1070 died from miscasted fire spell. help me pls...

[TheLostOne]

So my 1070 decided to self-immolate and literally caught fire during possibly the worst time to buy a graphics card so far. 

I'm trying to list my options:

1. Spend way too much money by making scalpers richer.  I really do not want to do this.  Very high possibility of being scammed.  Even if I don't get scammed I'm probably giving money to a scalper or miner who has contributed to the problem. 

2. Wait until the Intel cards come out.  Given they are gen 1 cards they *could* have some issues.  Also they are likely still going to suffer from the chip shortage like the other manufactures. 

3. Look online for parts and schematics to try to solder my old card.  My friends and I know how to solder, but this seems way too advanced.  Also getting the components to do so would probably be near-impossible. 

4. Pray to Savior Linus another VAG drop happens. According to this the last one happened 2021-05-06 20:29 UTC.  Verified Actual Gamer Program Information - General Discussion - Linus Tech Tips.  I really like the fact Linus and his team helped people out, but the chip shortage seems to be getting worse and not better.

  Thus, another drop probably won't happen anytime soon.

5. Camp out at the nearest Microcenter (probably Dallas, TX) when they restock.  Unsure if this will be anytime soon.  Not able to get a confirmed time.  Also the Dallas, Tx store is still a few hours away. 

6. I've already signed up for a few of the "restocks", but please let me know if you have some that you have better luck with. 

 

[Helpful Tech Witch]

Just now, TheLostOne said:

Pray to Savior Linus another VAG drop happens. According to this the last one happened 2021-05-06 20:29 UTC.  Verified Actual Gamer Program Information - General Discussion - Linus Tech Tips.  I really like the fact Linus and his team helped people out, but the chip shortage seems to be getting worse and not better.

  Thus, another drop probably won't happen anytime soon.

You missed it, 100 3080tis dropped in the recent video

 

 

 

 

 

I WOULD NOT TRY TO FIX IT!

Something caused it to catch fire, since you would just fix the cause, just the effect, it may happen again

[TheLostOne]

On a positive note...

 

The fire was pretty neat. 

 

Wish I had a video of it happening.  Had white and blue flames.  Quite pretty.  Happened around the 4th of July so it was really festive for a few seconds until pulled the plug on the power.  

 

Yes, I've been looking for deals for months and I cannot find anything. 

[TheLostOne]

9 minutes ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

You missed it, 100 3080tis dropped in the recent video

 

 

 

 

 

I WOULD NOT TRY TO FIX IT!

Something caused it to catch fire, since you would just fix the cause, just the effect, it may happen again

<feelsBadMan.jpg>
Well realistically I don't think the VAG drop would work out well for me since I'm in Southern USA.   Customs and shipping would probably be a killer.  

Still, good on Linus and his team for helping folks. 
That will still help out by assisting with demand for North America. 

I figured the soldering DYI would be asking for problems... mainly a science experiment than anything. 

[jones177]

I got 2 cards at MSRP using the Newegg Shuffle.

You don't need to go for the ones that have more products attached. I didn't.

 

Also the same sort of thing happened to one of my GTX 980 tis and it was caused my a short in one of the power cables.

 

[TheLostOne]

8 minutes ago, jones177 said:

I got 2 cards at MSRP using the Newegg Shuffle.

You don't need to go for the ones that have more products attached. I didn't.

 

Also the same sort of thing happened to one of my GTX 980 tis and it was caused my a short in one of the power cables.

 

Good info!  Is there a way to safely isolate which cable it was with a volt tester?  Typically I would shy away from doing that with such high amps and voltages.  

The power cable short makes sense.  I'm using a 660 TI right now and it has not blown up yet.  Using different power connection though.  At first I thought it was a pinhole leak with liquid cooling from my CPU, but no matter the CPU test it would not re-leak so to speak. 

[Falkentyne]

50 minutes ago, TheLostOne said:

Good info!  Is there a way to safely isolate which cable it was with a volt tester?  Typically I would shy away from doing that with such high amps and voltages.  

The power cable short makes sense.  I'm using a 660 TI right now and it has not blown up yet.  Using different power connection though.  At first I thought it was a pinhole leak with liquid cooling from my CPU, but no matter the CPU test it would not re-leak so to speak. 

Problem with these failures is

1) did it take out some of the PCB traces, turning it into a mountain rather than a digital highway when the magic smoke came out?  If it did, might as well toss the card (sell it on ebay for parts or not working, with the heatsink--you might get a few quid for it).

 

2) finding out WHAT made the VRM explode to begin with, whether the VRM itself just decided to (Q)uit life itself, or whether you have a short to ground somewhere else (which could mean even if you replaced the components, the same thing would happen again unless you find precisely what caused the failure.  If it was bad solder on the VRM well that's different.

 

I would look for LHR 3060's or (even better) 3060 Ti's or otherwise go for a 3090 FE.  These are the easiest cards to get (people don't like paying for a 3090, and people don't like the performance of a 3060 12 GB).  People HAVE been getting more cards lately.

[jones177]

3 hours ago, TheLostOne said:

Good info!  Is there a way to safely isolate which cable it was with a volt tester?  Typically I would shy away from doing that with such high amps and voltages.  

With the 980 ti I spotted the damage to the cable as I was plugging it into a GTX 1080 I bought as a replacement.

The damage was on the underside of the cable and I think it was caused by the stress of bend near the connector. 

I bought individual sleeved cables as a replacement and they are much more flexible.

3 hours ago, TheLostOne said:

The power cable short makes sense.  I'm using a 660 TI right now and it has not blown up yet.  Using different power connection though.  At first I thought it was a pinhole leak with liquid cooling from my CPU, but no matter the CPU test it would not re-leak so to speak. 

It is good that you have a spare.

 

  

[TheLostOne]

Unfortunately my 660TI will not play any of the newer modern games.  Still good for the classics from 4+ years ago though. 

I really wish there was an option for repair rather than contributing to the global landfill.  

 

If that's not an option does anyone know any reputable GPU recycling?  I know people have tried to scrap PC components for gold and copper.

[Gohardgrandpa]

You have a local microcenter. They get cards, you can get one. 

[TheLostOne]

They are mostly out of stock at the moment, but I'm checking daily. 

 

Also it would be good if there was a way to repair my brick.

[alyen]

Have you checked the online Zotac store? It is only available for US.