4 ms·

They're mostly solid state parts. The parts that do wear out like fans are easily replaced by hobbyists.

nemomarx 1y ago
I swear during the earlier waves of bitcoin mining (before good ASICs came out) people ran them overclocked and did cause damage. Used GPUs were pretty unreliable for a while there.
- trenchpilgrim 1y ago
  1. Miners were clocking them beyond the factory approved speeds - something not needed for AI, where the bottleneck is usually VRAM, not clock speed. 2. While comprehensive studies were never done, some tech channels did some testing and found used GPUs to be generally reliable or easily repairable, when scamming was excluded. https://youtu.be/UFytB3bb1P8 https://youtu.be/UFytB3bb1P8
pclmulqdq 1y ago
This is not correct. Solid-state parts wear out like mechanical parts, especially when you run them hot. The mechanism of this wear-out comes from things like electromigration of materials and high-energy electrons literally knocking atoms out of place.
- trenchpilgrim 1y ago
  Those parts take decades to wear out, excepting a manufacturing defect.
  - pclmulqdq 1y ago
    That is not correct when wires are small and you run things hot. The physics of <10 nm transistor channels is very different than it is for 100 nm+ transistors.
    - trenchpilgrim 1y ago
      Your assertions are at odds with modern computers - including Nvidia datacenter GPUs - still working fine after many, many years. If not for 1. improved power efficiency on new models and 2. Nvidia'a warranty coverage expiring, datacenters could continue running those GPUs for a long time.
      - pclmulqdq 1y ago
        Which GPUs have been running for decades that you're referring to? The A100s that are 4 years old? MTBFs for GPUs are about 5-10 years, and that's not about fans. AWS and the other clouds have a 5-8 year depreciation calendar for computers. That is not "decades." You can keep a server running for 10-15 years, but usually you do that only when the server is in a good environment and has had a light load.
        trenchpilgrim 1y ago
        > Which GPUs have been running for decades that you're referring to? The A100s that are 4 years old? MTBFs for GPUs are about 5-10 years, and that's not about fans. I said solid state components last decades. 10nm transistors have a thing for over 10 years now and other than manufacturer defect don't show any signs of wearing out from age. > MTBFs for GPUs are about 5-10 years, and that's not about fans. That sounds about the right time for a repaste. > AWS and the other clouds have a 5-8 year depreciation calendar for computers. Because the manufacturer warranties run out after that + it becomes cost efficient to upgrade to lower power technology. Not because the chips are physically broken.

I swear during the earlier waves of bitcoin mining (before good ASICs came out) people ran them overclocked and did cause damage. Used GPUs were pretty unreliable for a while there.

trenchpilgrim 1y ago
1. Miners were clocking them beyond the factory approved speeds - something not needed for AI, where the bottleneck is usually VRAM, not clock speed. 2. While comprehensive studies were never done, some tech channels did some testing and found used GPUs to be generally reliable or easily repairable, when scamming was excluded. https://youtu.be/UFytB3bb1P8 https://youtu.be/UFytB3bb1P8

pclmulqdq 1y ago

This is not correct. Solid-state parts wear out like mechanical parts, especially when you run them hot. The mechanism of this wear-out comes from things like electromigration of materials and high-energy electrons literally knocking atoms out of place.

trenchpilgrim 1y ago
Those parts take decades to wear out, excepting a manufacturing defect.
- pclmulqdq 1y ago
  That is not correct when wires are small and you run things hot. The physics of <10 nm transistor channels is very different than it is for 100 nm+ transistors.
  - trenchpilgrim 1y ago
    Your assertions are at odds with modern computers - including Nvidia datacenter GPUs - still working fine after many, many years. If not for 1. improved power efficiency on new models and 2. Nvidia'a warranty coverage expiring, datacenters could continue running those GPUs for a long time.
    - pclmulqdq 1y ago
      Which GPUs have been running for decades that you're referring to? The A100s that are 4 years old? MTBFs for GPUs are about 5-10 years, and that's not about fans. AWS and the other clouds have a 5-8 year depreciation calendar for computers. That is not "decades." You can keep a server running for 10-15 years, but usually you do that only when the server is in a good environment and has had a light load.
      - trenchpilgrim 1y ago
        > Which GPUs have been running for decades that you're referring to? The A100s that are 4 years old? MTBFs for GPUs are about 5-10 years, and that's not about fans. I said solid state components last decades. 10nm transistors have a thing for over 10 years now and other than manufacturer defect don't show any signs of wearing out from age. > MTBFs for GPUs are about 5-10 years, and that's not about fans. That sounds about the right time for a repaste. > AWS and the other clouds have a 5-8 year depreciation calendar for computers. Because the manufacturer warranties run out after that + it becomes cost efficient to upgrade to lower power technology. Not because the chips are physically broken.