Bought used graphics card. Weird colors and dots in screen. Broken? Screenshot attached

[pkim1230]

I bought a used HD 6870 graphics card today and been trying to get the monitor to recognize the source.
It's black, but sometimes, it realizes there's something plugged in the DVI, and the monitor shows Windows. When it does, the colors are always like this:
The screenshots are here:

Is it broken? If it is indeed broken, what caused it to break? Heat? Dropped it on the way to selling it?
I haven't installed any drivers, but I'm not sure if I should bother.
I was using rx 460 graphics card just fine, and just replaced it with the 6870 to see if it worked.

 

[HDD-Mod]

Faulty connector would be an issue with the card, so yes

 

[pkim1230]

Faulty connector would be an issue with the card, so yes

That could be, because it seems like the monitor picks up the source signal depending on how I adjust the card into the mobo/DVI cable.
If I use the HDMI port instead of the DVI port, are you saying there's a chance it's ok? or are you saying the contact between the card and the motherboard is bad?

 

[Multipack]

They don't look like artefacts so it may be a bad DVI connector - so HDMI may work - or the whole card could be broken. Is it overheating at all?

 

[Ne0Wolf7]

That's more than artifacts (or it's just so extreme I haven't seen it before).
There are three possibilities I see:
1.) It's broken.
2.) the port you chose is no good, try another.
3.) The drivers are causing it to act weird. Although Windows comes with universal display drivers, you have others installed. Because the drivers determine how the motherboard interacts with the video card, it could be messing with it.
Also, hows the heat?

 

[HDD-Mod]

Yeah. try another port for sure 😛

 

[pkim1230]

That's more than artifacts (or it's just so extreme I haven't seen it before).
There are three possibilities I see:
1.) It's broken.
2.) the port you chose is no good, try another.
3.) The drivers are causing it to act weird. Although Windows comes with universal display drivers, you have others installed. Because the drivers determine how the motherboard interacts with the video card, it could be massing with it.
Also, hows the heat?

There are two DVI ports I think, and the one on the bottom doesn't work at all. Idk if it's output port or whatnot.
I should try the HDMI. I'll let you know how it goes soon.
UPDATE: just tried the HDMI on my tv because my monitor only has DVI.
HDMI port shows the exact same artifacts(?). Here is the image

I have the RX460 drivers installed, but even when I was installing the RX460, it just looked like it was in low resolution with good colors.
I didnt think to check the temperature of the suspicious card. Let me do that and get back to you.

 

[pkim1230]

So, I've updated my above reply with an image of the artifact still showing while using the HDMI port instead of the DVI port. The artifact is exactly the same. The windows log on screen was the same as well.
Is it broken?

 

[Multipack]

I would guess yes, it is broken. Is the power supply connected correctly? You could tyr flashing it's BIOS if you can find any but that's always risky. Guess u dont have much to lose though.

 

[xxxlun4icexxx]

So, I've updated my above reply with an image of the artifact still showing while using the HDMI port instead of the DVI port. The artifact is exactly the same. The windows log on screen was the same as well.
Is it broken?

Most likely yes. You could try a clean driver reinstall, but most likely the card is dying/dead.

If you don't have much to lose, look for a guide on baking it. You stick the card in the oven to remelt the solder and fix any cracked/dying joints.

 

[photonboy]

1) If the problem is the same in your BIOS (i.e. before booting into Windows) then it has nothing to do with drivers or any other Windows software.

2) Conversely, if the BIOS shows cleanly it is likely a driver or other software issue.

Other:
Why did you replace an RX-460 with an HD6870?

The RX-460 is a better card.

 

[Ne0Wolf7]

1) If the problem is the same in your BIOS (i.e. before booting into Windows) then it has nothing to do with drivers or any other Windows software.

2) Conversely, if the BIOS shows cleanly it is likely a driver or other software issue.

Other:
Why did you replace an RX-460 with an HD6870?

The RX-460 is a better card.

You don't think its a hardware problem?

 

[Multipack]

I meant the GPU BIOS...

 

[pkim1230]

1) If the problem is the same in your BIOS (i.e. before booting into Windows) then it has nothing to do with drivers or any other Windows software.

2) Conversely, if the BIOS shows cleanly it is likely a driver or other software issue.

Other:
Why did you replace an RX-460 with an HD6870?

The RX-460 is a better card.

I was just replacing the rx460 temporarily to see if the 6870 was functional or not.
I don't remember but I think the motherboard logo screen also had artifacts. I haven't booted into BIOS, so I can't be sure. I'd have to try it again when I get home.
If the BIOS shows up normally, what is the problem of the GPU and what can I do to fix it?

 

[Multipack]

If the MB BIOS show up properly, it's most likely a driver issue which is a good sign. But I doubt they will. Drivers here http://support.amd.com/en-us/download If not, like I said, you could try flashing the GPU's BIOS maybe https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/?did=1002-6738--,1002-6738--03c6 Have you definitely got the power supply attached correctly? If none of those things work, the card is broken.

 

[pkim1230]

If the MB BIOS show up properly, it's most likely a driver issue which is a good sign. But I doubt they will. Drivers here http://support.amd.com/en-us/download If not, like I said, you could try flashing the GPU's BIOS maybe https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/?did=1002-6738--,1002-6738--03c6 Have you definitely got the power supply attached correctly? If none of those things work, the card is broken.

