Fixing a "dead" graphics card?

[Zachboy]

Hi, I found this site where it said it was possible to fix a "dead" graphics card just by baking it in the oven. Here's the link: http://www.gpureview.com/how-to-fix...-1-preheat-your-oven-to-385f-article-798.html

Gets redirected to here: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1421792

and then from him to here: http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=606658


The reason why I searched this up, was that I had a "dead" Asus EN7600GS still in the box and wandered if I could manually fix it somehow...and came up with those sites....I don't know if that's true or not....guys here - tell me if it is or not...I might actually try it.... Though the only reason that's holding me back from doing this is if the graphics card will be "melted" or screwed even more....

Also I heard there were "dangerous" chemical substances on the PCB of the card.....and that's the other reason not to....

Thanks in advance!

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Just shove it in the oven and try

Worth a shot (if you don't want to pay)

 

[SithSolo1]

I've done it. Brought a 8800GTS 640 back to life. Took longer to strip and reassemble than it did to bake it.


Btw - if the card is already not working you have nothing to lose. Either it starts working and you gain a card or it stays not working.

 

[bookwormsy]

It does work. But you don't want to leave it in too long. The capacitors could rupture, and that'd be bad.

 

[Zachboy]

...and what of the "dangerous" substances the pcb is made of?

 

[Homeles]

...and what of the "dangerous" substances the pcb is made of?

Fiberglass and copper? You use copper to cook on, so...

Just make sure to protect any plastic bits.

 

[Zachboy]

The 7600GS I got is...http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/NVIDIA_Series/EN7600GS_SILENTHTD_Series/#specifications - the 512MB model. The card looks slightly different to the one I have...but it's the closest there is on the website...

...do I need to take of the plastic cover the covers the coil thingy where it says "1R0"?


And once I take it apart and clean the GPU + heatsink of the thermal paste, I have to put back new thermal paste onto the GPU and then have the heatsink on top of that?

 

[Zachboy]

I take that as a "Yes", as no one is replying to that.

Okay, I guess I am going to dissemble the graphics card...

 

[dawp]

Fiberglass and copper? You use copper to cook on, so...

Just make sure to protect any plastic bits.

there is lead in the solder and some electrolytic caps can have some nasty stuff in them.

if you get the temps high enough the solder will reflow.

there is more to a video card than just the pcb.

 

[3DVagabond]

...and what of the "dangerous" substances the pcb is made of?

Lead and electrolytes (battery acid). Do it in well ventilated conditions. Open windows and turn exhaust fans on. While copper can also be dangerous, it doesn't oxidize at low enough temps to worry about in this situation. The card would burst into flames first.

BTW, if anyone is cooking in copper pans, stop. A copper bottomed pan is different than a copper pan. The copper never actually touches your food in a copper bottomed pan.

 

[Zachboy]

Well then, I take it that 200 degrees Celsius is good enough?

Woo, just took of the heatsink....now troubled as to what to use to remove the thermal paste with....I heard use " isopropyl alcohol ", but I can't find any around the house.....I wander if normal "drinking" alcohol will do.....:sneaky:

Oh and I can't take of that plastic cover....seems to be stuck.....also I cleaned the card with cotton buds. All over - looks almost dust free....except for areas where the pins are out and that screws up the cotton on the bud and doesn't really remove the dust out of there....

​

 

[Magic Carpet]

You have to be very careful. In my experience, 50% of the baked cards eventually failed within 0-6 months of subsequent use. It's very easy to damage nearby components and the damage won't be visible. Best, to bake just the GPU alone but that requires special tools.

oven: 190-200c or 380-400f, maximum 9-10 minutes. Less if ventilated. Under-bake > over-bake. Do it twice, if you're not sure. Use plenty of foil too. Cover caps and other components.

ps. you can clean off the paste later. It won't boil.

 

[bononos]

You have to be very careful. In my experience, 50% of the baked cards eventually failed within 0-6 months of subsequent use. It's very easy to damage nearby components and the damage won't be visible. Best, to bake just the GPU alone but that requires special tools.

.......

What sort of special tools are you referring to?

 

[KingFatty]

Why do you cover components with anything? I'd expect everything to reach the same temperature because everything is inside the oven, so seems covering stuff would be irrelevant? Well, maybe if you cover with space shuttle thermal tiles or asbestos, but seems like foil would just transfer the heat and not protect anything from temperature changes?

Or do you cover things as a safety precaution to capture exploding shrapnel in case you over-cook it?

 

[Zachboy]

You have to be very careful. In my experience, 50% of the baked cards eventually failed within 0-6 months of subsequent use.

Hm......well, I probably won't use the card 24/7....so would it last longer?

