What was your longest lasting GPU of all time?

I'm not talking about the life of the hardware itself, but moreso the longevity of how long you could play the newest games at decent quality/performance before that particular GPU was no longer viable.

Myself, I'm caught between my GTX 970 and 1070. Both cards lasted a very long time before game requirements surpassed them. In fact, I have a good feeling the 1070 is still a great option today. I've just eventually upgraded to a 1080ti and haven't looked back, so I can't say for certain.

What about you guys? What GPU did you get the most reliable gaming years out of?

Probably HD 4670. I was eyeing 9600GT but 4670 was like 90% of performance for half the price. My next 2 cards were GT 660 and RX 470, both died from power surge, but I got a replacement for the latter, a GTX 1060. So far I'm happy with it, we'll see how long it will last.

@PfizersaurusRex: I remember the 8/9XXX GT era. My first GPU was actually a 256mb 8600GT... Worst card I'd ever owned - mid-range my butt. If only I'd known that ATI was amazing value with great performance before the AMD buyout.

Same, except GTX 980.

I think I bought it new and I replaced it a couple months ago. Lasted, what? Three generations worth of Nvidia cards? 900 series, 1000 series, and frankly I think it would have been just fine through the RTX era if I didn't upgrade to 2K resolution

I would say my 8800GT (SLI'ed in 2008) from 2007 to 2011.

my 8800GTX probably would have been right up there...er..if it didnt crap the bed :S.

For ages the only game that gave it trouble was crysis and GTA4 maxed out. but it took nearly 2 years before magazines at the time could even recommend an upgrade for 8800GTX owners.

My HD 5850 also lasted a long long time as a gaming card (it's still working fine but its not really on gaming duty). It would eat any AAA multiplat for breakfast for a long long time.

I probably would have gotten 4 years out of my RX 580 also but VR in the index was a bridge too far for it. for modern 1080P gaming it's still very very solid.

I would have liked to have gotten a 1080TI. like the 8800GTX: Sometimes you see a card and you just know its going to have a long service life. it just has that sweet spot of processing power and the Vram to back it up. never took the plunge and i regret it a bit.

I'm not sure - I think I milked my 9800GT the longest

Probably my GTX 260. I had it for a while before upgrading to a GTX 560 Ti.

For me it was the 8800 GTS.

Then I had a buddy who gave me a second one and I put them in SLI. It mostly made the experience worse, but sometimes it was better.

Must be the HD3870. Still in use in parent's work PC.

Wow, I had the exact same upgrad path as you did.

GTX970 > 1070 > 1080ti

The GTX 970 lasted me very long and it was one hell of a card!

@R4gn4r0k: Well, I technically bought a second 1070 for SLI before getting the 1080ti. It was right at the end of the GPU mining inflation, but before prices went totally back to normal. The performance of two 1070s in SLI can be even better than a single 1080ti, but the unreliability on if whatever game you're playing will treat it well, and without any glitches is what let me to just getting a 1080ti.

I've also noticed there are a lot of people here who had the 8XXX/9XXX GT/GTX series of cards, and they all appeared to go out the same way, with a literal bang. That's how my 8600GT died, and my 9800GT exploded after it. I never overclock my cards, by the way.

GTX 750 ti

My 8800 GT still lives to this day. I have it in an old PC paired with an Intel Q6600. I was going to put the GTX 260 in it, but it wouldn't fit.

My first GPU ever POV 7600 GT 256MB lasted the longest simply me and my brother where in our teens and bought it with our combined birthday money.

Still using my GTX 670

Damn. Time for an upgrade amigo. I bought one when it came out. Great card. I later bought a second for SLI because SLI was still decent back then.

Meh, lost interest of playing/paying brand new games at full settings. Currently on WoW classic, no need to upgrade

I just wanted to add, as a joke, that my longest-"lasting," as in, fully functional GPU is the ATI Radeon Mobility 9000 in my Windows 2000 laptop. It can barely handle Doom 3, but it still counts as an answer. XD

https://youtu.be/77wiRF5xh0o

More props for 8800GT. Lasted six years. Can't remember which game finally got me to upgrade, but there's always one that does. :-)

Waiting for that to happen with my two 970s.

i guess for me it was either 5600XTor 290 Sli config.

5600 XT lasted more than 3 years , and 290 i gave it to my brother after 2.5.

@attirex: It probably wasn't a specific game, but the fact that DirectX 10 dropped of the face of the Earth in favor of DX11.

FX5200 by Nvidia, 9 years till I've changed to HD5770 by ATI

My GTX 970 was the only GPU I kept until I upgrade to the GTX 1070. And I bought it day one and I never care about the whole Vram Nvidia lied about but then again, they were offering free cash and so, I took the money even though I still love my 970.