Artifacts after paste replacement

[kosimiki]

Hi, this was my first attempt to reapply thermal paste on my old graphics card, it dis not go well. To be fair i saw something like this before, that was the reason i tried to give it a chance.

Little background, i bought this card very cheap and the previous user said tha it only worked if the case was laid down. It was true, whenever i tried to stand up the case the screen went crazy and afer a second or two it did not give any image. It had thermal problems i was able use it with afterburner cusom fan profile.

 

Any ideas how to fix it? Its a vtx hd 6970 2gb.

[kosimiki]

[Mick Naughty]

That isn't actifacting. Assuming it isn't a connection issue, that thing is dead. Check as many ports as you can and wiggle the cable at the back of the card as it may be damaged. 

[A1Mike_W]

Since it was already broken/breaking when you got it, chances are the disassembly could've caused permanent damage. I would suggest you make sure thermal pads are contacting properly (if applicable) and most importantly for the artefacts check that the cooler isn't screwed down too hard. I made that mistake with my first paste change too, but my problem wasn't nearly as severe. The spread of your paste looks great though. With a faulty card like this there's a lot that could be happening so it would be hard to diagnose without getting my hands on it.

[kosimiki]

What do you mean it isnt screwed down hard? I thought i should screw it until i can .

[kosimiki]

Btw there were no thermal pads before i added new ones. 

[kosimiki]

1 hour ago, Mick Naughty said:

That isn't actifacting. Assuming it isn't a connection issue, that thing is dead. Check as many ports as you can and wiggle the cable at the back of the card as it may be damaged. 

You mean it cant be fixed?

[kosimiki]

Ok, good news, the card is working. But i dont know why. Its upside down ?

[Mick Naughty]

Did you try touching the output cable? Something is prolly broke and still makes a connection when angled correctly.

[kosimiki]

22 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

Did you try touching the output cable? Something is prolly broke and still makes a connection when angled correctly.

Tried with HDMI and DVI, wiggled the cables and the card as well, none of them worked. My fried told me to try it upside down since from the beginning it only worked if laid down, and itworks. I guess you are right, something is not connecting, but I have no idea what, I could not see anything strange, not like I'm an expert who could tell it by looking at it

The only question remains, can I use it upside down like this or can I somehow fix it?

[Mick Naughty]

Fixing it would require you find out whats wrong. No issue running it upside down though.

20 minutes ago, kosimiki said:

Tried with HDMI and DVI, wiggled the cables and the card as well, none of them worked. My fried told me to try it upside down since from the beginning it only worked if laid down, and itworks. I guess you are right, something is not connecting, but I have no idea what, I could not see anything strange, not like I'm an expert who could tell it by looking at it

The only question remains, can I use it upside down like this or can I somehow fix it?

 

[A1Mike_W]

1 hour ago, kosimiki said:

What do you mean it isnt screwed down hard? I thought i should screw it until i can .

Sometimes if you screw down too hard it can cause problems - but if you don't screw down hard enough, you won't have good contact between the GPU and heatsink. This is just for future reference, as your problem seems to be elsewhere. 

There is no harm in using it upside down, and if it works then it works, right? If you're sure the cables work and the connectors aren't filled with dust, there's likely a problem on the board itself. You can try troubleshooting further, but if it works upside-down and you're happy keeping it that way then I would leave it as is.

The only question remains, can I use it upside down like this or can I somehow fix it?

If do insist on fixing it and you want to troubleshoot, you can try the following:

• Check for faulty/loose wire from PSU
• Cleaning the contacts on the GPU
• Check for a loose screw (or anything that could be shorting out components)
• Check for loose solder joints
• Look into the GPU "oven fix"

[kosimiki]

Will do these, thank you all for your help.

13 minutes ago, A1Mike_W said:

Sometimes if you screw down too hard it can cause problems - but if you don't screw down hard enough, you won't have good contact between the GPU and heatsink. This is just for future reference, as your problem seems to be elsewhere. 

There is no harm in using it upside down, and if it works then it works, right? If you're sure the cables work and the connectors aren't filled with dust, there's likely a problem on the board itself. You can try troubleshooting further, but if it works upside-down and you're happy keeping it that way then I would leave it as is.

If do insist on fixing it and you want to troubleshoot, you can try the following:

• Check for faulty/loose wire from PSU
• Cleaning the contacts on the GPU
• Check for a loose screw (or anything that could be shorting out components)
• Check for loose solder joints
• Look into the GPU "oven fix"