I got scammed on an rx 580 and now I need help - sorry.

[Guest]

I would like to preface this by saying that I wasn't exactly scammed, since I didn't pay cash for the GPU, I instead traded some old pc hardware (that I wasn't using anyway, so I haven't lost too much).

 

Pretty much I got this rx 580 4gb MSI card on kijiji, and I've spent about 6 hours troubleshooting it to make sure that the gpu is specifically not working.

 

When I plug the rx 580 in it has these large vertical lines (see first photo). I have verified that this is not an integrated graphics nor a monitor issue. I updated the drivers, and it appears as "rx 580" in device manager (see first photo), but it has the "Code 43" error. Interestingly enough, even though I have my HDMI plugged into the GPU, when I open task manager the GPU doesn't even appear, and it seems that I am running on integrated graphics (which is fed through the GPU somehow... but still has the error on the screen). 

 

Another important thing is that the fans on the GPU don't spin, and even though it doesn't seem to be doing anything it still gets hot. I put some fans directly against it and the lines still appeared, so it's not a temperature problem. Also, it only ran on my newer motherboard (aorus x370 master I think) not my old motherboard (MSI B85M-G43) but didn't update the drivers before I ran it on my old motherboard.

 

I'm not sure if the vertical lines are "artifacting" or "corruption" or whatever since I'm not a GPU expert.

 

 

I live near Toronto, and the lowest estimate place I could find (after a few hours of looking online) was $40 for a diagnostic, and POSSIBLY another $160 for repairs. 

 

My question is: Can I, personally, fix this issue? If I need to get it repaired, does anyone know a better place near Toronto? How expensive would repairs be (is this a big issue)? 

 

I'm sorry for wasting people's time, I just spent so long on this and I've gotten nowhere.

[doomsriker]

Probably a VRAM issue. Best first step is to carefully tare down the card and clean it and the heat sink thoroughly before applying new thermal paste and putting it back together. If that doesn’t work than your only real option without taking it to a professional is whipping out the heat gun and hoping for the best. I’ll link a video that goes more in depth on this. 
 

 

[HeroRareheart]

before you do anything more install and run GPUz as it can often detect if a card is a fake or not with good accuracy. If it reports the card as legit then based off the picture it looks like component level repair will be necessary to fix the GPU. Although component level repair can be difficult and sometimes costly I'd recommend it if you have the skillset for it or know someone who can do it in the area with a good reputation.

[Alvin853]

6 minutes ago, doomsriker said:

Probably a VRAM issue. Best first step is to carefully tare down the card and clean it and the heat sink thoroughly before applying new thermal paste and putting it back together. If that doesn’t work than your only real option without taking it to a professional is whipping out the heat gun and hoping for the best. I’ll link a video that goes more in depth on this. 
 

 

Yeah that definetely looks like VRAM, or in the worst case faulty memory controller.

 

Don't use a heat gun/oven if you want to use the card for more than a couple of months. Yes reflowing might fix the current issue, but it will cause a lot of oxidation on all solder joints that got heated up and they will corrode over time. Right now it might just be one component that needs to be replaced, after heating up it will be many, and then it's impossible to fix the next time you have an issue.

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, doomsriker said:

Probably a VRAM issue. Best first step is to carefully tare down the card and clean it and the heat sink thoroughly before applying new thermal paste and putting it back together. If that doesn’t work than your only real option without taking it to a professional is whipping out the heat gun and hoping for the best. I’ll link a video that goes more in depth on this. 
 

 

Thanks, I will try cleaning it. I don't own a heat gun, but would an oven work too? I have an extra toaster oven, I just don't know if it's safe. I would rather not damage it more.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Alvin853 said:

Yeah that definetely looks like VRAM, or in the worst case faulty memory controller.

 

Don't use a heat gun/oven if you want to use the card for more than a couple of months. Yes reflowing might fix the current issue, but it will cause a lot of oxidation on all solder joints that got heated up and they will corrode over time. Right now it might just be one component that needs to be replaced, after heating up it will be many, and then it's impossible to fix the next time you have an issue.

How hard is a faulty memory controller to fix? I'd be fine sending it to get repaired if it's pretty cheap, but I don't want to waste $40 on the diagnostic and then say "no".

[doomsriker]

2 minutes ago, Noahew12 said:

Thanks, I will try cleaning it. I don't own a heat gun, but would an oven work too? I have an extra toaster oven, I just don't know if it's safe. I would rather not damage it more.

It might work but it is a lot more risky for long term life of the card than a heat gun. Just make sure you never cook in the oven again if you try that as it will no longer be safe to do so. 

[Alvin853]

2 minutes ago, Noahew12 said:

How hard is a faulty memory controller to fix? I'd be fine sending it to get repaired if it's pretty cheap, but I don't want to waste $40 on the diagnostic and then say "no".

Memory controller is inside the GPU chip, so that's impossible to fix. For high end cards, you could try sourcing a replacement chip and transfer it over, but hat requires special equipment that only very few repair shops have and it's very expensive. Not worth it for an RX 580, that kind of repair will probably be $500+

[Alvin853]

This guy on YT runs a graphics card repair business, he has a lot of experience and recently had an issue that looks almost identical to yours. Maybe try contacting him, he might know if this is a common issue with RX580 and it can always be solved the same way:
 

 

Please note: there has been some controvery around this individual over on reddit recently, he has his standpoint as a business owner that not everyone agrees with. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Caroline said:

VRAM is damaged by years of nonstop mining, can bet on it. Now, about that Code 43 you're getting, I've seen it before and 9/10 times it's caused by a third party/modded VBIOS in the card, check what GPU-Z tells you about it about clocks and compare it against the data provided by the manufacturer's site, in this case, MSI.

If the VBIOS has been modified you can still flash the original back and hope it fixes the artifacting, if it doesn't, it's a hardware issue, prolly caused by a careless miner running the card without any tweaking and over 75C+ at all times.

 

The chances of the memory controller being damaged are slim to none so I wouldn't worry too much about that in particular. Baking won't fix a damaged mem chip but it might help so use it as a last resort.

thanks, I'll check GPU-Z tomorrow morning

[Guest]

On 2/27/2022 at 4:05 PM, Alvin853 said:

This guy on YT runs a graphics card repair business, he has a lot of experience and recently had an issue that looks almost identical to yours. Maybe try contacting him, he might know if this is a common issue with RX580 and it can always be solved the same way:
 

 

Please note: there has been some controvery around this individual over on reddit recently, he has his standpoint as a business owner that not everyone agrees with. 

I contacted him but he just said "I don't take 4gb RX 580s for repair given that I charge at minimum $125 before parts and shipping."

 

I feel like my best option right now is to try to get it repaired at a local shop... but if its too pricy, which I'm not sure if it will be, I simply can't afford it..