AMD 6000 Video Card owners BEWARE!

[Hyperstrike]

Apparently 6000 series cards running the 22.11.2 Adrenalin (WHQL) drivers are starting to experience card deaths.

Possibly due to driver-induced core overheats/thermal over-protection faults causing die-cracking..

Right now this is a "something to be careful of" issue.  As the root cause is only guesswork and in a limited pool of cards.

 

 

[WanderingAries]

AMD just isn't doing so hot this run. Not as bad as "we should really redesign this plug" Nvidia, but still

[Hyperstrike]

4 hours ago, WanderingAries said:

AMD just isn't doing so hot this run. Not as bad as "we should really redesign this plug" Nvidia, but still

The 6800 and 6900 aren't "this run".
They're 2 year old parts that're seeing an uptick in failures.
And right now, it appears that some of the control software in the driver package is at fault, though yeah, a the software alone shouldn't allow the part to run out of basic spec like that.

[Hyperstrike]

1 hour ago, andrewcochran said:

I have many cool video cards. I am satisfied with them. This is what I have left from the past.

??

[AboveTheChemist]

Follow up video from the guy that first reported the problem:

 

 

TL;DW: Driver issues can be ruled out, and his theory is that these were former mining cards that were exposed to humidity/moisture prior to being resold. When the new owners began to use them, the chips heated and the trapped moisture caused them to crack.

[Hyperstrike]

1 hour ago, AboveTheChemist said:

Follow up video from the guy that first reported the problem:

 

 

TL;DW: Driver issues can be ruled out, and his theory is that these were former mining cards that were exposed to humidity/moisture prior to being resold. When the new owners began to use them, the chips heated and the trapped moisture caused them to crack.

First I've seen this (been busy in the last couple days).

If this is the case, it simply reinforces my mantra to NEVER trust mining cards.

Like buying a car with 100,000 miles (put on in 5 years) that's been drag-raced with no periodic maintenance (fluid changes, belts, spark plugs, etc) EVER done.

[Captain Fabulous]

1 hour ago, Hyperstrike said:

First I've seen this (been busy in the last couple days).

If this is the case, it simply reinforces my mantra to NEVER trust mining cards.

Like buying a car with 100,000 miles (put on in 5 years) that's been drag-raced with no periodic maintenance (fluid changes, belts, spark plugs, etc) EVER done.

But it wasn't the mining, it was the environment that killed the cards. Had the cards not been in an overly-humid environment they would have been fine.

As for your car analogy, the lack of maintenance is the issue, not the drag-racing.

[Hyperstrike]

39 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

But it wasn't the mining, it was the environment that killed the cards. Had the cards not been in an overly-humid environment they would have been fine.

As for your car analogy, the lack of maintenance is the issue, not the drag-racing.

No.  You stress a device hard enough, it will eventually fail.
Whether your periodic maintenance is good or not.
This is why dedicated racing engines are periodically "refreshed".  Where they get pulled apart, inspected and components will occasionally be replaced.

Here's one such. 

A non-promod Chevy Big Block.  Was installed LAST YEAR for a street-class drag racing setup.  And has been driven REALLY hard.
This is basically the analog of mining cards.
They WORK this way.
And can last a long time.
But it's not how these cards are MEANT to be run.

And small changes can lead to BIG problems in continued operation.

And yes, humidity factors are one of those "small changes".

Because you'd be a rare bird indeed to see a similar issue on a card that spent it's life only serving in gaming machines and not doing mining.


 

 

[Captain Fabulous]

30 minutes ago, Hyperstrike said:

No.  You stress a device hard enough, it will eventually fail.
Whether your periodic maintenance is good or not.

I disagree. As long as the card is running within spec it shouldn't sustain damage whether it's used 1 hour/day or 24/7. 

I know gamers that have ruined cards by overclocking and overvolting them. I know miners that have never ruined a card running 24/7 for years because they run them at stock clocks and voltages.

If you modify an engine to get more HP out of it it's no longer in-spec and likely to have issues down the line. But an unmodified engine that isn't abused and is well-maintained should last for years without fail no matter how much or little you drive it.

[Hyperstrike]

7 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

I disagree. As long as the card is running within spec it shouldn't sustain damage whether it's used 1 hour/day or 24/7.

I say again.

MINING.

This is not "within spec".
Mining rigs are little torture chambers for components.

PERIOD.

 

[WanderingAries]

6 hours ago, AboveTheChemist said:

nd his theory is that these were former mining cards

 

Yeah, after I finally got to watch all the related content, this is what came to mind as there's no way the standard user would have put it through enough to cause it.