• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

SOLVED Help me with a HD 4890 that died...

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

Mjolnir

Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2009
Location
Sydney, Australia
I built a computer for a friend a while ago (like 2 years), and his HIS HD 4890 died on him recently. He said his computer just BSOD' and he said he smelt something.. As if something singed. Then when he tried to reboot, the computer just beeped at him, and the fan on the card ran at 100%. Doesn't work at all, I've yet to try it in my system. I was going to attempt to take off the HSF, and re-apply thermal paste and all that jazz.. Just to see if it makes a difference.. Though I'm fairly certain its gone. Any ideas? Or what might've caused this? He ordered a HD 6950 2GB to replace it. I'm assuming it was an overheating issue..

Thanks guys.

EDIT: Extra info.. Opened up the card. One of the VDDC thingies looks like its actually fried.. It's singed around the chip. And the thermal pad is partially burnt too. I guess it's dead beyond repair then?
 
Last edited:
That card is a gonner. If there are visible signs of damage, I wouldn't even bother trying it in your rig, you could be risking ruining your own components. It was probably overheated. Although it could have been a power issue. My 4890 is still running strong in my wife's rig, but I've known plenty of individuals whose 4890s had short lifespans bc of overheating, power surges and shorting out. RIP...
 
That card is a gonner. If there are visible signs of damage, I wouldn't even bother trying it in your rig, you could be risking ruining your own components. It was probably overheated. Although it could have been a power issue. My 4890 is still running strong in my wife's rig, but I've known plenty of individuals whose 4890s had short lifespans bc of overheating, power surges and shorting out. RIP...

Ya.. One of the VDDC chips is partially melted under it.. I've already just taken the screws and put them away for later use haha. Salvaging screws! I have so many! Gonna throw it out for sure.. Thanks. I'll move this to solved then, no point it being out there lol. Well my HD 5850 VDDC at some point before I got my new cooler, the temps were hitting 120-130 degrees OC'd, so I stopped OC'ing, now they don't pass 80 with the new cooler. So it must've been something weird going on to make it 'burst' like that.. Or a surge or something I guess.

I've lent him my 8500GT. He only really plays low-end games and WoW so it runs everything fine on low/fair haha. And he's not meticulous on graphics and details, as long as he can play it. Thanks for the reply.
 
Back