How many CMP 170HX cards arrive bad, fail the 64 GB unlock or die in service is one of the most argued questions among owners. The counts collected on the wiki, posted from July to October 2026, run from 0% in several all-good batches to 50% for one buyer who lost 2 of 4, and every one of them is self-reported and unstandardized.
What the counts say
- @scallion_9883, who has handled about 100 cards, saw no 8 GB card fail to unlock to 64 GB (July 28, 2026).
- @redpandamining found 1 memory error among 40 cards tested unlocked (August 26, 2026).
- @cute_sc2 put the rate at about 5% across 21 tested cards (September 9, 2026).
- @darcidride reported 3 lots and 23 cards: 2 unlock only to 32 GB and 3 more have memory errors (September 21, 2026).
- Counter-reports on October 7, 2026: @c133 5 of 5 good, @mountains1605 4 of 4, @bigfoot1144 12 of 12 and @cibernox 4 of 4.
- @civiloid put the community's overall reported failure rate at about 20% (October 13, 2026).
- @_____josh_____ claims 50%, after 2 of 4 water-cooled cards died following about two weeks at full load (September 9, 2026).
The sample size caveat
These are small, self-selected samples with no common test. @meatsus and @lia_oc pointed out that 2 of 4 is a tiny sample (September 24, 2026), and @n2dcrypt asked for standardized community testing in August 2026.
The failure counts are marked Contested, the badge for points where people disagree.
What is Proven
Memtest every card after unlocking. That advice is Proven, meaning several owners reproduced the finding. On August 8, 2026 @cute_sc2 found 1 of 13 cards with single-bit errors that were clean when locked, and @robbbbbb7973 found 1 of 8 with errors.
How long cards last
Lifespan claims are also Contested. One side says the cards use A100 boards and should last like A100s, per @wakeupmbrc1 (September 20, 2026), and @cmdrwaka324 argued that thermal cycling is what kills these large dies (September 9, 2026). The other side cites poor mining-farm conditions and calls the dies QC rejects; claims of a few months' average lifespan came with no data.
Two Warnings stand, the badge for something that damaged hardware. Repeated thermal cycling to 80 to 85 C is suspected of cracking solder joints, and HBM degrades in the mid 90s C, so keep cards under the 85 C throttle point and do not max the power limit. Ex-mining cards can also carry brittle solder, cracked VRMs and oxidised boards, so open and inspect a card before first use.
For testing a new card, see Acceptance checklist and Testing and burn-in.