Update: MSI responded to the original article and confirmed that "this change is only being made in Russia and only for certain SKUs, and is due to changes in national regulations in Russia."

MSI has reduced the warranty period for some gaming graphics cards in Russia to only 6 months. At the same time, Gigabyte released a mining card with a warranty period of only 90 days. Consumer protection laws should prevent this from happening in other parts of the world, but it is certainly a worrisome development.

For reference, graphics cards typically come with a 36-month warranty. Given the limited supply of graphics cards worldwide, the idea that the GPU you finally get may soon be out of warranty is not something any of us want to hear right now.

Again, mining is changing this situation. Cards dedicated to miners, i.e., those without video outputs, are known to offer limited guarantees. However, this is a bit more understandable since such cards tend to be used 24/7 without a break. This is not something that most gaming GPUs are subjected to.

But will there ever come a time when GPUs will come with clauses governing reasonable use?

Even allowing for some reduction in warranties, Gigabyte's latest move is shocking. Gigabyte recently released the CMP 30HX D6 6G, which is essentially a GTX 1660 Super without the output. The card sells for the equivalent of $600 at Rome-based reseller IT Direct and boasts a mere 90-day warranty--90 days! This is a card purely for the minors, but it's a ridiculously tight warranty nonetheless.

MSI seems to be going a similar route, and according to a document from MSI Russia, they have decided to reduce the warranty period on 19 cards to just 6 months. The first few cards on this list are all mining cards, but then gaming versions like the GeForce RTX 3070 Ventus 3X OC appeared, and suddenly cryptocurrency miners are not the only ones affected.

We have reached out to MSI for comment and will update this article as soon as we hear back from them. In the meantime, it's worth double-checking the warranty periods on any cards you can find; you shouldn't compromise in less than three years.