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> The E5-2620 v4 is great. Have been using it for 10 years now. 10 years? Damn, that is a long time. I always assumed that heat-induced damage will kill a CP

by throwaway2037 5mo ago

> The E5-2620 v4 is great. Have been using it for 10 years now. 10 years? Damn, that is a long time. I always assumed that heat-induced damage will kill a CPU after a certain amount of time (5-7 years). Am I wrong here? I assume yes. Or are CPUs must stronger/tougher than the bad old days?

jansommer 5mo ago
A quick search on Xeon production yields that it goes through a rather rigorous testing. I wouldn't be surprised that server cpu's in a desktop pc works longer. I can't overclock it either, and that probably helps with its lifespan as well. But yeah, the fact that it actually powers on when i click the button and isn't a limiting factor after 10 years is quite something.
- mrmlz 5mo ago
  Back from my old overclocking days - its heat that kills life. And if you keep that under control (what ages is the heatpaste, replace it ever so often) i very much doubt you'll have any life issues from the cpu itself. Bearings in fans, caps etc. are also stuff that you need to keep an eye on. I just replaced a i5-660 thats been powered on since 2010 24/7, heatpaste was fucked so it crashed during heavy loads :)
- throwaway2037 5mo ago
  You raise two very good points that I didn't think about: (1) better binning/testing, (2) no overclocking. Keep rockin' that elderly Xeon!
- dur-randir 5mo ago
  >I can't overclock it either Except you can overclock v3 :)
bobmcnamara 5mo ago
Intel sacrificing lifetime for short-term gigahertz is a relatively recent phenomenon.
- throwaway2037 5mo ago
  How about AMD?
BirAdam 5mo ago
This is among the "real" differences between workstation/server CPUs and commodity chips for laptops/desktops/handhelds. Even then, if a commodity chip isn't pushed full tilt at all times, and assuming that the venting and dissipation are adequate, a commodity chip can last a long time.
Grazester 5mo ago
Not my experience.
inetknght 5mo ago
> 10 years? Damn, that is a long time. I always assumed that heat-induced damage will kill a CPU after a certain amount of time (5-7 years). Am I wrong here? I assume yes. Or are CPUs must stronger/tougher than the bad old days? My i7 920 is still running fine. Or, it was when I decommissioned it in 2017. I don't imagine any reason it shouldn't, except perhaps bitrot of spinning rust (spinning rust rotting is no joke, especially after ~20 years) and maybe aging of thermal paste. My i7 6950X is still running fine, in use since 2017 even today to write this message.
kingnothing 5mo ago
I've never had a cpu die in the decades I've been using them. I've bought 10-20 year old computers that still work just fine. I kept my last MacBook for 9 years before I upgraded out of want for more RAM. Most computer equipment fails quickly, otherwise you'll get a long life out of whatever it is.
Saris 5mo ago
I have a couple PCs running with CPUs from 15 years ago with tons of power on time. Never heard of a CPU dying from age before.

jansommer 5mo ago

A quick search on Xeon production yields that it goes through a rather rigorous testing. I wouldn't be surprised that server cpu's in a desktop pc works longer. I can't overclock it either, and that probably helps with its lifespan as well. But yeah, the fact that it actually powers on when i click the button and isn't a limiting factor after 10 years is quite something.

mrmlz 5mo ago
Back from my old overclocking days - its heat that kills life. And if you keep that under control (what ages is the heatpaste, replace it ever so often) i very much doubt you'll have any life issues from the cpu itself. Bearings in fans, caps etc. are also stuff that you need to keep an eye on. I just replaced a i5-660 thats been powered on since 2010 24/7, heatpaste was fucked so it crashed during heavy loads :)
throwaway2037 5mo ago
You raise two very good points that I didn't think about: (1) better binning/testing, (2) no overclocking. Keep rockin' that elderly Xeon!
dur-randir 5mo ago
>I can't overclock it either Except you can overclock v3 :)

bobmcnamara 5mo ago

Intel sacrificing lifetime for short-term gigahertz is a relatively recent phenomenon.

throwaway2037 5mo ago
How about AMD?

BirAdam 5mo ago

This is among the "real" differences between workstation/server CPUs and commodity chips for laptops/desktops/handhelds. Even then, if a commodity chip isn't pushed full tilt at all times, and assuming that the venting and dissipation are adequate, a commodity chip can last a long time.

Grazester 5mo ago

Not my experience.

inetknght 5mo ago

> 10 years? Damn, that is a long time. I always assumed that heat-induced damage will kill a CPU after a certain amount of time (5-7 years). Am I wrong here? I assume yes. Or are CPUs must stronger/tougher than the bad old days? My i7 920 is still running fine. Or, it was when I decommissioned it in 2017. I don't imagine any reason it shouldn't, except perhaps bitrot of spinning rust (spinning rust rotting is no joke, especially after ~20 years) and maybe aging of thermal paste. My i7 6950X is still running fine, in use since 2017 even today to write this message.

kingnothing 5mo ago

I've never had a cpu die in the decades I've been using them. I've bought 10-20 year old computers that still work just fine. I kept my last MacBook for 9 years before I upgraded out of want for more RAM. Most computer equipment fails quickly, otherwise you'll get a long life out of whatever it is.

Saris 5mo ago

I have a couple PCs running with CPUs from 15 years ago with tons of power on time. Never heard of a CPU dying from age before.