Does Iray significantly reduce the lifespan of GPUs?

TreyM

[Does Iray significantly reduce the lifespan of GPUs?] I.e. when compared with gaming in general?

I notice the GPU load under Iray rendering tends to be at (or near to) 100%, while gaming it tends to be around 80-90%. Not sure if this is good for long-term usage of the card. Is this normal? Should I be concerned?

SixDs

The lifespan of a graphics card in general is a bit of an unknown, unfortunately. The manufacturers may provide a TBF - time between failures, which is an indication of the lifespan, but such values are not obtained by actually running the cards for that length of time. The TBF's are determined by algorithms, so they are a kind of educated guess. As long as the cooling solution keeps the card within normal operating parameters you should be relatively safe. The cards themselves and their components can fail, but that is either the result of excessive heat, incorrect voltage (either from the PSU/outlet or electrostatic discharge), or the result of a defect. The latter will usually show up early on. The one thing that not only can, but eventually will wear out, because they are mechanical, is/are the cooling fan(s) on the card. The more that they are used and the faster they are spinning, the shorter the potential lifespan. And rendering using Iray is usually a pedal-to-the-metal situation for both the cards and the cooling fans. If replacement parts are readily available, then losing a fan may involve no more than a temporary inconvenience until it can be replaced. Unfortunately, such replacement parts may not be readily available, since they are not standardized. It is something that I personally would be checking for in advance if I were purchasing an expensive card and expected it to be in long-term use.