Did a GPU with defect VRAM can be use here?

Did a GPU with defect VRAM can be use here?

Unlikely. The GPU stores (and reads) intermediate data to/from the Video-RAM. It requires many hits until the final result(s) move to the main memory by a blockwrite command. Erroneous entries in the Video RAM will therefore make the entire task fail within a short time. That is my estimation.

All you could try is [assuming that someone offered you a compelling GTX 980ti with a defective memory bank] ;-) to disable the defective area. The question is, how to do that ... if the firmware cannot be modified.

Another way could be changing the graphics driver, but I am not sure if the driver can really override the VRAM usage which is a very basic functionality. And it requires open source anyway (Linux). There is an open source driver project named "nouveau" ... but alas, it doesn't support CUDA, so we come to a dead end again.

What do the Linux experts among us mean? :-)

PS: which GPU do you have in mind and what kind of VRAM failure does it show?
____________
I would love to see HCF1 protein folding and interaction simulations to help my little boy... someday.

Hi, GTX 970, white striped line at start, not sure it is the VRAM.
Maybe the card can be fix with a "reflowing the GPU", but because that usally dont last...

Thank for the info.

Does it crash a work unit?

Stipes and patterns normally point to the graphics chip.. repair is possible but not advisable because the costs exceed the original price for mid range cards. Repair pays back only for high end (e.g. an old Titan X) and, as you wrote, do not last forever because the thermal resilience is lower.

If you already own that 970, you can give a try... but I would not buy it otherwise. If its not yours, what is the price by the way?
____________
I would love to see HCF1 protein folding and interaction simulations to help my little boy... someday.

USED- GTX970 4GB GDDR5. I have no problems playing games or running GPU Bench-marking programs. As stated above, the card displays lines on the screen when computer starts up, but goes away when windows desktop appears. No other issues and the card works great! I was going to send it in under warranty, but have no time. Thanks for looking!

Current price is around 75$ on Ebay. PNY card.

I have no problems playing games or running GPU Bench-marking programs. As stated above, the card displays lines on the screen when computer starts up