Sad day for Brian...

[BrianCapps]

Well, the day started aff well, as I got my watercooler up and running! I was hitting temps of 26 C idle and 29 load. I was psyched man. I couldn't believe the quiet cooling. Well, needless to say, I managed to screw up the day. I was trying to remove the heatsink from my Radeon 64 DDR VIVO when I did the unthinkable- I nicked the card with my screwdriver and broke a couple of traces. My comp posts with the broken card in, but I get no picture.

Here's the deal: I REFUSE to let this card, my baby, die. I need to get that heat sink off, and I need to repair those traces. I've read about defogger paint. What's the best way to apply this? I need some serious help here.

Thanks all- and pray for my Radeon:(

[Placid]

Put scotch tape on both sides of the traces then apply the paint and remove the tape.

[BrianCapps]

Well never mind. I just tried to remove the heat sink again, and pulled off part of the gpu. Goodbye Radeon...

[Zuck Gou :)]

Noooo.... :( :( :(

RIP Radeon.

[Bmxpunk86pl]

that sucks...

[OnDborder]

How did you do that ?


Did you put the card in the freezer first?

[YMAN]

I am sure if you tried to could get that gpu back on.
I have heard it done before!

For the traces however, Hasent anyone heard of trace
repair kits?

Did you crack the GPU itself or did it just come off?

WE WILL FIX THE IMPOSSIBLE!

[YMAN]

Another thing,
WHY DID YOU USE A SCREWDRIVER?

You twist the heatsink not pry,
that is why you gpu came off!
Also thats why you broke traces.

Also running the card you the HS gets
hot then twisting it should have gotten
it off.

Please answer questions in above post
we may still be able to help!!!

[BrianCapps]

Yes, I put the card in the freezer first. I slipped a credit card under the HS and then a screwdriver. Twist, pop, still a piece of the GPU stuck to the HS. I nicked about 3 traces. :(

[YMAN]

Is the GPU cracked or bent?
or is it just half on.

If it is not cracked or bent you might be able
to pull the rest of the GPU off very, very,
carefully - then get a very fine tiped trace
repair pin, quickly put a dot of it on all the
metalic connections that connect it to the card
and with exact percison place it back on the
card and wait for it to dry.

I would not glue/epoxy a heatsink/fan on
unless you use plastic cable straps because
the conductive pen stuff may not be stong
enough to take the full weight strain.

then fix the traces with the conductive pen.
If you did it correctly it sould work great!
you may even superglue the corners of the GPU
to the board to reinforce it, to help prevent it
from falling off again.

- Id say to give this a try, Its a chance at getting
the card to work again!
But be patient and dont go too fast especially when
trying to line up the traces on the bottom of the gpu
to the ones on the board.

[proze]

Originally posted by BrianCapps
still a piece of the GPU stuck to the HS.

the card is screwed and beyond repair. save yourself the effort... if you've broken a bit off the gpu, then i'm afraid there's no saving grace here, it's time to buy another vid card. unlucky man, that really blows.

and you can't bend a gpu... it's a silicon chip inside a hard plastic substrate. crack, yes.. bend, no.

[BrianCapps]

Yman, you sound like you know what you're talkin about. You wanna give it a shot? I'll send you the card, and if it works, I;ll pay ya for it. Whaddaya think?

[YMAN]

I will take it into consideration, But I cannot guarantee that
it will work. It depends on if the core is damaged and the type
of connection that the core has to the board.
I will think about it, and do some research on your card...

Do you have a digital camera?
If you do post some pictures of the damage and
of the board ect.

[BrianCapps]

Here's a few pics:

[Quizno]

hmmm...i think thats saveable. if im not mistaken, the section that is ripped of is not actually part of the GPU(just there to make it into a square shape). the metal circle part is the GPU, and that looks intact.

my guess would be, all ya gotta do is reconnect those traces you cut and it should work fine.

im no expert though....havent seen it up close, so i may be wrong.

[YMAN]

He is right that circle is most likely the GPU!
I would not put a HSF ontop of that circle though
as it would be pure silicon and you coud damage
the core easily.
there has to be some type of case put on it...