It's very easy to damage nearby components and the damage won't be visible. Best, to bake just the GPU alone but that requires special tools.

Hm, the GPU is either "stuck" on the PCB, or is "integrated" with the PCB. If it's the latter, it's impossible without damaging at least something.

oven: 190-200c or 380-400f, maximum 9-10 minutes. Less if ventilated. Under-bake > over-bake. Do it twice, if you're not sure. Use plenty of foil too. Cover caps and other components.

Okay, I'll set it to 195 degrees Celsius. Um, I'll do it for around 5 to 6 minutes.... Hm, bake the card twice..... so cover the entire tray with foil and foil balls to have the pcb raised on?

ps. you can clean off the paste later. It won't boil.

Won't it?

What sort of special tools are you referring to?

I wander this too....

Or do you cover things as a safety precaution to capture exploding shrapnel in case you over-cook it?

That could be the reason, but provided I do it less than 10 minutes; I should be good. Wouldn't over-cooking it "melt" the card, or at least melt the metal bits?

​

 

[WT]

You have to be very careful. In my experience, 50% of the baked cards eventually failed within 0-6 months of subsequent use. It's very easy to damage nearby components and the damage won't be visible. Best, to bake just the GPU alone but that requires special tools.

Likewise. This does nothing but get you 6 months tops. Damn Ebay sellers are doing this and selling their cards as fully functional when in fact the card will die again and again.

 

[dawp]

What sort of special tools are you referring to?

probably referring to either a hot air gun or hot air soldering station

http://shuttlestar.en.made-in-china...ldering-Desoldering-BGA-Station-RW-500C-.html

 

[KompuKare]

probably referring to either a hot air gun or hot air soldering station

http://shuttlestar.en.made-in-china...ldering-Desoldering-BGA-Station-RW-500C-.html

I've followed the discussions about those on technician's sites and the general consensus is, at least for bumpgated parts with the wrong solder, even a reflow will not be a long term fix. Since this was people running repair shops who would have to warranty their work, most people did not think it worthwhile investing in rework station for reflowing Nvidia solder. Of course, a hot-air soldering station is also very useful for doing DC jack repairs so a lot of repair shops do have them anyway.

A re-ball on the other hand may last longer. But then if we are talking about something like those poorly done HP DV-series laptops even with a re-ball they aren't likely to last very long. On those DV laptops there was more than Nvidia selling bad chips: HP designed a very poor ventilation system.

Likewise. This does nothing but get you 6 months tops. Damn Ebay sellers are doing this and selling their cards as fully functional when in fact the card will die again and again.

Yes 6 months is being optimistic. My 8800GT only lasted 3 monts on the first bake, 2 on the second and the third time it was just dead.

Of course, other graphic cards have had the occasional problem (one monster chip drawing up to 150-300W is asking for trouble especially since graphic card vendors are reluctant to invest in the kind of cooling that would let the chip run at a constant 30-40C) but nothing like Nvidia's poor solder bump choice. I call them 'JHH Specials' with the notion that anyone expecting a card to last more than a year can hear his responce as 'F-you freeloader! Go and buy a new c***"

 

[birthdaymonkey]

I had a GTX 280 that needed a baking. This was over a year ago. I sold it to a buddy VERY cheap (he knew about the bake) and it's still working. 10 minutes at 425 F did the trick for me.

 

[Zachboy]

So six months is the *maximum* length of time that can be added onto the life of the card? - and then after that it gets lower and lower each time you *bake* the card?

I have a HP laptop; they got decent ventilation system now.

I had a GTX 280 that needed a baking. This was over a year ago. I sold it to a buddy VERY cheap (he knew about the bake) and it's still working. 10 minutes at 425 F did the trick for me.

Hmmm, your card was a high end one, mine's just mid-range...wouldn't less do it as good?


Erm, anything else I need to worry about before I actually do this? Here's a list of things:

- cover the entire tray with aluminium foil all over, just the inside where the card will be positioned
- have card stripped to bare bones as much as you can
- make little balls from the foil paper to raise the card in position
- have the card in the middle of the tray
- Preheat the oven to 195 degrees Celsius.
- once the oven reaches that temperature, carefully place the tray with the card in it into the oven, close it up and wait 5 minutes.
- take it out to cool or turn the oven off and let it cool inside the oven
- remove the thermal paste(with drinking alcohol?) on the GPU, add new paste on it
- add heatsink and put it everything else belonging to the card back together again,
- test it on a PCIE compatible MB.
- if it works, test it more thoroughly, if it doesn't, *bake* it again?

Is that it?

​

 

[KompuKare]

So six months is the *maximum* length of time that can be added onto the life of the card? - and then after that it gets lower and lower each time you *bake* the card?

