We Bought 6 Dead GPUs. Can We Fix Them? (SPONSORED)

[SeanLMG]

Thanks to ORIGIN PC for sponsoring this video!

To learn more about the ORIGIN PC Millennium 5000T and Intel’s 12th-Generation processors, click here: https://bit.ly/3IFZQY9

 

We bought 6 very dead and very expensive GPUs from eBay. Can we fix them?

 

 

 

[emosun]

I bet anything there was at least 1 that simply worked fine and wasn't dead , thats my prewatch prediction.

[SkyStreaker]

It gets deleted, but some problems people run in with their 2nd-hand GPU's is that some have a dated GOP-driver. Booting a system up in legacy-mode sometimes is enough. Perhaps a video covering updating the GOP-driver of a vBIOS is informative. I had to do it for my Sapphire Fury Tri-X to be able run it in UEFI-mode on my x570 board.

[TheCod3r]

You guys said you were interested to know where to get GDDR6 modules from. I'm a technician from across the pond, and I'd be happy to reball some salvage modules from PS5 donor boards and send them over

[Nystemy]

1:30 in and mistakes are already being made that shouldn't be made...
When it comes to electronics, just applying power isn't usually a smart move. All though, the card has likely seen power while dead already, so this isn't the worst thing in the world by far. But for electronics in general it isn't wise to just apply power, do some analysis first, look for corrosion, broken components, shorts, odd dust, various liquids.

 

The tip about compressed air and fans is decent. The protection diodes aren't really "protecting" for a continuously spinning fan running at an RPM much higher than it ever were designed for. However, a slow spin isn't technically worth worrying about. (slow as in 100-400 RPM) 

 

And at 5:40 Alex gets redemption, for the mistake at 1:30.
 

The PCIe capacitor for the Dell OEM card isn't usually too hard to source. But one can just remove the other 15 capacitors and permanently make it an 8x card, however, one also needs to cut the 16x sens pin as well. But since this card also has some other issues visible, like the burn mark on the other side of the card, then we likely have more problems to contend with.

 

I will however have to say that at least my own oven can get above 190 degrees C needed to reflow lead free solder, however, just chucking a card into an oven is still a stupid thing to do. Especially leave it in there for a few minutes. A proper reflow oven will only have the card above the melting point of solder for about 30-90 seconds depending on the thermal mass of the components and board. And without flux, it is going to be nothing but a shit show, especially if the board isn't properly clean.

 

But at least the oven method isn't as horrendous as the rice method, since putting wet electronics in rice doesn't fix corrosion, it doesn't clean away conductive gunk, nor does it stop a battery from eating away any wet traces... But wet electronics is however not a problem as long as they aren't powered, so if you can then remove the battery if the device isn't "water proof".

 

Also, to be honest.

Getting as many cards to work as you did is quite good. But the second hand price for some of these cards are just stupidly high... And the high price is one of the main things holding back repair shops.

[Casper5114]

2 hours ago, SeanLMG said:

Thanks to ORIGIN PC for sponsoring this video!

To learn more about the ORIGIN PC Millennium 5000T and Intel’s 12th-Generation processors, click here: https://bit.ly/3IFZQY9

 

We bought 6 very dead and very expensive GPUs from eBay. Can we fix them?

 

 

 

there's someone in Egypt repairs GPU's and replacing the die or the gddr6x

[Kisai]

2 hours ago, SeanLMG said:

Thanks to ORIGIN PC for sponsoring this video!

To learn more about the ORIGIN PC Millennium 5000T and Intel’s 12th-Generation processors, click here: https://bit.ly/3IFZQY9

 

We bought 6 very dead and very expensive GPUs from eBay. Can we fix them?

 

 

 

I already watched this one, and it was pretty much as predicted. The most expensive ones didn't work and couldn't be fixed. The cheaper ones only needed like some TLC. Overall not worth the cost.

 

Like, IMO, this goes for 90% of computer hardware, "for parts only" = "I can't make it work, and it's already beyond saving"

 

If you can't get a photo of the thing in question, (especially in the case of a MB, CPU, GPU or RAM) then I'd avoid it entirely, as the photo will reveal to exactly what kind of damage it has. If the seller is unwilling to show you a photo, it's probably damage they caused to it.

