So I got a 2060 SUPER XC Ultra, I'm wanting to overclock it now.

I've done plenty of vram and GPU overclocks before, but I had a friend who had a GTX 1080 Ti FTW3, who had the memory at like 800-900+ for months on end. The card blew up.

I thought he said it might have been due to too high a vram clock. However I'm not quite sure that's the case.

So can you kill a card simply by overclocking vram too high?
 
Thank you!

you can kill any electronics by overloading it beyond manuf specs..... 
 
overclocking your computer parts will decrease the lifespan..... but due to the nature of electronics - even if you don't OC them , that isn't a guarantee they won't blow due to some unforseen issue anyways.
 So if you choose to overclock anything , make sure you have a good warranty and are ready to deal with an RMA/ hassles involved with it.

aka_STEVE_b
you can kill any electronics by overloading it beyond manuf specs..... 
 
overclocking your computer parts will decrease the lifespan..... but due to the nature of electronics - even if you don't OC them , that isn't a guarantee they won't blow due to some unforseen issue anyways.
 So if you choose to overclock anything , make sure you have a good warranty and are ready to deal with an RMA/ hassles involved with it.

Thank you, I know it will reduce lifespan. But 800mhz on a 1080 Ti and it blew up in a few months. That doesn't seem right.

And I hear overclocking vram doesn't overvolt it either.

When anything electron fails under power ... there is usually a "little pop" as the magic smoke comes out after something shorts to ground. 

I've got no Idea why everyone "loves to use the Over the Top wording" like - "card blew up" or "card exploded" ... just a basic small pop or fizzle with these things, when something shorts causing component failure.
 
---> 20 Series Cards are Much more sensitive to Voltage ... & excessively High OC can damage the silicone ... its happened
 
Make small adjustments & test for Gain & stability - While noting the Temps
 
Temps kept lower will get you better OC & excess voltage - raises the Temps

Thank you!!! Sounds good. I think i'm just going to leave vram alone and just OC the core at default voltage then.

What I'm confused about, is I thought voltage kills. So if you OC and leave the voltage the same, it's going to have identical lifespan I think right?

When you Raise the Voltage to Increase stability @ a Give OC ... you create more stress on the silicon
 
High voltage & "leakage" creates Heat Very quickly if you push too hard
 
The small nm dies have been known to fail with too much voltage pushed for too long
 
Also, More Voltage is Not always a better OC ... Nvidia Boost 4.0 has the last word & starts down clocking the MHz around 40C on my EVGA 2080 Ti(s)
 
You need to find that sweet spot for your Rig
 
Silicon lottery ..... they are all a little different
 
Slide your Temp & Power Limit full right with +0 MHz for GPU & RAM - then 100% all fans including your case fans .... note room temp & Card temps while testing.  Run a benchmark 3 or 4 times to stress the PC .... What is your MHz seen while benchmark is running ... this is the baseline ... all Nvidia Boost 4.0 at work,
 
Now, nudge the GPU a little & test for stability ... once you find the edge of stability ... back down 10% ... or add a little voltage to get back stability
 
Note that GPU MHz decreases as it gets warmer
 
After Max GPU stability is found then start on the RAM
 
 
Plan on keeping your Card for more than 3 yrs .... checkout the EVGA Optional Warranty if you just bought your card EVGA Extended Warranty

#1 killer of electronics will be high thermals.  If I had to guess, your friend ran high thermals till it finally gave.

hbzk100
So I got a 2060 SUPER XC Ultra, I'm wanting to overclock it now.

I've done plenty of vram and GPU overclocks before, but I had a friend who had a GTX 1080 Ti FTW3, who had the memory at like 800-900+ for months on end. The card blew up.

I thought he said it might have been due to too high a vram clock. However I'm not quite sure that's the case.

So can you kill a card simply by overclocking vram too high?
 
Thank you!

On stock voltage... No.