You may get luck or in other words I was not :-(

- take it out to cool or turn the oven off and let it cool inside the oven

Ah, once the solder has reached its temperature it should be liquid(ish) so I would let it cool down before moving it unless you have 100% steady hands. That's one of the problem with longer times. Also if your card has RAM or any other chips on the back of the card you might want to ensure that the solder there doesn't get warm. Otherwise liquid solder + gravity might mean you fix the GPU on the front of the card and unfix the ram on the back...

 

[birthdaymonkey]

So six months is the *maximum* length of time that can be added onto the life of the card? - and then after that it gets lower and lower each time you *bake* the card?

I have a HP laptop; they got decent ventilation system now.

Hmmm, your card was a high end one, mine's just mid-range...wouldn't less do it as good?


Erm, anything else I need to worry about before I actually do this? Here's a list of things:

- cover the entire tray with aluminium foil all over, just the inside where the card will be positioned
- have card stripped to bare bones as much as you can
- make little balls from the foil paper to raise the card in position
- have the card in the middle of the tray
- Preheat the oven to 195 degrees Celsius.
- once the oven reaches that temperature, carefully place the tray with the card in it into the oven, close it up and wait 5 minutes.
- take it out to cool or turn the oven off and let it cool inside the oven
- remove the thermal paste(with drinking alcohol?) on the GPU, add new paste on it
- add heatsink and put it everything else belonging to the card back together again,
- test it on a PCIE compatible MB.
- if it works, test it more thoroughly, if it doesn't, *bake* it again?

Is that it?

I'd remove the thermal paste with alcohol before you bake the card. Also, I don't think 10 minutes of baking is going to hurt it. My card didn't exhibit any visible changes after 10 mins at 425 F.

Other than that, looks good. Remember: you've got nothing to lose!

 

[Kristijonas]

In the end I'd just open the ovens door and leave it open for at least 20mins for the card to become touchable again and then it can be removed. Not a good idea to touch it while it's 150C+.
Also I see this is a fanless card. I'd buy a simple case cooler and attach it to the card after baking it (I'd turn off the PC the moment I'd see the card works). Case coolers are very cheap and it would make this card stay in very low temperatures at all times, which in theory could make your card for for 6 months or even more! The problem with baked cards is that most of them probably were in hot cases or simply of bad thermal design, so after baking they will continue to heat and metals-contacts will melt away again in time. In your case, a case cooler might be helpful if baking revives the card. If the card already had a cooler, I'd recommend tightening coolers RPM/C so that the card would be at least 20% cooler after baking than it was working before baking.
I would be very careful for heavy metals in the air. At least hide any dishes and foods while baking and as already mentioned make sure the ventilation is good and that the kitchen is closed. After that try not to stay long in the kitchen until temps of the card are low again and air is vented. Better safe than sorry.

 

[Zachboy]

You may get luck or in other words I was not :-(

Oh....

Ah, once the solder has reached its temperature it should be liquid(ish) so I would let it cool down before moving it unless you have 100% steady hands. That's one of the problem with longer times.

Very well, I shall leave it in the oven(while it's turned off) to cool.

Also if your card has RAM or any other chips on the back of the card you might want to ensure that the solder there doesn't get warm. Otherwise liquid solder + gravity might mean you fix the GPU on the front of the card and unfix the ram on the back...

Oh dear....I think my ram chips are on the front of the pcb, but there are a few smaller chips that are on the back....I'm guessing the question now is - how to not keep the back warm enough for the chips to unfix itself?

I'd remove the thermal paste with alcohol before you bake the card.

Okay.

Also, I don't think 10 minutes of baking is going to hurt it. My card didn't exhibit any visible changes after 10 mins at 425 F.

...well, you're card is a high end one...mine's just midrange.....but I guess I'd rather be safe than sorry.

The problem with baked cards is that most of them probably were in hot cases or simply of bad thermal design, so after baking they will continue to heat and metals-contacts will melt away again in time.

The thermal paste on the card didn't seem too bad...the paste seemed to be still "alive" and not dried up.....

I would be very careful for heavy metals in the air. At least hide any dishes and foods while baking and as already mentioned make sure the ventilation is good and that the kitchen is closed. After that try not to stay long in the kitchen until temps of the card are low again and air is vented. Better safe than sorry.

So, once I stick this in the oven; everyone leaves the kitchen area?

If the card already had a cooler, I'd recommend tightening coolers RPM/C so that the card would be at least 20% cooler after baking than it was working before baking.

So once I get an external cooling system for this card, you want me to somehow crank up the fan speed so that it's cooler?

​

 

[Soundmanred]

Just Tweakboy it.
RMA the card no matter what the circumstances.

I do not actually endorse doing this.