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So I need your help, Retro

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by amphobius, Oct 26, 2010.

  1. amphobius

    amphobius

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    Some time ago, like, December last year, my graphic card went poof. My card is a nVidia GeForce GTX 400, however, I can only find this out by going to nVidia's site and not dxdiag. Before, there were unnoticable gray lines if I ran in 16-bit (yes, 16-bit :argh:), some months ago these turned green but were only noticable on dark backgrounds, and now these lines are cyan and noticable over everything.

    I have no idea as to why this happened and I have no idea on a cheap, free solution. The best solution, obviously, would be to get a new card, but I'd really like my old luxury back of proper 3D gaming.

    So... any help? :flunked:

    EDIT: To add to misery, the only resolution I've got is 800x600 after playing Sonic Axiom. Yes, I am serious.
     
  2. Foxsnipe

    Foxsnipe

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    Sounds like the GPU is failing and corrupting the output. There's a chance it could be the monitor, so if you have another computer, console, or something to hook up to it, do so just to confirm.

    Have you contacted the manufacturer to see about a warranty repair/replacement? Some of them have a lifetime warranty (depending on the card model). Even if you are out of warranty, it wouldn't hurt to ask them since it might be a cheaper alternative than buying new.

    Something tells me though it's not a GTX 400. That line of cards didn't even officially launch until April of this year. I can't see how it would be a GeForce 4 since those are ancient by computer standards (released in 2002). If you can find a model/product number on a labels somewhere it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what it is and get a comparable replacement card.
     
  3. TmEE

    TmEE

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    VRAM issue or GPU problem most likely... there's some possible fixes (like heatgunning, don't oven it, you will ruin the caps and cause heat damage to other components), but if it has warranty, use it instead
     
  4. Spanner

    Spanner

    The Tool Member
    I've told you various times that you need to buy a new graphics card. Your old one is fucked, convince your parents that the only way the computer is going to be fine is if a new one is bought and installed.
     
  5. Foxsnipe

    Foxsnipe

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    DO NOT DO THIS!

    That ONLY helps reflow the solder if the solder points are cracked or broken, and is nothing but a temporary fix. As TmEE also said, you are ruining the other components on the board. If it is a poor solder point, a heatgun will fix it since it focuses the heat on the actual solder point, but based on what you described I sincerely doubt it's a problem with circuitry. More likely the GPU itself is just frying or the card is overheating, but not quite to the point of total failure or lockup. Regardless, the card is on its way out.
     
  6. amphobius

    amphobius

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    Something tells me you're correct; there's the chance I didn't get the check done correctly.

    However, I cannot find out what card I have currently without opening up the CPU, and as I myself don't want to take the risk of getting into trouble with my parents, I'm not going to.

    However, I've said countless times to them to get a new graphics card and instead they aren't—they say they're expensive, but from what I've learned in my GCSE class it's quite different. I really don't know what to do right now. :(

    About warranty, the computer was custom built, so I'm not sure on that one.
     
  7. DO NOT DO THIS you say?

    OK well learn to know what you're talking about first. TmEE has a point but it's not very relevant, as I explain below. BTW: My old GF4 MX440 is working since May 2009 with the oven fix, as did my old laptop's X700.

    During the manufacturing process the card also has to withstand a similar amount of heat for a similar amount of time. The amount and duration of heat it is subjected to in the oven method is not terribly significant if the card is on its death bed anyway, what's there to lose?

    Plus, the lines and graphic failures he describes can very well be related to broken solder joints.

    And of course, do not do the oven thing when you still have warranty (obviously)
     
  8. Foxsnipe

    Foxsnipe

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    I don't want this to turn into an argument but I've been doing professional tech support for years, both at a multi-national company supporting a local branch and at a university. If you value electronics, you do not subject them to additional heat, wear, or stress (especially when it's just to put a small bandage on a gash). Everytime I've seen something like this it was either an overheat problem or the signs of a more critical failure.

    People used the same method to get a few more days out of their Xbox 360s that were overheating and it was pointless since it will just overheat again soon after. In the 360's case, the problem is poor understanding of lead-free solder. They either didn't do the original flow at a high enough temperature, or used solder not meant for such high temperatures, so it cracked from repeatedly melting and reflowing.

    Most screen corruption issues stem from either failing VRAM or the GPU itself, since the heat is creating poor mathematical calculations (just like when people stress test their overclocked CPUs, once a calculation results in an unexpected value, the test is failed and the overclocked considered unstable). Poor solder points would result in no picture at all due to the break in electronic signal.

    It's still rather stupid to subject the card to even more abuse, especially when it could mean a blown cap.
     
  9. How good for you, then.

    Poor solder points do not at all mean that the graphics card stops functioning at all.

    If you have cracked joints on the RAM chips for example, data doesn't go where it's supposed to go, or similar scenarios to that. Therefore a screen corruption like that occurs.

    And It is not a discussion argument that "If you value electronics, you do not subject them to additional heat" in any case like this. If you want to fix this thing in a more professional manner, you have to buy equipment for a price that is not worth it when the oven method is working out.

    Plus if the card has Polymer caps. why not?

    Anyway

    I have better things to do now than to discuss this.

    Have fun.
     
  10. Sintendo

    Sintendo

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    You could identify your card by it's hardware ID. Go to Device Manager, open up the properties for your display adapter, select the details tab and select "Hardware Ids" in the drop down menu. Copy what it displays there. It should look like this:

    PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_9460&SUBSYS_031E1043&REV_00