Graphics cards are the workhorses of modern PCs, but like all high-performance machinery, they eventually wear out. Identifying the early warning signs can save you from a catastrophic failure in the middle of a render or raid.

1. Visual Artifacts (The "Space Invaders")

If you see random colored squares, stretching 3D models, or flickering textures, your VRAM is likely unstable. This is often called "Space Invaders" artifacting.

"Artifacts that appear even on the desktop (2D mode) suggest the damage is severe and potentially irreversible."

2. Frequent Driver Crashes

If your screen goes black for a few seconds and recovers with a "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" message, your GPU core is becoming unstable at its stock voltage curve.

3. Fan Noise & Thermal Throttling

Is your GPU sounding like a jet engine while playing simple games? This often means the thermal paste has dried out, causing the hotspot temperature to skyrocket. The fans spin at 100% to compensate, but the card still throttles.

4. Blue Screens (BSOD) under Load

System crashes specifically when launching 3D applications point to power delivery failure. The VRMs (Voltage Regulator Modules) on the card may be overheating or failing to deliver clean power to the core.

5. Coil Whine Changes

While some coil whine is normal, a sudden change in the pitch or volume of the electrical buzzing can indicate a capacitor or inductor is nearing the end of its life.

How to Verify?

Don't guess. Run the GearVerify GPU Stress Test. If your card crashes or artifacts within the first 60 seconds of the "Architecture Stress" loop, it confirms hardware instability.