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Is CPU-only rendering bad for the CPU?

lambdalabdalambdalabda Posts: 0
in Technical Help (nuts n bolts)

Hi there!

I can only use an old tower for messing around with DAZ3D. My specs on it are:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 @ 2.66GHz and 1023MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti.

GPU rendering is out of the question with such low VRAM but CPU rendering works fine. It's slow (a 1080p scene with one figure+BG takes 8 hours to make), but it works.

My question is if such heavy load can do long term damage to the CPU? I'd like to give overnight rendering a try for a few months with it to practice, but I'm concerned if it will kill this good old CPU of mine.
And I don't mean overheating but any other potential damage that only shows over a long period of time. But if overheating is an issue it got at the highest 64 Celsius and only around 75-80% CPU usage at most for the entire time for the renders. It's not overclocked and I'd like to keep it that way. I assume that's probably why it stayed so cool.

Comments

  • JonnyRayJonnyRay Posts: 1,744

    Heat is really the only major concern for CPU life. So if your cooling is working that well, you'll probably be fine. It's more likely that you'll have a fan or power supply failure than a CPU failure unless you are overheating it.

  • lambdalabdalambdalabda Posts: 0

    @JonnyRay
    That's great. Thank you for the reply.

  • kenshaw011267kenshaw011267 Posts: 3,805

    The only major concern is that every electronic component has a "mean time between failure" which is tech speak for the average time that component will go before it fails. Now most cpmponents have MTBF measured in hundreds of thousands of hours of use, at normal operating temperatures and voltages, so in general most components will last for many years even in continuous use unless you overclock the system or allow enough dust to build up to cause overheating.

    However any component with moving parts, fans and HDD's in a PC, have much shorter lifespans. So running an older PC a lot can result in those components failing. A failed fan is usually no big deal, it will generally get loud and you'll notice. You go out and get a cheap replacement and swap it out before it completely dies. The problem is there's a fan in the PSU too. If that fan dies so does the PSU. There are also some other components in the PSU that tend to have shorter lifespans as well. A lot depends on the rated wattage of the PSU compared to the power draw of the PC, A PSU is most efficient at delivering power at roughly 50% of its rated capacity so the closer to that level your system is the longer your PSU is likely to last. If your PC is a prebuilt it is far more likely that your PSU is closer to 80% of the rated draw of the system and then who knows how long it has left.

    HDD's is another component with a moving part. That motor and other moving part can fail. You can test the health of your HDD and see where you stand and then make an informed decision in that regard at least.

    But don't let me scare you. If you've been taking good care of the Pc, primarily keeping it dust free, you should be able to get at least another year or 2 out of that part. Do keep in mind though that you are dealing with a part manufactured in 2007. I have no idea how much use its seen but with even moderate use its got to be approaching EoL.

  • lambdalabdalambdalabda Posts: 0

    @kenshaw011267
    Thank you for the reply.
    I guess keeping it alive by replacing the old cheap parts wouldn't be too expensive as long as it's not the GPU or CPU. It'd be better than having it die on me.

  • kenshaw011267kenshaw011267 Posts: 3,805

    Don't replace anything unless the part dies, unless its the HDD. Get CrystalDiskInfo, freeware you can DL by Googling, and check the health of your drive. If it isn't in trouble don't let it worry you. The fans will let you know if they're in trouble, bearinsg going bad make a whining sound. If your PSU goes your computer will shut down or simply won't start. Replacing fans in a system that old is pretty easy just get fans that have molex connectors, they should be labeled as such when you buy them. As for the PSU that could be tricky. After 11 years who knows what the wattage of that thing is and if you'll be able to get an equivalent. Just get a reasonable match, you might have some issues making it fit in the case though, I once had to take the CD Rom out of a case and sit on top of the case to make a new PSU fit.

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