linear, it could die in 3 or 4 years in gaming life with no mining. Anyway I don't trust Inno3D either. XD
Ye, sure.
And how the hell they know if I have been mining, playing for 8 hours, or leaving Niko stopped in GTA IV for 1 entire week (This last one happened, I forgot to turn off the pc and was out of the house for one week).
My GPU have been doing this for 5 years now, mining 24/7 for some days, I only disable the mining to play or do any activity that requires GPU Power.
It's still alive and fine.
It's logical that if somebody is using the GPU at 100% all the time, or gaming for more hours than the average joe, that the card will be under more stress, and that might impact the life time of the card. But if a GPU breaks just because mining for less than 2 years, then probably your card is lower quality and if things were that linear, it could die in 3 or 4 years in gaming life with no mining. Anyway I don't trust Inno3D either. XD
Tequila
Senior Member
Posts: 570
Joined: 2003-03-08
Senior Member
Posts: 570
Joined: 2003-03-08
#5466399 Posted on: 08/25/2017 03:16 PM
Most major manufacturers have added this by stealth to their warranty agreements, for example, PNY:
THIS WARRANTY SHALL NOT APPLY WHERE PRODUCT(S) ARE USED TO ANY DEGREE, OUTSIDE OF NORMAL INTENDED USE, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO “MINING” (e.g., Cryptocurrency, Data Mining, Mining Farms).
http://www.pny.com/support/technical-support/geforce-graphics-cards/warranties-policies
http://www.pny.com/File%20Library/Support/PNY%20Products/Warranties/GeForce%20Graphics/3-Year-Limited-Warranty.pdf
I think surely this would also make 'gaming' GPU's used for Machine Learning (or CUDA programming) also void of warranty, but as others have stated, I would find this difficult to prove.
Most major manufacturers have added this by stealth to their warranty agreements, for example, PNY:
THIS WARRANTY SHALL NOT APPLY WHERE PRODUCT(S) ARE USED TO ANY DEGREE, OUTSIDE OF NORMAL INTENDED USE, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO “MINING” (e.g., Cryptocurrency, Data Mining, Mining Farms).
http://www.pny.com/support/technical-support/geforce-graphics-cards/warranties-policies
http://www.pny.com/File%20Library/Support/PNY%20Products/Warranties/GeForce%20Graphics/3-Year-Limited-Warranty.pdf
I think surely this would also make 'gaming' GPU's used for Machine Learning (or CUDA programming) also void of warranty, but as others have stated, I would find this difficult to prove.
Olievlekje
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Joined: 2015-11-13
Member
Posts: 24
Joined: 2015-11-13
#5466401 Posted on: 08/25/2017 03:19 PM
I guess they came to the conclusion their cards break a lot and just want the less warranty claiming gamer
So better not use their cards for rendering or similar applications do you get the same warning if your using them for a video rending farm or are one of those sleepless streamers that are online almost 24/7
I guess they came to the conclusion their cards break a lot and just want the less warranty claiming gamer
So better not use their cards for rendering or similar applications do you get the same warning if your using them for a video rending farm or are one of those sleepless streamers that are online almost 24/7
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Joined: 2012-11-10
I'm a bit surprised others haven't come up with this solution sooner, and I agree with Hilbert where I'm not sure how they're going to prove what you were doing. I don't think the warranty should be completely revoked, but rather limited. For example:
* Only be able to RMA up to 4 GPUs at a time (enough to fill up a gaming PC with GPUs, but not enough for typical miners)
* Reduce the warranty length. Nowadays, the only thing that usually kills processors comes down to the user.
* Be more strict about return reasons. So for example, if you owned the product for more than a month but it is still under warranty, you would have to provide proof that it was defective. That would assume it isn't defective due to water damage, BIOS manipulation, overclocking, faulty PSU, or awful ambient temperatures.
The thing is, there are some people who buy gaming GPUs for gaming, but do mining to fill up idle time. Usually if these people need to RMA their product, it's because the product was defective due to a design flaw, and earns the right to be replaced.