Wow. The thread that went "Moving to D"->"Problems with DMD"->"DVCS"->"WHICH DVCS"->"Linux Problems"->"Driver Problems/Manufacturer preferences"->"Cheap VS. Expensive". It's a personally observed record of OT threads, I think.
Anyways, I've refrained from throwing fuel on the thread as long as I can, I'll bite: > It depends on a number of factors, including the quality of the card and the > conditions that it's being used in. I've had video cards die before. I _think_ > that it was due to overheating, but I really don't know. It doesn't really > matter. The older the part, the more likely it is to break. The cheaper the > part, the more likely it is to break. Sure, the lack of moving parts makes it > less likely for a video card to die, but it definitely happens. Computer parts > don't last forever, and the lower their quality, the less likely it is that > they'll last. By no means does that mean that a cheap video card isn't > necessarily going to last for years and function just fine, but it is a risk > that > a cheap card will be too cheap to last. "Cheap" in the sense of "less money" isn't the problem. Actually, HW that cost more is often high-end HW which creates more heat, which _might_ actually shorten the lifetime. On the other hand, low-end HW is often less heat-producing, which _might_ make it last longer. The real difference lies in what level of HW are sold at which clock-levels, I.E. manufacturing control procedures. So an expensive low-end for a hundred bucks might easily outlast a cheap high-end alternative for 4 times the money. Buy quality, not expensive. There is a difference.