If that is the core, you riped the GPU apart literally!
but it should still work.

you will need some way, maybe rubber washers to
keep the HSF off that silicon core. then use Artic silver 2
a THICK layer ontop of that core. to transfer the heat away.
DO NOT USE EPOXY OR ANY OTHER FORM OF GLUE ON THE CORE!
I have to think of a way to keap the heasink on though.
maybe some plastic cable straps...

WAIT!
Use thick thermal transfer tape and cut a hole in the middle
of it (for the core to fit in) then get another peice to go over
the core & the other thermal tape, that was already applied.
Then strap down the HSF with cable straps. Yes, I sayed
strap it down, we will need a small amount of force holding the
HSF to the tape...The tape will prevent the HSF from sliding &
be the thermal transfer stuff.
It wil not be the best but atleast you will not need another card.
(so long as the core is intact and the theory of that circle being
the core)
I belive however that that circle IS the core.

For the traces use a conductive ink trace pen.

[Quizno]

actually YMAN, that circle part is directly in contact with my HSF. that the way it is with mine, the hard plastic surrounds it while that metal circle is in direct contact with the heatsink. in fact, that metal circle has the whole radeon logo and everything written on it. there must be a layer of aluminum or something covering the actual silicone.

id say just reconnect those traces, attach a new hsf(normal methods should work) and all should be well.

[YMAN]

ho, so it has a logo?
Then it does have a protective covering!
I would use exream caution though.
(they have the plastic box for a reason)

And use only chipset coolers, No CPU coolers that
would be heavier than a chipset cooler!

[YMAN]

If there is a protective coating.............

Phase 1:
Remove the silicone thermal transfer junk
from around the core and ontop the core.
Check to see if there is anything printed on
the core, if there is proceed.
Deside on a chipset cooler.
It will be permanent!
Get one, that you can replace the fan on
if it were to fail!
Once you deside on a cooler, get some artic
silver thermal epoxy, spread it over the core
and attach the chipset cooler to the core.
let the epoxy dry.

Phase 2:
Get a conductive ink trace pen.
use the pen to repair the taces.
make sure that the traces that you repaired are
not touching each other. (shorted)
Let the ink dry.

Phase 3:
Test the card
if it works, you are one lucky person!
If it fails check everything over.
(especially the traces)

------------------------

Please keep us posted on what you deside to
do and what happens.

[BrianCapps]

Well, that sounds reassuring. Now what I'm really worried about is, If you look just below the core, there is damage to the green 'thing' (technical term) it sits on. What is this? Does it matter? Ahh- don't get my hopes up! How hard is reconnecting traces?

[YMAN]

I can see the damage to the "green" part.
However what is that gold stuff above it?
Do you see traces in the green part?
It the damage on the surface of the "green" thing only?

I cannot see because the pic is too small and it needs
more detail, if you can make it bigger please do so.
It does from my view look operable after repair.

[BrianCapps]

Sorry for the quality of the pics- thats as big as they get. I'm using a webcam. I have no idea what the gold stuff is; it's more rust-colored in real life. The damage seems to be on the surface only, and if there are traces, they did a real good job of hiding them. I'll try picking up a trace pen at ratshack on monday...

[Angry]

I dont have any experience with that silver or aluminum (or whatever its is) but I have experience with that green sideing around the chip, It has traces in it. They are very small. VERY VERY small in fact. but they are there.
Now if that green "sideing" is cracked then so are teh traces, but if u can push that back up or down and reconnect them ( would need a microscope or something of high power) it should work.

I had to RMA my ATI Radeon SDR (Same chip diff memory)
When the green sideing got cracked. I can take my card to school tommrow and get some good pictures of it maybe. (Im going to take the stock heatsink off).

Laterz.

[YMAN]

I thought there would be traces in the green part.
they are usually repairable with a very thin (fine) conductive
pen. Mainy due to the fact that the traces are usually spread
out.

When you get a conductive pen, GET THE MOST FINE (thin tiped)
ONE YOU CAN FIND! This is very, very, very, important.

[YMAN]

.....So did you get a trace pen?
How did it go?

[YMAN]

I havent heard from you in a while! :(

How did it go, what are you doing?
I have not lost hope.

