How does CPU die of age?

[Jurrunio]

The effect of running for nearly 7 years has recently started to show up on my 2600k. I dont expect it to clock as high as it did when new (4.7GHz @1.33V), but it's apparently dropping down faster and faster. Now, running at 4.4GHz at 1.32V will still lead to crashes under full loads, which is pretty much telling me to start saving up for a new CPU, mobo and probably RAM. What I'm interested is how CPUs die. Do they suddenly go out at a certain point, like how a light bulb flickers before dying? Or does it just remains stable at lower and lower frequency, eventually so slow it's not worth using anymore? Or it's between both?

 

P.S. the original mobo is the Asus Maximus IV which lasted 2 years only  Still have warranty left but they couldnt get it fixed nor replaced, so I got this Extreme4 and $50 back.

[Princess Luna]

The silicon on the CPU simply gets wear down until electricity doesn't really go through it properly any more.

[DodoDodo123]

2 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

The effect of running for nearly 7 years has recently started to show up on my 2600k. I dont expect it to clock as high as it did when new (4.7GHz @1.33V), but it's apparently dropping down faster and faster. Now, running at 4.4GHz at 1.32V will still lead to crashes under full loads, which is pretty much telling me to start saving up for a new CPU, mobo and probably RAM. What I'm interested is how CPUs die. Do they suddenly go out at a certain point, like how a light bulb flickers before dying? Or does it just remains stable at lower and lower frequency, eventually so slow it's not worth using anymore? Or it's between both?

 

P.S. the original mobo is the Asus Maximus IV which lasted 2 years only  Still have warranty left but they couldnt get it fixed nor replaced, so I got this Extreme4 and $50 back.

The CPU-s die from age man, like everything, nothing lives forever when it comes to PC components, aspecially Processors...

[Anghammarad]

Just imagine the circuits in the cpu (well any circuits) as a carpet.

 

Data which is electricity in there, travels the circuits (carpets) and are imagined as boots. 

 

At some point the carpet (circuits) are worn down... equals broken. 

 

Running a cpu circuit with more voltage than it is designed for = combat boots on a silken carpet... it wears faster... 

 

and as soon as the first threads start unraveling, more follow quickly.

 

this is the easy to imagine "how it happens".

[Bananasplit_00]

13 minutes ago, DodoDodo123 said:

The CPU-s die from age man, like everything, nothing lives forever when it comes to PC components, aspecially Processors...

Lol nah, they die of the power going through them. You can still find perfect chips that are 20+ years old. I don't see those PGA478 systems just popping because they are old. The transistors wear out from usage, from the power passing through the silicon, it's not like vegetables that just go bad. 

 

This chip has started to degrade from being overclocked, seems like you have gotten a bit of a dud though because I have seen harder overclocks that are still running just fine, or maybe you have been using it way more than those people. 

 

The system might one day just not power on, but you will probably see it degrade further first, if you cut the overclock back to stock you can probably use this chip for a while more. 

[AlTech]

36 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

The silicon on the CPU simply gets wear down until electricity doesn't really go through it properly any more.

This ^^^

 

@Jurrunio Also, as a CPU ages, its ability to maintain a certain clockspeed (especially if overclocked) worsens and you may need to pump more voltage into it just to maintain the same clockspeed.

 

Can't remember the exact physics and the reason behind this but I definitely remember a lecturer talking about this with overclocked CPUs.

[Anghammarad]

8 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

This ^^^

 

@Jurrunio Also, as a CPU ages, its ability to maintain a certain clockspeed (especially if overclocked) worsens and you may need to pump more voltage into it just to maintain the same clockspeed.

 

Can't remember the exact physics and the reason behind this but I definitely remember a lecturer talking about this with overclocked CPUs.

electron migration?

[AlTech]

21 minutes ago, Anghammarad said:

electron migration?

That might be it. I just don't remember exactly.

[Jurrunio]

1 hour ago, Princess Cadence said:

snip

 

44 minutes ago, Anghammarad said:

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40 minutes ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

snip

 

 

30 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

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So I will have to run it slower and slower until finally the PC refuses to start up?

[Princess Luna]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

So I will have to run it slower and slower until finally the PC refuses to start up?

In a simplistic way yes... Intel says if you run stuff at stock forever you have an expected life of 15 years in their CPUs, overclocking reduces this in a couple to quite some years... it really depends on the silicon lottery as they say since the less pure the silicon was to begin with, the less time it can sustain those overclocks.