 

Most "parts only" stuff can only be fixed if it's not overly covered in surface-mount parts. Like you're more likely to be able to fix a NES from the 80's, or a VHS tape deck than you are a 2010's or 2020's piece of hardware. I've watched other videos on repairing things, and usually the only time you run into stuff that is repairable is if the manufacturer made it repairable with the expectation of that problem.

[Kisai]

14 minutes ago, Nystemy said:

 

 

The tip about compressed air and fans is decent. The protection diodes aren't really "protecting" for a continuously spinning fan running at an RPM much higher than it ever were designed for. However, a slow spin isn't technically worth worrying about. (slow as in 100-400 RPM) 

 

People have used high power shop air compressors, just as often as canned air, and the fan easily starts making a the sound of a kazoo. Trust me, this absolutely will kill whatever it's attached to.

 

[Nystemy]

Just now, Kisai said:

People have used high power shop air compressors, just as often as canned air, and the fan easily starts making a the sound of a kazoo. Trust me, this absolutely will kill whatever it's attached to.

 

Yes, it will likely fail if spun freely with an air compressor. And I did say exactly that.

" The protection diodes aren't really "protecting" for a continuously spinning fan running at an RPM much higher than it ever were designed for."

[Nystemy]

17 minutes ago, Kisai said:

Most "parts only" stuff can only be fixed if it's not overly covered in surface-mount parts. Like you're more likely to be able to fix a NES from the 80's, or a VHS tape deck than you are a 2010's or 2020's piece of hardware. I've watched other videos on repairing things, and usually the only time you run into stuff that is repairable is if the manufacturer made it repairable with the expectation of that problem.

Personally surface mount components aren't that hard to deal with. And at times easier to repair than through hole components, since getting the components off from the board is quite easy with proper tools. Nor are the tools particularly expensive.

 

Louis Rossmann is a good example of how to repair computers. And he and his team repairs Apple products, the company that is infamous for making their products far from easily repaired. _{(though, with as many users and dead products, it is a niche that is easily homed in on, unlike the rest of the PC industry with its million of different products.)}
 

But if one has 3-4 of the same product, getting 2-3 of them to work is typically not too hard if one has a decent understanding of electrical theory, component knowledge and sufficient experience working with such components. _{(Ie, the first time one tries to solder an 0805 resistor it will be shit, and it can take a few hundred attempts to get things looking decent. Then one has the smaller 0603, 0402 packages to contend with, not to mention other fiddly packages. But it is all a problem one can throw time and money at and get better at working with. Here cheap broken boards are a good start, preferably boards that has no hope for any more life at all, else give it a proper attempt at fixing it.)}

 

I myself work in low volume electronics production, and repairing/amending boards is part of the job. _{(sometimes one gets a customer that wants one to replace a component on 400+ boards, then one knows what one will be doing for the next few hours.)}

[nexusmaniac]

That (Origin/LTT) wallpaper looks incredible!  Is that something anyone can download or is it exclusive to LTT staff?

[dogwitch]

4 hours ago, Nystemy said:

Personally surface mount components aren't that hard to deal with. And at times easier to repair than through hole components, since getting the components off from the board is quite easy with proper tools. Nor are the tools particularly expensive.

 

Louis Rossmann is a good example of how to repair computers. And he and his team repairs Apple products, the company that is infamous for making their products far from easily repaired. _{(though, with as many users and dead products, it is a niche that is easily homed in on, unlike the rest of the PC industry with its million of different products.)}
 

But if one has 3-4 of the same product, getting 2-3 of them to work is typically not too hard if one has a decent understanding of electrical theory, component knowledge and sufficient experience working with such components. _{(Ie, the first time one tries to solder an 0805 resistor it will be shit, and it can take a few hundred attempts to get things looking decent. Then one has the smaller 0603, 0402 packages to contend with, not to mention other fiddly packages. But it is all a problem one can throw time and money at and get better at working with. Here cheap broken boards are a good start, preferably boards that has no hope for any more life at all, else give it a proper attempt at fixing it.)}

 

I myself work in low volume electronics production, and repairing/amending boards is part of the job. _{(sometimes one gets a customer that wants one to replace a component on 400+ boards, then one knows what one will be doing for the next few hours.)}

true. unless its a crack pcb board....then your screwed.

