Are Processors at risk for dying like a hard drive?

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chainers

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May 10, 2013
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Hello!

Yesterday my hard drive finally died on me. Sad, I know, however at least it is an easy fix. My question comes is about my other hardware components (memory, CPU, GPU, motherboard, etc). Are these things as prone to dying in 4 years like a hard drive would, or if I replace my hard drive should I be somewhat worry free that these components should last for a while longer?

Any tips appreciated!
 
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theonerm2


A cheap SSD will wear out pretty quick. I know that first hand. A good Intel or Samsung SSD will last though.
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clutchc

clutchc

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All electronic devices and components have a finite lifetime. But in normal use, the CPU, RAM should last longer than a normal person will own the system. GPUs are another item that will last that long if treated properly. The motherboard is abit more iffy, only because it contains so many separate components all inter-dependent on one another. I'm still using a motherboard built back in the AM2 socket days. Runs great. On the other hand, I have had to return brand new boards due to something failing.

HDDs are a bit of a different animal. They are mechanical, where the other components are mainly solid state. Anything mechanical is prone to failure eventually.
 
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clutchc

clutchc

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4 years is not that old for a computer unless you need the latest and greatest for your work and/or play. If buying new isn't something you would not normally be thinking of doing now, then replace the HDD and enjoy the system. Did you make a system image of the HDD before it died? If not, you'll have to re-install the OS and everything else you had on it, including all in-pgm settings and options.
 
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jitpublisher

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Unless it was an SSD, hard drives are mechanical, they have moving parts that wear out quite rapidly compared to most other components in your case. Other components of your system, like your CPU or Memory, and GPU are all electronic devices. They usually will outlast their usefulness. The parts that can wear out and effect your CPU and GPU, and other 100% electronic parts are the cooling fans. Keep the fans clean and good working order, replace them if they start making noise or the first sign the are not functioning properly. Keep your case clean and the dust blown out. The biggest enemy to these other wise 100% electronic parts is heat.
 
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theonerm2

theonerm2

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A cheap SSD will wear out pretty quick. I know that first hand. A good Intel or Samsung SSD will last though.
 
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neblogai

neblogai

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I thought it was a philosophical topic about advancement in HDDs and CPUs dying:)
But in practice- CPUs will outlast everything as long as they do not get mechanically broken during installation. Other components, especially those with moving parts may fail after some time. Generally hard drives compete with motherboards and PSUs for failing most often.
Also, not all HDDs are the same. These days, hard drives are way more reliable than before- previously there were some series by Samsung, Maxwell, Fujitsu, IBM that were just bad. Today situation is better, but most reliable HDDs seem to be built by Hitachi and Toshiba, while the record for WD and Seagate is not as good. Check "Hard drive failure rate by manufacturer" chart here: https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-reliability-stats-q1-2016/
 
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delta5

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My Uncle still has an old P4 cpu setup that had been clogged with dust, animal hair for years. When it started to randomly BSOD he brought it to me to fix. The green plastic shroud in it looked like a vacuum cleaner's canister stuffed with crap. Cleaned it out and it has been years since then. He still uses it.
 
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jaguarskx

jaguarskx

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Generally speaking, if your current PC is still fast enough for your needs, then there is no real reason to upgrade along with buying a new hard drive. The CPU and RAM and potentially the motherboard can last a long time because they have no moving parts. HDDs have moving part so they are subject to mechanical failure in addition to electronic failure.

I have an old IBM ThinkPad T40 that still works from 2003. Unfortunately, it is no longer powerful enough to do something basic like surf the internet since webpages have a lot of JAVA code, Flash and other things running in the background that is too much for a single core Pentium M CPU to manage. I think I replaced the HDD back in 2007 for one with more capacity.
 
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chainers

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Do you know if Crucial makes a pretty decent SSD? That is what I ended up going with for my replacement and I hope it doesn't crap out on me soon!
 
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dudeman509

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Do you know if Crucial makes a pretty decent SSD? That is what I ended up going with for my replacement and I hope it doesn't crap out on me soon!
Click to expand...

I've had my M500 for ~3 years and MX100 for 2. Great drives - used every day and the MX100 is still nearly as quick as my 850 Evo in benchmarks. The flash is made by Micron, one of the better NAND manufacturers.

Avoid the BX200 and stick to the MX200/300. Performance is not at all a forte for the BX.
 
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chainers

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Thanks for letting me know, I went with the MX300.

My computer has been slow for a while, and I am hoping this breaths new life into it so I can put off building another PC. Mine is getting outdated, but I really think I can get another year or two before updating my GPU (gtx 660) and my CPU (fx-6350). We will see how it works though!
 
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