Do video games deteriorate your computer?

Hmm it all depends. Playing graphic heavy games can heat up the GPU(Graphics card) and if the computer doesn't have enough cooling then over time it will shorten the lifetime of your GPU.

To avoid this set Vsync ON, maybe even to half refresh rate if possible and if that's not enough play with lower graphic settings.

Another thing that may harm your PC from playing games is intrusive DRM(security software that comes installed with the game to prevent user pirating the game). Older Russian DRM by the name of Starforce is known and proven to damage your optical drive over time and may cause system instability.

As a rule of thumb:
The cooler your PC runs the longer it will last.
Get better PC cooling, clean the inside of your PC from dust or turn on the air conditioner.
By the same logic don't overstress your PC by playing demanding games with minimum specs.

sounds more like porn...

nah just kidding...

simply playing video games is not going to deteriorate your computer....at least not anymore than doing anything else on it....everything mechanical has a lifespan...it will die eventually...

the only way video games are going to do this to your system themselves, is through prolonged use to where your systems getting all hot, and chips are starting to warp, connections are starting to disconnect, etc....

also porn...

Put enough fans in your rig and it will last a lot longer. Also dont overclock if your worried about lifespan.

Games only deteriorate your brain.

You sure it's not just spywares? Have you ever tried formatting your computer? Does that restore the performance?
Video games have never deteriorated my computer, except that one time when my GPU exploded, and another time when the PSU died. Performance was never affected though. When I was a teenager I wasn't very careful when I went on the web and getting a lot of spywares really did affect perfomance a lot, but now I am very careful and also use NoScript, I don't really get any spywares anymore and performance does not deteriorate.

As long as there isn't any sort of fundamental problem like overheating or incorrect voltages it's only going to shorten the life from something like 20 years to something like 10 years. By the time electromigration really sets in you'd already have upgraded to something better. If you do have something already wrong with your computer running games will be more likely expose the issue because they're usually the most stressful thing you run, but just because they reveal those issues doesn't mean they're the cause.

Laptops generally have a shorter lifetime because they get shaken around and have a much harder time dealing with heat.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Usage deteriorates things and personally and without being able to give you a technic explanation because I'm rather illiterate about computers, play with it. It's like buying a Maserati and not, you know, drive it.

graphic-heavy video games
Minecraft

ha

Using your computer will cause it to degrade. The best thing you can do is keep it in the original packaging and wait for its value to skyrocket.

I would say make sure your CPU is well cooled for Minecraft. Minecraft does not use your GPU I believe, and relies heavily on your CPU and your RAM, so if you have an excess of RAM, and a good cooling system for a good CPU, you should be good in theory.

Proper use, proper maintenance, good quality of components (starting from the power supply), turning off when not used for many hours, that is all what you should take care for longer computer life.

My Pentium 4 is coming on 10 years and still plays Mass Effect 2 on medium with around 15-20 fps.

If you take care of your computer they can last a very long time. Now I only use that P4 as a test server for things these days, but it is still alive and kicking with all stock parts but the video card.

My video card runs at 104c, pc shuts down at 105c, am I doing it right? I've had the same GPU for years.

Computers break down because of poor maintenance, exceeding capabilities, and improper cooling. If you keep the components clean and dust free, you keep your temperatures in a safe range, and don't run your components at their utmost maximum they will usually last until they become obsolete.

Keep an eye on your pc temperatures.

them creeps be in your case stealin your RAMs

could be an electrical issue...i used to live in an old building and was frying power supplies...surge protectors of course are important but they also make a conditioner...smooths out the power coming from the wall but they can be around 100 dollars

Computers will eventually die but it will take quite some time before they stop functioning. 6 months is too short for a normal computer. May be you are overheating your components and damaging them. You should monitor your PC's temperatures and clean out the dust regularly. Also, I recommend getting a proper low-mid end gaming PC instead of those OEM PCs like dell, acer, hp etc. (if you are using one) as those gaming PCs will have better ventilation than OEM ones (which most of the time only come with 2 standard fans inside the case with the stock cpu cooler) Just my suggestion

It's true in the -technical- sense that heavy-load activities (like video gaming or graphics design) will cause more parts wear than lighter activities, but it's honestly not true in the practical sense.

Take something from the fact that this isn't reported by the average Minecraft user. The common denominator here is you, and I suspect you may have done something wrong, installed something, gotten Minecraft from an untrustworthy source, or perhaps it's totally unrelated to Minecraft - perhaps you have an infected hard drive or flash drive or something along those lines that causes problems.

"From personal experience I've broken two computers by doing nothing but playing Minecraft and other video games for about 6 months."

Uhhh what? No, just no, I have gamed on PC's for 6+ years without issues, you are doing something very very wrong here. Honestly you probably are doing something wrong, not protecting it, first off if you get blue screens, crashing whatever that does not mean a broken computer AT ALL. That means you should figure out whats causing the bluescreen, or at least reinstall windows, update drivers, etc...

Hell most people nowadays don't even see a bluescreen, they have become rather rare.

I guess this is the reason Macs are so popular....my head hurts now, sorry if I came off harsh but you are throwing your money away if you are buying a new PC every 6 months due to something as minor as a bluescreen or crashing.

Low quality components are more likely to die when stressed. I once killed my wife's PSU (when she was still my girlfriend) by running a game on her GeForce FX 5200.

It sounds to me like you might have used PC's with cheap motherboards or PSU's (the power supply can cause damage to other components if it's bad).

All electronics slowly deteriorate with use over time and I'm sure keeping them hot would accelerate that. I dont think minecraft would be too taxing on a modern system though, maybe your blue screens were just from having low quality RAM in your system.

From what I was told about my laptop when it kicked the bucket, gaming was a big reason why it went. But I guess all computers are built differently, so gaming may not affect some computers more than others.

Computers do not generally like Minecraft.
If all you do (or just mostly do) is play Minecraft, computers have their version of a mental breakdown, they stop operating correctly and crash.
My advice is not to play Minecraft, or at least keep it to a safe minimum.