Is my 7950GX2 dead?

[wildstyle]

Here's the thing, i bought a used (well, supposed to be not opened) 7950GX2 and everything seemed just about new. The PCB is in absolute mint condition, except i noticed something weird looking at one end of the upper card. To me it looked like something smeared and dried, like some kind of fluid. I don't know what it is and how it got there, could it have been there ever since the card left the manufacturer?

The box is in mint condition, the CDs untouched, the cables still in it's plastic and so on.

Here's a picture of the thing;
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/2002/pict3137oz2.jpg

 

[CKXP]

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/2002/pict3137oz2.jpg

eeeew...quick check it with a UV light, it seems somebody might have gotten a little too excited when they held all that power in their hands.

where did you buy the card from? have you tried the card? finally if the card works you can take some isopropyl alcohol and Q-tips and clean the PCB yourself.

 

[wildstyle]

The thing is i bought the card used.. The seller did state that the card was actually not even opened, which it very well could have been not, except for the goo on the back of the PCB..

I haven't tried the card since i havent bought the rest of my setup yet.. And now i feel like i've been ripped off, and really dont want to go out and get me the rest of the stuff. Might wind up having a system without a GFX.. If the card is actually not working i'll have to contact the police and track that dude down..

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: wildstyle
The thing is i bought the card used.. The seller did state that the card was actually not even opened, which it very well could have been not, except for the goo on the back of the PCB..

I haven't tried the card since i havent bought the rest of my setup yet.. And now i feel like i've been ripped off, and really dont want to go out and get me the rest of the stuff. Might wind up having a system without a GFX.. If the card is actually not working i'll have to contact the police and track that dude down..

I can understand a thread like this if you recieved your card broken in half. But you haven't even tried the thing yet and are wondering if it's dead? Thats a new one on me.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: wildstyle
The thing is i bought the card used.. The seller did state that the card was actually not even opened, which it very well could have been not, except for the goo on the back of the PCB..

I haven't tried the card since i havent bought the rest of my setup yet.. And now i feel like i've been ripped off, and really dont want to go out and get me the rest of the stuff. Might wind up having a system without a GFX.. If the card is actually not working i'll have to contact the police and track that dude down..

I can understand a thread like this if you recieved your card broken in half. But you haven't even tried the thing yet and are wondering if it's dead? Thats a new one on me.

Ummm... Perhaps you should try the card & see if it works before jumping to conclusions?

 

[Modular]

"You see it's this mat...with different conclusions on it...that you can jump to!"

 

[beemercer]

Originally posted by: Modular
"You see it's this mat...with different conclusions on it...that you can jump to!"

Hahhaha, Office Space ownage :thumbsup:.

 

[imported_Cript]

Looks like either a messy clean up job (Isopropyl alcohol residue mixed with something like thermal paste) or remnants of a sticker. Is the manufacturer Asus? They ship their cards "dirty" like yours (in my case, a physx card with flux residue, bit more yellowish).

 

[Bill Brasky]

Originally posted by: Modular
"You see it's this mat...with different conclusions on it...that you can jump to!"

You just made my day!

 

[josh6079]

Have you contacted the seller and asked about what it is?

Also, plug it in and, if possible, fire it up and play. If it works fine for games, then the fact that those two spots are less than perfect doesn't matter.

 

[Zstream]

I had that crap on my brand new EVGA card 7600GT a month or so back. Apparently it is a bad PCB job per say the evga tech.

 

[Madellga]

I've seen this also on the back side of a mobo (P5B). It's from the manufacturing process.

 

[wildstyle]

Guys... Thanks alot for the answers!

I tried to fire the thing up with my 360watt PSU, NOTHING happened...

I used the power converter to connect 2 times 12-volt rails into the 6-pin connector.. When i hotwired the PSU nothing happened on the GFX. The fans didnt even start rotating.

Final call for help;
Could it be that my PSU is too weak to power up the card?
Otherwise the card is dead and im ripped off.

 

[Madellga]

Your PSU seems weak for a GX2 based system. If you want help you should at least post details about your system.

You should be careful also about connecting 2x cables into one, if you don't know what you are doing you could fry everything.

 

[josh6079]

A 360 Watt PSU with a GX2 in the system? How many volts on your 12V rails? My guess is you need another PSU.

 

[wildstyle]

I tried to ONLY power up the graphics cards with that PSU.. I used the converter then hotwired the PSU...

Should 360 watt with 17A on each 12-volt rail be enough? I Know that people recommend about 40A from two rails..
Is there also a difference in voltage between modern PSU's and the old ones?
(This one is a standard 360 watt Chieftec, a few years old)


I think the cards' fans should at least kick in?

 

[JBT]

360 watt? for a 7950GX2?? I'd say your about 100 watts short... also I belive the card should pull power from the PCI-eXpress slot... I doubt it would turn on with out being plugged into that.

 

[wildstyle]

Thanks JBT! Thats great news then!
I'll see if i can bring it over to someone with a powerfull PCI-E system..
The only way to find out.. i really dont want to go out and buy me the rest of the parts for the computer when i dont know if my gfx is any good...

 

[beggerking]

oxidization..