Forum > GPU crunching
How to reanimate GPU?
Raistmer:
Maybe any suggestions, please?
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=63230
Jason G:
--- Quote from: Raistmer on 18 Feb 2011, 03:18:30 am ---Maybe any suggestions, please?
http://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=63230
--- End quote ---
You mentioned oil droplets, possibly from the cooling. An aftermarket cooler can be obtained with new heatpipes etc if that's the case, or water cooling, so that part is replaceable most likely.
Have a close look with a magnifier around the solid capacitors in the power supply area for contamination of that substance, it might be those instead of the cooling & the droplets travelld due to air movement. If they look a bit raised with a weird substance, then they are fried. Replaceing those is very difficult to do safely on multilayer boards properly, & not worth the effort IMO, (but can be done). There is no guarantee other parts weren't taken out with the buck converter failure though (if that is what happened).
Last possibility, off the top of my head, is some fault under the GPU itself with the BGA solder balls cracking, or other components with defective solder joints on the board. There is a last ditch chance you can try , by removing all plastic parts and sticking in the oven to reflow the joints... :-\ (Note: can't do that if there are components on both sides ... they'll fall off ::) )
[Edit:] By the way, In a slightly similar situation, had received a dodgily soldered circuit board prototype the other day, with leadless chips poorly soldered on. It took me an hour of fighting with the guy that brought the board to let me fix it, and 30 seconds to fix it, by applying liquid flux to the top of the chip & applying a fencepost soldering iron to reflow the joints ... works great now & the method I used is pretty similar to how the chips are fitted in the factory.
The tools & skills needed to repair surface mount aren't that high tech, and the original manufacture techniques aren't that special either.
Raistmer:
What puzzles me - there is no dark areas on board while I definitely heard spark sound (so there was short circuit somewhere) and feelt smell of burning.
Weak joints hardly an option IMHO - card worked few years already and this night there was no mechancal movement.... will look for capacitors and other areas...
Jason G:
--- Quote from: Raistmer on 18 Feb 2011, 03:58:36 am --- will look for capacitors and other areas...
--- End quote ---
Look for fingerprints while you are there ... those are evil :o if there for a long duration (but no failure until 'dendritic salt growths' have time to form & short the tracks, you can only see those with a microscope, but the fingerprints are a giveaway. )
skildude:
I think those oily spots on the memory chips is ominous. thats probably what blew. Just for kicks try and smell them. See if thats what was burning
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