I'm deciding between a roughly four-year-old MSI Suprim X RTX 4090 and a brand-new ASUS ROG Strix RTX 5080 with a full warranty. The 4090 has never been used for cryptocurrency mining, but it has seen thousands of hours of gaming and likely tens of thousands of hours powered on while I worked from home. I know the 4090 is generally the faster card, but I'm wondering whether its age and usage create meaningful reliability concerns. Would repasting be enough maintenance, or would buying a newer but somewhat slower card with zero prior use be the safer choice? Also, is it realistic to expect an RTX 5080 Super soon?
1 Answer
Repasting the 4090 could help if temperatures have risen, but normal gaming and desktop use do not automatically make the card unreliable. The fans, thermal pads, power connectors, and general condition matter more than the raw number of hours. Check for abnormal temperatures, coil noise, fan problems, crashes, and visible damage before buying. The 5080 gives you a warranty and a lower-risk ownership experience, but the 4090 is still the stronger card if it is priced well and passes testing.
That makes sense. My main concern is whether the age alone creates other serious wear issues after so much use, even if repasting takes care of the temperatures.