4 ms·

They also code SO HARD that they burn through graphics cards multiple times. =) It's a really interesting story, but it could've used a fact checker to get a f

They also code SO HARD that they burn through graphics cards multiple times. =) It's a really interesting story, but it could've used a fact checker to get a few of the details right. Oh, and the MC dude gets really jacked at one point - but it's never referenced past a sentence or two in the middle of the book =) (Read it for a book club and we dissected this for hours)

spoiler 3y ago
> They also code SO HARD that they burn through graphics cards multiple times. =) Can you elaborate on this a bit more? I honestly don't understand what that even means. Since you mentioned that you've read the book, would you also recommend it? I'm currently dabbling bits in some indie game dev, so I'm wondering if I'd be the target audience.
- capableweb 3y ago
  > Can you elaborate on this a bit more? I honestly don't understand what that even means. Small manufacturing issues that usually don't get noticed, can fail a card if you put it through 100% load for a long period of time. Cryptocurrency miners regularly would downclock cards for cost reasons (energy/$) and because consumer GPUs also aren't made for sustained 100% load (across days).
  - Meculpu 3y ago
    GPUs are plenty of capable running 24/7 without issues for a long time. Plenty of cloud providers have consumer grade GPUs. Cryptominers don't have an issue running it at 100% either. They have heat issues and power efficiency issues not GPU Chips breaking. The only instance I know are if you use a very particlar load type which would normally never happen like 24/7 hitting one register only or moving data only through the bus without anything else. Those issues are rare.
    - capableweb 3y ago
      > GPUs are plenty of capable running 24/7 without issues for a long time. Running, yes. But running 24/7 at 100% load for days without any sort of break or underclocking it is a surefire way of making it fail quickly. If you know any people doing cryptocurrency mining, ask them :)
    - CydeWeys 3y ago
      The guy you're replying to knows when those issues pop up and has relevant experience here. I'd listen to him. I too have experienced hardware failure at 100% load for months straight, and have resorted to underclocking for power efficiency and longevity reasons. The performance/cost/longevity curves are not linear. Just take a little bit off the top and you do much better.
  - 300bps 3y ago
    Ethereum miners often underclock the Core and overclock the Memory in their GPU because it’s such a memory intensive operation.
- theshrike79 3y ago
  I didn't understand it either, because it literally doesn't make sense. The author used it as a vehicle to show how hard the protagonists were working in a few different occasions. It's a story of two people who like each other, but refuse to communicate (because they're both broken in their own ways). It's set on a backdrop of gaming history over a few decades, maybe 80/90's to current day-ish. There are a few anachronisms and weird tech issues (they do crap with computers that wouldn't be possible at the time), but as a whole I'd recommend it.
LaurensBER 3y ago
It's far-fetched and only happens if you don't cap the framerate but it does happen: https://www.gearrice.com/update/blizzards-newly-introduced-diablo-4-game-is-burning-graphics-cards/ https://www.gearrice.com/update/blizzards-newly-introduced-d... https://www.denofgeek.com/games/new-world-bricked-gpu-causes-solutions-prevention-models/ https://www.denofgeek.com/games/new-world-bricked-gpu-causes...
- throwaway675309 3y ago
  Neither of these are in the context of coding though.

spoiler 3y ago

> They also code SO HARD that they burn through graphics cards multiple times. =) Can you elaborate on this a bit more? I honestly don't understand what that even means. Since you mentioned that you've read the book, would you also recommend it? I'm currently dabbling bits in some indie game dev, so I'm wondering if I'd be the target audience.

capableweb 3y ago
> Can you elaborate on this a bit more? I honestly don't understand what that even means. Small manufacturing issues that usually don't get noticed, can fail a card if you put it through 100% load for a long period of time. Cryptocurrency miners regularly would downclock cards for cost reasons (energy/$) and because consumer GPUs also aren't made for sustained 100% load (across days).
- Meculpu 3y ago
  GPUs are plenty of capable running 24/7 without issues for a long time. Plenty of cloud providers have consumer grade GPUs. Cryptominers don't have an issue running it at 100% either. They have heat issues and power efficiency issues not GPU Chips breaking. The only instance I know are if you use a very particlar load type which would normally never happen like 24/7 hitting one register only or moving data only through the bus without anything else. Those issues are rare.
  - capableweb 3y ago
    > GPUs are plenty of capable running 24/7 without issues for a long time. Running, yes. But running 24/7 at 100% load for days without any sort of break or underclocking it is a surefire way of making it fail quickly. If you know any people doing cryptocurrency mining, ask them :)
  - CydeWeys 3y ago
    The guy you're replying to knows when those issues pop up and has relevant experience here. I'd listen to him. I too have experienced hardware failure at 100% load for months straight, and have resorted to underclocking for power efficiency and longevity reasons. The performance/cost/longevity curves are not linear. Just take a little bit off the top and you do much better.
- 300bps 3y ago
  Ethereum miners often underclock the Core and overclock the Memory in their GPU because it’s such a memory intensive operation.
theshrike79 3y ago
I didn't understand it either, because it literally doesn't make sense. The author used it as a vehicle to show how hard the protagonists were working in a few different occasions. It's a story of two people who like each other, but refuse to communicate (because they're both broken in their own ways). It's set on a backdrop of gaming history over a few decades, maybe 80/90's to current day-ish. There are a few anachronisms and weird tech issues (they do crap with computers that wouldn't be possible at the time), but as a whole I'd recommend it.

LaurensBER 3y ago

It's far-fetched and only happens if you don't cap the framerate but it does happen: https://www.gearrice.com/update/blizzards-newly-introduced-diablo-4-game-is-burning-graphics-cards/ https://www.gearrice.com/update/blizzards-newly-introduced-d... https://www.denofgeek.com/games/new-world-bricked-gpu-causes-solutions-prevention-models/ https://www.denofgeek.com/games/new-world-bricked-gpu-causes...

throwaway675309 3y ago
Neither of these are in the context of coding though.