On Mon, 2023-02-13 at 09:04 -0500, Jon LaBadie wrote:
> After about 12 years of service my GPU card is starting
> to act up. It seems to shut down so no video on my
> monitor, even the virtual consoles. System is up and
> functioning as I can access it via ssh. Sometimes this
> state is accompanied by the fan running at high speed
> though the card is not overheating.
Re the "not overheating" are you judging by sensor readings, or have
you felt the card to see if it's hot?
I do general maintenance on my systems once or twice a year, cleaning
out the dust and fluff, reseating cards, sometimes replacing a fan.
Also check for bulging electrolytic capacitors (the larger cylindrical thingies
with aluminum tops and marked with lines forming a cross that make it easy
to identify one that isn't flat. I've seen many systems that became erratic and
had one or more bulging capacitors. There was a group at my work that had
the equipment and skills to replace capacitors -- only mission critical stuff
warranted out-of-warranty surgery.
Sound practice. If you are near the ocean, you may also want to use "contact
enhancer", now available at auto parts stores due the number of computers found
in vehicles these days.
Mind you, 12 years is a good service life in computing. And a bit
surprising that you might be able to fit a modern one onto the same old
board. Usually, technology changes make that difficult.
For me (I do live near an ocean) few power supplies last 12 years, but longer
when connected to high quality UPS. Also, newer GPU's often want more power
than the originals.