Heat damage?

[Bobbysmile]

Hello today my gpu went bad.
Simple as
All i need to know is what actualy went wrong.
I was playing SC2 and then my screen went all funny. I restarted my pc but the problem is still here a day later.
Below is what my screen looks like.(Attachment)
Sorry for any mis spelling but i cant read what im typing :P.

[techsheaven]

It looks like you hit the nail on the head, but to be sure, I would update your video driver.

I have seen this pattern before, so I'd bet you have a GPU that is surface-mounted, and may use silver solder. It is really common on systems that have one heat-pipe connecting the GPU and CPU heat-sinks. You can have this re-worked, but it would not be cheap.

I am not recommending you do this, but I fixed one before by heating the GPU. There are all kinds of videos on YouTube about it. I surrounded the GPU with Aluminum Tape - the kind used to seal furnace ducts (NOT Duck Tape) to create a heat shield. Then, I used a pencil-torch to heat the GPU (moving it constantly). If you try something like that, you should look at the right way (GPU re-work using a IR soldering station), look at all the crazy stuff people do on YouTube, and make an informed decision. I will say that if you are not prepared to buy a new motherboard, or have a new GPU put on, don't do it because it would be really easy to ruin the GPU. I decided to try it because I was looking at $100 for re-work, $120 for a new motherboard, or $0 to give it a shot.

Surface-mount GPUs have flat contacts, but so does the motherboard. The GPU is placed under a template that holds balls of solder on the pins, while it passes through a balling oven. When it cools, the template is removed to reveal "pins" of solder. Next, it is mated to the motherboard with flux, and heated with an IR heat source.

When a system cannot cool properly and the system BIOS is set to shutdown too late, the solder melts and no longer makes a good connection. Often a dirty fan and/or heat-sink is to blame, but many times people will actually use their notebooks on their lap, a bed, a pillow or some other soft surface that blocks the vents! The computer industry started calling them "notebooks" so people would not put their "laptop"... on their lap.

Let us know what you do.

Good Luck

[Bobbysmile]

I'll probably do it myself, the card only cost £20 and it costs £30 just for a shop to find the problem let alone fix it. The fan on the card is actualy broken I found out so any ideas on how to attach a heat sink?

[techsheaven]

Sorry, I assumed this was a laptop! This must be a Desktop.

Sure, I assume it is a non-standard fan?
Can the old one be removed?
What the model? Got pics?

[Bobbysmile]

Well yes it is kind of a desktop here are the specs pics of the card
on the way.
IBM xSeries 255
Windows XP professional
1x Intel Xeon @3.066 Ghz
2x 512Mb DDR1 RAM
160GB in 3 HDD (2x40 1x80)
AGP 1.5v Radeon 9800 Pro 256Mb (I think it is a saphire model)
Only other expansion bays are PCI-X

[techsheaven]

Usually, you can remove the old fan and mount a stock fan. As far as how you do that would depend what you are left with.

[caperjack]

i know you not in the USA ,but a new fan isn't expensive and is really easy to put on .if damage hasn't all ready been done ,you may need a new card
fan like this one .
http://tinyurl.com/6vmzcqt

[Bobbysmile]

Sadly that is not the case...
The damage is done but as you asked here is a pick of the card
On the surface nothing is wrong. Keep in mind this is not the standard model so looks differrent to all the google results.
Also I can still not spell, sorry for that.

[caperjack]

lucky you ,that will be a cheap fix i think ,pickup a used AGP 1.5v video card and away you go

[Bobbysmile]

Well it should be, apart from that im in sweden where anything tech related costs a fortune...
Im looking to get second hand but im going to at least need to spend 15 Pounds to get a replacement

[caperjack]

Well it should be, apart from that im in sweden where anything tech related costs a fortune...
Im looking to get second hand but im going to at least need to spend 15 Pounds to get a replacement

yeah ,makes a difference i guess where we are ,im in Canada ,and i fix computer in my spare time ,and i get computers towers and laptop and video card [ i have 2or 3 similar to yours just kicking around and will likely end up in the enviro depot one day ]for nothing from the owners when computer is cheaper/better to replace than fix in there opinion ,.

off topic ,last week i installed winxp and a 12 year PIII 700/128 meg ram/20 gig hdd , brand new in open box ,never used ,person bought system new and never used it ,then gave it away

[Bobbysmile]

Must be great to be able to do that..
To get a Radeon 9600 off the street shops here will cost you over $50
Thankfuly my farther works in IT so I get most of my old parts through him and of ebay (Which also explains why my pc is actualy a server)

[techsheaven]

There are two white clips that hold the heat sink to the board. You can replace the whole chipset cooler if you can find or buy one. Fans like this are intended to be part of the heat sink, but they usually have three tiny screws (between the blades) that you can remove to get the black fan part off of the heat sink. You can then find a donor and mount it over the heat sink if you don't have the right one. This is a back-yard type of fix, but it will let you know if it works before buying one. If the donor fan does not have the same pins to plug to the board, just make sure it operates at the same number of wires, volts & amps, and you can splice the wires. Just be safe and make sure you ask someone to help if you need. Also, depending on the donor fans you can get, you can plug them in on the system board, or a molex connector (hard drive/cd-rom).

You may find that just getting a working fan in it solves the problem!

Good Luck

[Bobbysmile]

Ok..
Strange thinks are happening, today just to see if it fixed itself I reinstaled the broken card. For the first few moments the screen was fine. After a few moments in the BIOS the problem came back. But now even when using the PC the lines come and go every now and again. Most of the time they are still therre but the do dissapear for preriods of time.

Any idea what could be causing this. I have atached a new fan.. Kinda and that is keeping the card cool but still this happens.

[techsheaven]

Probably time for a new card. :(

When you replace it, you may want to consider a slot fan to keep the same thing from happening again.

[Bobbysmile]

Yeah, I'm picking up a old gaming pc, I have found a way to fix the problem tho. If I apply preasure to the card then everything goes fine...

[techsheaven]

That goes back to reballing.
Again, the real fix is more expensive than the card. I have actually done this (start at about 9 minutes) and it worked great! Skip the part about the copper shim - that is a rework for that exact board. Just be sure to use a good silver based heat-sink compound. I think you will find it works for you. Pay attention to the warning that over-heating the chip will destroy it... but so will running it with an intermittent connection. :)

If you try it, post the results to the community, so others can learn from your success or failure.

Good Luck