[veryhumid]

Does anybody have an article or some experience saying that running your cpu at full load for its whole life won't hurt its lifespan? It was in the old FAQ, but it is kind of hard to believe, so I was hoping to see some hard proof or an article about it before I revise or take it out. If you want you can post what happens as a chip gets older. What starts to happen and when it starts to happen would be helpful. Thanks, guys!

[Mr.Furious]

Well I dont have any articles or proof but the only logical explanation is that by running it 24/7 and at full load the chip remains at a constant temperature and is always getting the same amount of electricity. On the other hand if you turn your computer on and off or have different load amounts on the processor it is constantly changing temperature and electricity consumption.

[veryhumid]

getting a consistent amount of electricity has to be important, i agree with that. any other ideas, anyone?

[dark_15]

I think it has something to do with constant temps = less stress...

The core isn't subtly shrinking/expanding, which could cause the CPU to fail quickly.

[TimoneX]

There's a fairly amusing article here about this topic.

http://www.adequacy.org/public/stori...745.18731.html

"A CPU is a delicate piece of electronics. Illegally increasing the clock speed by just 2MHz can remove 6 months from its working lifespan."

LOL

Now I go to rip some matress tags off...career criminal that I am.

[Mr.Guvernment]

LOL that article is sucha joke

Suppose you want to increase the lifespan of your CPU by a factor of two. The thing to do is to halve the clock multiplier in the BIOS.

BUAHAHAHHAHA - okay this article should be removed from the internet immedaitly!

Good Lord....... (1.00 / 3) (#25)
by Anonymous Reader on Tue Sep 4th, 2001 at 02:04:07 PM PST

tell me something........ why would the average user need to purchase windows NT for their home box. They don't need the "rock solid" system that is supposedly NT. They don't need to spend that much money on something that THEY WONT USE. i frankly find this entire thread to be rediculous. if you're going to pull this "underclock" ****..... why the hell did you not just buy a SMALLER, LESS POWERFUL processor in the first place?? Or, how about this...... the people that do OC their computers know what they're doing, and why they're doing it. be it for compiling a large program, or running a Q3A server. they see the need, you all should butt out.
And for the record..... i have an amd duron 750mhz which i plan to OC soon, it has 3 ide hdd, a high speed cdrom and a high speed burner, every PCI slot filled, 4 case fans, and i leave it on 90% of the time. Add to that the fact that i drive a car that gets 8 (countem 8) miles to the gallon, i feel you all can shove this right up your ass.
Send all flames to x0001AThotmailDOTcom
(don't worry, asbestos suit)

thank you

Sorry, had to post, will stop

[veryhumid]

haha, looks like it came out of a google translation or something

[TimoneX]

Did you see the poll on the upper right? The leading vote is 59% for "Over my dead body. I am an American - screw the enviroment!"

Nice...now I'm pretty sure this must have been originally in French. LOL

[nikhsub1]

CPU's are designed to run at load 24/7... an OC'd CPU running 24/7 at full load 'may' have a shorter lifespan, but probably not. CPU's are made to be USED. I would not worry about it.

[mtb856]

If cpus are heated up and cooled down repeatedly (by turning the computer off), microscopic fractures start to build on the core of the processor and eventually cause it to fail..... that's what I read a while back. By maintaining a constant temperature, those expansion and contraction fractures never appear, the chip just dies of old age.

[veryhumid]

Originally Posted by nikhsub1

CPU's are designed to run at load 24/7... an OC'd CPU running 24/7 at full load 'may' have a shorter lifespan, but probably not. CPU's are made to be USED. I would not worry about it.

that is exactly what i would like to hear but i have only heard that here, i'm hoping i can find some proof. i'll go check out the intel .pdfs...

[darkknight187]

ok i have computers that have probably seen all levels of hell between different things (were talking old ones too) and they are still ticking so it's probably best to use something along the lines of although its not been proven wrong that it could shorten the lifespan of the cpu we are quite sure that even while folding the life of your cpu will still outlive the time you still have it as your primary setup

[Seven]

Wow. Don't be one of those kids who will go out and buy a new skateboard, then refuse to do rails with it because "it's too nice". Come on, CPUs were meant to be used. You'll be getting rid of it in 5 years, and the MOST it will last is about 15. However much difference it makes is about 0.

Quick question to solve the matter: Do you still have an 8088 rig running today?

7

[TimoneX]

Quite frankly I think the increased cost of electricity from keeping your PC on 24/7 will quickly outweigh any savings from increased CPU lifespan. Naturally if you haven't a stake in the electric bill then have at it. I leave my PC on when I need/want it on and shut it off when I don't, it's just rare for me to have nothing for it to do so it tends to be on 80-90% of the time.

[veryhumid]

Originally Posted by Seven

Wow. Don't be one of those kids who will go out and buy a new skateboard, then refuse to do rails with it because "it's too nice". Come on, CPUs were meant to be used. You'll be getting rid of it in 5 years, and the MOST it will last is about 15. However much difference it makes is about 0.

Quick question to solve the matter: Do you still have an 8088 rig running today?

7

lol, I have only built 2 computers in my entire life! You are right, after about 5 years, I could almost care less about the computer, it won't even be that useful for folding. I just want to make sure i can let it rip for that long without hurting it for my normal day to day work/use.

I need to stop worrying! I mean I'm not overclocked, chips is running way under thermal ceiling, it should go for a long time!

[Mr.Furious]

I still have my trusty pentium 2 running it dosent fold of course but just goes to show that they will outlast their usefullness. Its overclocked too haha

[Mr.Guvernment]

i still have a pentium 133 system for my mom - booted up perfect to 98 last time i tried!

sure they work after 10 years - but can they do anything fast enough to be considered "usable" ?

[Leviathan41]

Having a fast processor and not running it at 100% is like having a Ferarri and driving it the speed limit.

[TidyBowl]

Actually My parents have 2 8088's still running -- my mom has a game she plays on it that will absolutely not play on anything better. (4.77 Mhz.) So we keep it around and it still works, bought from IBM in 1983. I made like 15 copies of the game on 5.25 disc so she will always have a working disc. the other is an XT with a whopping 8MHz. not sure why my dad keep sit around but it still works.

System specs:
8088 4.77 Mhz.
Dual 5.25 full height disc drives. ( for you old timers that's 5.25 bays.
no HDD
CGA graphics
Printer card
256 KB ram
384 KB Ram Drive Card w/clock and backup battery.

She is a sweety.

T

[walaka7]

Well there isnt any "hard" data that i know of supporting or shooting down the idea that procs lose no life under full load. But I can tell you that the first O/C rig i built three years ago's processor has been and still is folding 24/7. Although for the last year it has been at stock speeds since it likes too much voltage for O/C (2.05 volts @ 1900 mhz) Of course one thing you are vulnerable of running 24/7/365 full load is eventual overheating of processor due to cooler failure (fan stops working, water rig springs a leak, etc) Other than that though like nik said above, procs are designed to run 100% load and are supposed to last 10 years doing so at stock speeds and voltage. I cant see any of us running our current rigs 10 years, can you? Tis why most of us overclock. A strong overclocked proc will still last 3 to 5 years as long as no overheat occurs. I think that will be about as long as any of us keep a rig anyway.