There is a 4-5 year limitation with this card but it's still a good card for low cost needs.
This card worked well and lasted for about 5 years. The explanation is next.
If you value NOISE-FREE QUIET over a RENEWABLE LIFESPAN card, this is that card.
After 4-5 years or so you may see the temperature going up from its average startup temp of 37-39 C (Celsius) to actual in-use static operating temperatures hovering in the 75-77 C range.
And that's a sign that the heat absorbing compound (called "thermal pase" -basically it's a type of grease ) between the GPU embedded in this card and the heatsink, over time has absorbed so much heat for so long it has dried up to a hardened dried up crusty-like texture (PC tech geeks are already familiar with this, from same issues with CPU thermal paste) and is no longer doing it's job. Thermal Paste purpose is to act like a go-between/sponge to DRAW the heat FROM the graphics card GPU and then the heat sink further pulls that heat from the thermal paste etc..)
As the thermal paste gets older and drier out the card's temperature begins to creep up...etc etc.. The problem with this card is that you cant simply reapply fresh thermal paste like you can on other versions of this exact same card. You can get thermal paste for as little as $3.95 or so. There are videos on Youtube about applying putting on fresh thermal paste to cards in this product line, the GEForce 210 GPU Series. Because with other brands such as MSI etc, the heatsink is removable, and you can access the thermal paste and clean & replace it. With this version you can't.
EDIT :: Inserting this paragraph [ HERE] to specifically point out that you can't remove the heatsink from this card simply by unscrewing it or otherwise. On other cards you can. This card does not have the heatsink attached with screws, instead it is factory-equipped with a type of non-extractable rods that insert like push pins thru standardly placed holes in the corner areas of the card but with Q-tip sized plastic buds that flair out once the forward end of the rod has been fully inserted. This is the case for all four of them. If you zoom in on the heatsink in the product image of this card (the big black boxy rectangular object with fins upright vertically) you will see in the corner area of the card the HEADS of what would be screws on other versions of this card. Instead, on this card, the heads are flat, you can't use a flathead or phillips or hexadecimal or Torx or any kind of screwdriver because there is nothing there, it's completely bare, totally smooth, from the factory assembly process. They never intend anyone to renew this card, extend lifespan with maintenance, as covered below. They expect you to use it, then discard, and either get another one over & over again, or get a different kind that you can service with maintenance. (Discussed next)
So be aware of that when making your decision to get this specific version. There's a reason for this. This is a "quiet" card. There is not a fan that helps the heat sink on this card, like there is on the cards with removable heat sinks. On those cards, the fan can make a whirring or humming sound, degree of noticeability varying by individual system setup. Soo You have a tradeoff decision.. Do you want to be able to renew the card with maintenance in 4-5 years or so but in the meantime maybe have a little added system noise.. or have no noise, a silent yet comparably performing graphic card instead, but you have to trash it and get a new one in about 4-5 years ? That's what you are getting here.
I'm not trying to talk you out of this card or into into another one... They cost only about $4 - $5 difference anyway, which is of negligible consideration... They are different form factors > NOISE-FREE QUIET or RENEWABLE LIFESPAN.
As mentioned earlier, it depends on what you value more... for my bang, I prefer the NOISE-FREE QUIET... It's only a $39 card and sometimes you can get these even further marked down... I'm replacing mine after years, no complaints.
| Max Screen Resolution | 2560 x 1600 |
|---|---|
| RAM | 1024 MB |
| Memory Speed | 520 MHz |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA GeForce 210 |
| Chipset Brand | NVIDIA |
| Card Description | GeForce 210 |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 1 GB |
