Any way to save my 9800 Pro

[elkinm]

I bought a 9800 Pro a few months ago and almost immediately noticed that sometimes in intensive games like far cry the screen became completely covered with artifacts. the system was still fine so a restart fixed the problems. The back of the card behind the core was not hotter then my 9500 Pro or 9700 Pro.

recently any game or test and sometimes some web page graphics can cause an artifacted screen. I took out the card thinking of getting warranty service but noticed that the heatsink was loose.
Pushing on the heatsink at one side caused it to tilt slightly.

Looking from the side I noticed that the heatsink was touching the core but there was a gap between the heatsink and the shim around the core. The gap is about 1/32 of an inch and is very noticeable.

I did not notice the tilt or the gap when I first installed it. I tried removing the heatsink and reinstalling it and broke one of the fan blades reinstalling the heatsink.

Anybody have anything close to this? Is there any way to secure the heatsink safely and securely and in my case get a few HSF that can be secured reliably. worst of all, I have no idea if my core is already dead or if the heatsink loosening caused the artifacting.

 

[apoppin]

contact ati for a replacement . . .

it IS under warranty?

If not - or you modded it - you DO have a problem with HS contact . . . remove and reseat it (using thermal compound very sparingly)

While you are at it, an Arctic-Cooling VGA cooler would be a great way to further improve your temps and give you o/c'ing possibilities.

edit: you broke one of the fan blades?

there goes warranty service :roll:

if i were where you are now i would NOT use the card until it was fixed - arctifacting is a "heat" problem - you can DAMAGE your card!!!!

Go for the cooler i recommended . . . for ~$20 you will have better than new. Just take CARE in installation to follow the instructions EXACTLY.

 

[elkinm]

Would they replace it given that the heatsink was removed once? Are they nice about this? Never mind.

Is the core still usable with a new heatsink if runs in windows or could the 3D engine be a goner?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: elkinm
Would they replace it given that the heatsink was removed once? Are they nice about this?

no

(unfortunately not) they will likely say you "modded" your card and broke one of the blades (what ELSE did you do to it?)

you could try . . .

i think you are on your own . . . i'd go for a replacement HS at the LEAST . . . a broken fan blade is gonna be unbalanced and probably not last long . . .

btw, i have an extra HS . . . probably a LOT of us 9800 modders do . .. maybe try FS/Trade if you are on a tight budget

edit: IF it is still working - when you first start it B4 it gets HOT - it will probably be OK. DOo NOT test it while your fan is OFF.

You can try to reseat the HS (PERFECTLY) - remove the old goo and add a THIN layer of thermal compound. If there are NO gaps (and NO looseness) you can try it again (the fan should keep the card cool enough to see if it is UNdamaged).

If it is OK, get a new cooler.

 

[elkinm]

I noticed the tilt, took of the heat sink. put on some AS3 and put the HSF back on. I broke the fan while pushing one of the pins holding the HSF, is there any safe way to do this without using screws.

The blade is still partially attached to the fan.

But even when reattached the heat sink is still lose, it is in direct contact with the cone and not even close the spacer on the card. Is this in any way normal?

 

[Johnbear007]

You should have exchanged it for a new one the day you got it, then you should have excahnged when you saw the gap.

Now your warranty is voided unfortunatley. Your best bet is to go to www.svc.com and buy an arctic cooler vga silencer.