[williamcll]

Dead capacitors and VRAM seems to be a common diagnosis for dead cards. 

[MultiGamerClub]

4 hours ago, williamcll said:

VRAM

With the ever so common buzzing seeming to be louder and louder on some older cars i have, its only a matter of time before they say goodnight.

[luktric]

13 hours ago, nexusmaniac said:

That (Origin/LTT) wallpaper looks incredible!  Is that something anyone can download or is it exclusive to LTT staff?

i would also love to have the wallpaper. i believe it's from origin. make this happen LTT

[Nystemy]

14 hours ago, dogwitch said:

true. unless its a crack pcb board....then your screwed.

Actually that can be fixed as well at times. Depending on how much is in need of repair. But usually for more high density designs, a cracked board is beyond economical repair.

 

Though, I have seen people do crazy repairs on multi layer boards where there is a hold charred straight through it... Here one has to more or less scrape away the charred board, find the traces, figure out where they should go, and then literally rebuild the traces that should bridge the gap. It is a painstaking process, and usually requires a lot of knowledge of the board. _{(though, at work we would aim for having a new PCB made and migrate over the components. But this isn't always something one can do, so sometimes a board repair is the only option.)}

[dogwitch]

1 hour ago, Nystemy said:

Actually that can be fixed as well at times. Depending on how much is in need of repair. But usually for more high density designs, a cracked board is beyond economical repair.

 

Though, I have seen people do crazy repairs on multi layer boards where there is a hold charred straight through it... Here one has to more or less scrape away the charred board, find the traces, figure out where they should go, and then literally rebuild the traces that should bridge the gap. It is a painstaking process, and usually requires a lot of knowledge of the board. _{(though, at work we would aim for having a new PCB made and migrate over the components. But this isn't always something one can do, so sometimes a board repair is the only option.)}

port side.and tenson along the rear of the pcb to.

(had a qudaro ship to me)  it would boot up. but moment you tried to install drivers. boom pc would shut off and os corruption happen. that when i did a proper eyeing of gpu and notice the  crack board

[AudacityTheEditor]

I pulled an older R9 380 out of an e-waste bin. I plugged it into a super old i3-3rd gen system I had lying around and it "booted" on Linux Mint only. Ubuntu and Manjaro never fully booted, but it showed the boot loaders and BIOS just fine. I want to try it with Windows, but the only system I have around for that is my current gaming rig. I'm afraid the GPU could fry my other hardware, but Alex never mentioned that as being an issue. Is that a concern, or can I just plug the GPU in to my system, and the worst that happens is a boot loop?

[Agedcrib22167]

I wasn't ever invested in this card as I bought it for £30 "Spares and repairs" however the description prior to the one pictured and also this one led me to want to try and see what I could do. I cleaned it completely with air compressor + rubbing alcohol and put new thermal paste on, checking the pcb for any obvious signs of damage, finding lots of dust and particles and the thermal paste cracked however the back of the pcb clean and no obvious physical damage. When I was happy I put it back in and it booted no problems. I tried the legacy drivers with varying degrees of success; it perfomed well in some games but crashed or froze the system in others. With the nimez drivers it worked really well with better performance and no crashes or issues, the clock was reaching 1500mhz and memory also seemed to be performing well. It would only ever reach 75c even on load, I used Arctic MX-4 thermal compound.

Last night I ran COD Warzone, it crashed as I was trying to configure graphics quality settings. I ran it again and it seemed to be better, it showed the loading screen for the lobby and then froze before I entered the game, audio distorted and no response from pc. I switched it off then tried to restart and it booted with many artefacts then showed a black screen. I tried again and it did not post, with my motherboard showing the red LED on VGA I waited around 15 hours then tried it again and it seemed to post with the LED going away however showed lots of artefacts and then black screen again.

I'm thinking my 550W psu could be an issue maybe? but it is a Gold EVGA G3 fully modular, so more likely to be VRAM or the bios that's currently on it. I'm not sure how I'll be able to check the bios without it even posting though.

 

My specs:

AMD Ryzen 5 2400G

Gigabyte B450 AUROS Elite rev 1.0

Crucial Ballistix 2x 8GB 3200mhz

EVGA 550W G3 Gold Fully modular