<p>Mining itself don't ruin the GPU, but the long usage. A GPU's lifespan is at least 3-5 years. When working continuously on high freq. it is decreased as well. 
  Whoop in your case, your card just got 'burned'
It is not a the mining itself that caused the damage, but there is something else, or software, or the GPU was not quite on her place, or maybe some malicious software helped you for the achievement.  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-29T07:44:06.527Z
It was indeed old, yet it was surprising, since it 'burned out' the instant I started using the software. Is there a way to recover (save) the GPU somehow?
user41801
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-10-02T22:36:36.257Z
@user41801 You should ask that somewhere where people who know a lot about computer hardware are. My best guess for the reason of the failure is that it was full of dust or the fans weren't working properly or at all. You didn't notice the problem because you didn't use your GPU at full load for some time. Then, when you attempted to do bitcoin mining, your GPU was put to maximum load. It wasn't able to get rid of the emerging heat and failed.
UTF-8
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-29T07:26:47.943Z
2016-09-29T07:26:47.943Z
iamroot ipcsdemo
<p>I was trying out Bitcoin mining with my home GPU, a Radeon R9 290x, with the Bitminter program, on Windows. (I know it's not profitable, it was just mere curiosity) It instantly recognized my GPU, and when I clicked on start, the whole system crashed, like if I unplugged the power source. Since then, the PC doesn't recognize the GPU at all, like as if it wasn't plugged in, nor does my monitor receive any input. What could have been the problem? Could it be fixed?</p>

<bitminter>
Why did the Bitminter application ruin my GPU?
user41801
# Why did the Bitminter application ruin my GPU?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-09-29)

I was trying out Bitcoin mining with my home GPU, a Radeon R9 290x, with the Bitminter program, on Windows. (I know it's not profitable, it was just mere curiosity) It instantly recognized my GPU, and when I clicked on start, the whole system crashed, like if I unplugged the power source. Since then, the PC doesn't recognize the GPU at all, like as if it wasn't plugged in, nor does my monitor receive any input. What could have been the problem? Could it be fixed?

**Tags:** bitminter


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-09-29. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

Mining itself don't ruin the GPU, but the long usage. A GPU's lifespan is at least 3-5 years. When working continuously on high freq. it is decreased as well.
Whoop in your case, your card just got 'burned'
It is not a the mining itself that caused the damage, but there is something else, or software, or the GPU was not quite on her place, or maybe some malicious software helped you for the achievement.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: It was indeed old, yet it was surprising, since it 'burned out' the instant I started using the software. Is there a way to recover (save) the GPU somehow?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 You should ask that somewhere where people who know a lot about computer hardware are. My best guess for the reason of the failure is that it was full of dust or the fans weren't working properly or at all. You didn't notice the problem because you didn't use your GPU at full load for some time. Then, when you attempted to do bitcoin mining, your GPU was put to maximum load. It wasn't able to get rid of the emerging heat and failed.  

---

