Linus tech tips had an episode on it, and largely found that the performance degradation was insignificant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKqVvXTanzI https://

Linus tech tips had an episode on it, and largely found that the performance degradation was insignificant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKqVvXTanzI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKqVvXTanzI He did however note that the cards that he tested had been used in a relatively clean and dust-free environment. The biggest risk to buying a card that has been running 24/7 for years is that the cooling system is busted due to build-up of dust.