Why ati9xxzx fail more oftenly then others?

I have come across with so many examples of dying ati 9500\9700\9800 cards, all they show the same symptoms

in windows

and


in games

and this is the card



This seems to happen a lot frequently with the ati 9xxx series, and it has already happened to myself in the past too, with a ati9500, without any sort of possible recovering.
Once it starts to happen, in most cases its a dead card for certain, and i would like to know if anyone knows what exactly happens with these ati card series for them fo fail like this within time.

Im about to aquire a ati9800pro (for free, for a amdk6 450 system), and i would like to know if theres anyway to prevent this from happening, and what's the reason for it to happen so oftenly with these cards.

Failing ram memories or gpu core?
And how much of you have come across with these situations and how did you dealed with them.

Im sure my canopus riva tnt 16 meg card that would destroy quake 2 , would not work in my system anymore? Whats your point? lol....

I'd rather put it to use in something (amd k6 second computer) than just place it inside a anti-static bag unused, and it will max out that pc for all the previous 2000 games i have there in high resolutions (ut and quake3 included).
I know about the wasted power, i might know that even better than you think, because i already did all sort of experiences when it comes to mix the old with the new, but yet again its better to have it in use than just remaning idle indefinatly.

Back to the topic, about the natural cycle...i've seen so many ati series dying so fast in the last years compared with all other cards, that made me think that those ati9xxx series life cycle was not so good.
I could be that those heatsinkless memories helped a lot for the deterioration (they heated like crap!)

The pics you posted look like overheating or bad memory on the card (due to overheating?). All of this stuff doesn't have an infinite shelf life. What can you do to prolong the life of your cards? Keep your PC clean of dust. Even that thin coating that builds up on everything can increase your temps. It is like putting a wool blanket on all your parts, the heat just doesn't dissapate as fast.

I have 3 ATI cards in my house that run just fine.
9800 Pro (fiance's WoW machine)
9600 XT (home theater PC)
9000 Pro (home file server)

All of them are really old now, and none have had any such issues as you posted. I do keep all my PCs very clean, though, so that could be part of it. I also have never OC'd any of those.