Saved an RTX 2080 Ti from being e-wasted.....

[93SHADoW]

On Sunday, while I was working at an e-waste dropoff/collection event, one guy came to drop off all sorts of unwanted peripherals inside a box, and immediately, I spotted what appeared to be an EVGA graphics card that was taken apart and asked the guy if the card worked. He claimed that it apparently burned out and couldn't get it to work.

 

After clearing the box, I found the waterblock (an EVGA hydro copper) and the backplate, but the mounting plate was missing, as were the screws to hold everything together. The GPU die had "TU-102" on it, and sure enough, the backplate had "EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti", as did the side of the waterblock.

 

 

Flash forward to yesterday, after digging out my tube of Artic MX-4 thermal paste, and enough screws to hold the backplate and waterblock in place, I put in some chilled distilled water, just enough to keep the card cool to see if I would get a video signal. Sure enough, the card came to life and was able to get a video signal without any artifacting at all while exploring the bios (I only tested it enough just to see if I got a video output and if it did, to see if there was any artifacting, didn't boot to windows as the water was only cold enough to last for a quick test)

 

 

 

After a quick google search, it turned out to be an EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti XC Ultra, with the Hydro Copper kit.

 

 

Now all that's left is to find a new mounting bracket, and descale the waterblock (although I may convert it to air cooling, or at least get the NXZT or EVGA hybrid kit) and then I can do further testing.

 

What probably happened is poor maintenance on the previous owner's part, as the waterblock does have a significant clog, and it got to the point that the card triggered its thermal protection, and he probably thought it was fried as a result.

 

Can't beat a free 2080 Ti

[Mando772004]

18 minutes ago, 93SHADoW said:

On Sunday, while I was working at an e-waste dropoff/collection event, one guy came to drop off all sorts of unwanted peripherals inside a box, and immediately, I spotted what appeared to be an EVGA graphics card that was taken apart and asked the guy if the card worked. He claimed that it apparently burned out and couldn't get it to work.

 

After clearing the box, I found the waterblock (an EVGA hydro copper) and the backplate, but the mounting plate was missing, as were the screws to hold everything together. The GPU die had "TU-102" on it, and sure enough, the backplate had "EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti", as did the side of the waterblock.

 

 

Flash forward to yesterday, after digging out my tube of Artic MX-4 thermal paste, and enough screws to hold the backplate and waterblock in place, I put in some chilled distilled water, just enough to keep the card cool to see if I would get a video signal. Sure enough, the card came to life and was able to get a video signal without any artifacting at all while exploring the bios (I only tested it enough just to see if I got a video output and if it did, to see if there was any artifacting, didn't boot to windows as the water was only cold enough to last for a quick test)

 

 

 

After a quick google search, it turned out to be an EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti XC Ultra, with the Hydro Copper kit.

 

 

Now all that's left is to find a new mounting bracket, and descale the waterblock (although I may convert it to air cooling, or at least get the NXZT or EVGA hybrid kit) and then I can do further testing.

 

What probably happened is poor maintenance on the previous owner's part, as the waterblock does have a significant clog, and it got to the point that the card triggered its thermal protection, and he probably thought it was fried as a result.

 

Can't beat a free 2080 Ti

you hit the jackpot. if you can get this thing to work and oc it man itll be a beast

[Boomy Beatle]

Score of a lifetime right there.

[Boomwebsearch]

13 minutes ago, 93SHADoW said:

On Sunday, while I was working at an e-waste dropoff/collection event, one guy came to drop off all sorts of unwanted peripherals inside a box, and immediately, I spotted what appeared to be an EVGA graphics card that was taken apart and asked the guy if the card worked. He claimed that it apparently burned out and couldn't get it to work.

 

After clearing the box, I found the waterblock (an EVGA hydro copper) and the backplate, but the mounting plate was missing, as were the screws to hold everything together. The GPU die had "TU-102" on it, and sure enough, the backplate had "EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti", as did the side of the waterblock.

 

 

Flash forward to yesterday, after digging out my tube of Artic MX-4 thermal paste, and enough screws to hold the backplate and waterblock in place, I put in some chilled distilled water, just enough to keep the card cool to see if I would get a video signal. Sure enough, the card came to life and was able to get a video signal without any artifacting at all while exploring the bios (I only tested it enough just to see if I got a video output and if it did, to see if there was any artifacting, didn't boot to windows as the water was only cold enough to last for a quick test)

 

 

 

After a quick google search, it turned out to be an EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti XC Ultra, with the Hydro Copper kit.

 

 

Now all that's left is to find a new mounting bracket, and descale the waterblock (although I may convert it to air cooling, or at least get the NXZT or EVGA hybrid kit) and then I can do further testing.

 

What probably happened is poor maintenance on the previous owner's part, as the waterblock does have a significant clog, and it got to the point that the card triggered its thermal protection, and he probably thought it was fried as a result.

 

Can't beat a free 2080 Ti

 

Yeah, you can definitely get a ton of old computers/components that still work at some e-waste / metal recycling places for free or extremely cheap (basically the price of the scrap metal). Most of the ones you find are pretty old and not that usable today, you're very lucky finding this RTX 2080Ti, hope you will be able to get it working like new!

[da na]

That's pretty insane... really hope you can get the card working again since that's a beast!

[93SHADoW]

And now the quest is to find a spare 2080 Ti XC heatsink and fan assembly, as a spare. I intend to use this with my Ryzen 9 sleeper build, so finding a capable 92mm radiator for a custom loop may be tricky as the case its in limits the rear fan to only 92mm and wish to retain its sleeper status, although I may build an intake shroud for the intake fan (the only space for a 120mm fan is in the bottom of the case and not completely sure if it will properly fit).

[XnonXte]

Bruh how lucky you got a Free RTX 2080 TI, Man you got lucky... If you can get this to work I'll be surprised