[YMAN]

I contacted ATI and they replied:

Thank you for contacting ATI Technical Support Canada.

This email is being sent to you because you either requested warranty service, or we have determined that you require warranty service for your ATI product based on the email we received.

Most ATI products are covered by a 5 year limited warranty from the date of purchase. In this time, ATI will repair or replace your product free of charge. The only expense to you is shipping and handling to ATI.

You may also consider returning your defective product to your original vendor to save time and/or shipping/handling charges.

If you would like to proceed to have your product serviced by ATI, then please take the time to fill out the Online Warranty Service Request form at:

https://apps.ati.com/rma/rma.html

Remember that omissions or inaccuracies may prolong this procedure.

If you're display adapter came preinstalled in an Apple system, please contact Apple for all Technical Support and Warranty Service for this product. Removing it yourself may void your Apple warranty.

You may also consider using the new SEARCH ATI function on our web site. It can be found at:

http://support.ati.com/search/index.html.

If your question is not answered, or you have a technical issue, other than a RMA, please re-submit your query via our Online "Request for Assistance" form available at:

http://apps.ati.com/cservice/webform.asp

The details requested in this form will assist us in providing you with the most accurate information available for your situation.

Regards,


Technical Support Canada
ATI Technologies, Inc.

http://www.ati.com for Sales/Marketing and Product Information
http://support.ati.com for Technical Support, Driver Download, FAQ's, etc.


- Hope this helps, Dont know why they sent this type of e-mail
when you are accountable for the damage.
Just say this metal thing (heatsink) fell off the card.
...This is if all elts fails
Note: I am not in Canada, That was were the E-mail was sent from?

[DarkInferno_IV]

Sorry.
That Radeon is dead. There are microscopic gold wires inside the GPU plastic for connections. Even if you were to get it working, the side of the uncooled core would blow. Just run 110v through it to hide the damage, and say "It just sort of died on me".

[BrianCapps]

Thanks for the help all. I may try to RMA it, but I doubt it will work.

Also- Don't give my any of that bullplop about RMAing crap. I've heard it all already. :D

[YMAN]

YOU REPLIED!!!
I thought for a minute you tried running 110V through
the video card!!! & failed at it! :D :D :D

Zap ~ Sirens in the backround

[BrianCapps]

Hey- sorry. I figured that this tread was dead. Thanks for the help. I have an interim GF2 Pro in the mail, so If I can get this card fixed, uh, I have 2 nice cards! Woohoo!

[YMAN]

Go Nvidia!!!

[proze]

Originally posted by DarkInferno_IV
Sorry.
That Radeon is dead. There are microscopic gold wires inside the GPU plastic for connections. Even if you were to get it working, the side of the uncooled core would blow. Just run 110v through it to hide the damage, and say "It just sort of died on me".

finally!! someone else with his head screwed on straight. that card was busted from the beginning, and no conductive pen or anything else was gonna save it. i'm glad you got yourself a new card, brian, and stopped trying to fix the unfixable.

[YMAN]

Originally posted by proze


finally!! someone else with his head screwed on straight. that card was busted from the beginning, and no conductive pen or anything else was gonna save it. i'm glad you got yourself a new card, brian, and stopped trying to fix the unfixable.

My head is screwed on straight, I have seen it done...
Even with the GPU 100% detached!

[blackjackel]

GPU 100% detatched? uuuh i dont know if i believe that, thats something ones gotta see to believe, as for that dead card would you send it over for shipping? I'll take a look at it, i cant see the pic no more unforetunately

[Overclocker550]

holy thread resurrection from 2001 LOL

[sup3rcarrx8]

Yeah. Whoever revived this thread must be a real hardcore person. :eek:

[SimGuy]

I wondered why someone was balling their eyes out over a damaged Radeon DDR in this day and age of Radeon 9800's and such. :D

Then I saw the post dates and realized I would have cried too at that point (2001). :)

[Overclocker550]

that was a $400 card back then. now I wouldnt even care, its a piece of crap, pretty much a paperweight

[Nephewkp]

Hey, I sold mine to a member here for $20 last week. I think it is worth more than a paperweight.