Faulty GPU Heatsink

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Hi!

 

My friend recently bought a gtx 670 (used). When he first used it in his system the fans blasted at 100% immediately upon switching on the system and it would not post. We have since narrowed down the issue to heat, and we can successfully boot and keep the system running indefinitely, as long as we don't put a load on the gpu (3D games, stress testing, etc.). However, as soon as we try any gpu-heavy task, the temperature shoots up and the system crashes.

 

We have tried reapplying thermal paste, using lots, using just a little, and everywhere in between. We have a had success in using thermal pads as well. The card seems to run well, and sits at 45-50C at idle.

 

The card is a Gigabyte Windforce 3x gtx 670. The fans all seem to spin fine, but even when the card is super hot the air it exhausts is cold, which leaves us thinking that the heat isn't being conducted into heatsink very well, or at all.

 

We have been trying to get this card working for a week or two now, and have eliminated almost every other possibility. We tried different PSUs, different outputs, tried the card in multiple systems, reinstalling drivers, and removing OC programs that could have caused issues. We're confident the issue is either the card, or the heatsink.

 

Is this something that could be fixed with a new VGA cooler, if we can even find one in NZ?

 

Album of photos of the pcb and heatsink: http://imgur.com/gallery/ZmU0a

 

Thanks!

 

[thekeemo]

Its not heat the card is dead if its blasting at 100%

mount a stock cpu heatsink on it temporarily if you think it is heat

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We can make it boot consistently, with the fans staying at normal levels, but if we try and do a stress test, or something demanding then the temperature shoots up and then it crashes.

[Trey222]

Make sure none of the heat pipes are damaged. Also check the heat sink itself.