Jun 10, 2020, 13:04 pm
(Jun 10, 2020, 07:25 am)dueda Wrote: [ -> ]I'm not saying that running a PC with proper maintenance and due care will wear it (even if it will, in millenia, centuries or decades, depending on quality), just that there's thermodynamics in play.
Btw, the most common problems are the power supply, motherboard entry points (capacitors and diodes), voltage regulators, and the motherboard itself (tracks and solderings), wich are not solid state.
Also the cooling will degrade due their rotors being mechanical and the dust build-up, both factors seriously reducing the air flow and thermal transfer capacity. Oh, and there's the thermal paste, too.
Now this I can agree with. I'm not an electrician, but this echoes what I've learned from various electronics channels on YouTube, where they pick apart old video game consoles etc. Of course there are components on a motherboard that can break, but as we've now agreed, it's usually not the CPU that's the issue when old hardware breaks.
Fans can break, that's true. But if they do you can always just buy a new one. I checked the thermal specs of my specific CPU, and it said 65°C case temperature and 100°C core temperature, IIRC. So it will shut down on its own once that temperature is reached, should the fan suddenly fail. And then you can just replace the fan.