The video card requires two 6 pins, so I made sure to plug in both properly. and I even switched them around to see if that was the problem.
The guy who sold it to me said it's fully functional but I think he's lying. He isn't replying to my request for refund. I'm not too bothered because I only paid $30 for it..

 

[Ne0Wolf7]

If the site you found it has rules, you should be able to, if not, leave him a bad review 😉

 

[pkim1230]

If the MB BIOS show up properly, it's most likely a driver issue which is a good sign. But I doubt they will. Drivers here http://support.amd.com/en-us/download If not, like I said, you could try flashing the GPU's BIOS maybe https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/?did=1002-6738--,1002-6738--03c6 Have you definitely got the power supply attached correctly? If none of those things work, the card is broken.

I just booted up to see if the BIOS has artifacts and it doesnt have any artifacts. Only for the mobo logo screen and when loading windows and inside windows.

I also tried to install drivers, and even after installing the drivers from radeon, my resolution is stuck at 480 and artifacts stay the same. I had to go into device manager to pick out the specific 6800 series driver from the amf file provided from the download. Now when i restart, after loading windows, the actual windows is just black screen. I can't even see my mouse cursor.

 

[photonboy]

Hey,
Looks like a bad card.

The main BIOS screen looks fine, but you can see issues with the motherboard login screen.

*That is PRIOR to Windows loading, so it's not related to Windows or any software added to Windows like video drivers.

That pretty much IMO means it's a bad video card.

 

[pkim1230]

Hey,
Looks like a bad card.

The main BIOS screen looks fine, but you can see issues with the motherboard login screen.

*That is PRIOR to Windows loading, so it's not related to Windows or any software added to Windows like video drivers.

That pretty much IMO means it's a bad video card.

How do you explain the perfectly fine BIOS screen? Every little star and the galaxy in the background is crystal clear and theres not a single artifact.
I had a chance to remove the heatsink from the GPU, and i discovered a lot of dry thermal paste along with wet thermal paste. The processor looked ok though. I will buy a thermal paste today and reapply it.
Does this dry/wet combination of thermal paste suggest there could've been some heat issues that damaged the card? Also, would this video card be a good candidate for the oven-heating method fixing?

 

[photonboy]

Hey,
Looks like a bad card.

The main BIOS screen looks fine, but you can see issues with the motherboard login screen.

*That is PRIOR to Windows loading, so it's not related to Windows or any software added to Windows like video drivers.

That pretty much IMO means it's a bad video card.

How do you explain the perfectly fine BIOS screen? Every little star and the galaxy in the background is crystal clear and theres not a single artifact.
I had a chance to remove the heatsink from the GPU, and i discovered a lot of dry thermal paste along with wet thermal paste. The processor looked ok though. I will buy a thermal paste today and reapply it.
Does this dry/wet combination of thermal paste suggest there could've been some heat issues that damaged the card? Also, would this video card be a good candidate for the oven-heating method fixing?

I can't explain why the BIOS main interface looks fine, however your first photo clearly shows an issue and that is prior to the loading of Windows.

Thus Windows isn't even in the picture which basically leaves your hardware. Since the other video card worked that narrows it down to the video card you have.

I'm no expert on the baking method. I doubt it's a GPU overheating issue.

Still not sure what happened to the other, better video card but at this point I really don't have any further advice.

You said you have an RX-460 but wanted to see if the HD6870 worked?

*Well, why not conclude it does NOT work properly and put the RX-460 back in?

 

[pkim1230]

Hey,
Looks like a bad card.

The main BIOS screen looks fine, but you can see issues with the motherboard login screen.

*That is PRIOR to Windows loading, so it's not related to Windows or any software added to Windows like video drivers.

That pretty much IMO means it's a bad video card.

How do you explain the perfectly fine BIOS screen? Every little star and the galaxy in the background is crystal clear and theres not a single artifact.
I had a chance to remove the heatsink from the GPU, and i discovered a lot of dry thermal paste along with wet thermal paste. The processor looked ok though. I will buy a thermal paste today and reapply it.
Does this dry/wet combination of thermal paste suggest there could've been some heat issues that damaged the card? Also, would this video card be a good candidate for the oven-heating method fixing?

I can't explain why the BIOS main interface looks fine, however your first photo clearly shows an issue and that is prior to the loading of Windows.

Thus Windows isn't even in the picture which basically leaves your hardware. Since the other video card worked that narrows it down to the video card you have.

I'm no expert on the baking method. I doubt it's a GPU overheating issue.

Still not sure what happened to the other, better video card but at this point I really don't have any further advice.

You said you have an RX-460 but wanted to see if the HD6870 worked?

*Well, why not conclude it does NOT work properly and put the RX-460 back in?

I have another computer that I'd like to complete, but it's missing a case so I can't test this GPU on it yet.
That's why I'm trying it on my main computer. I am constantly putting in the RX460 and taking it out to test this broken GPU.

Would someone tell me why the BIOS screen looks fine? And would heating the GPU in the oven fix the problem?
If it's not a overheating issue, it may actually be a bad contact problem, which could be fixed by the oven heating method. Right?

 

[Multipack]

THE BIOS/splash screens look fine, and that means it could be a driver/compatibility issue. It looks like the card is fine strangely. The GPU is displaying something ok which means it is more likely software related but that is really odd. Maybe thermal paste may help as perhaps the demand of even the OS is overheating it. I dont think its a bad contact problem myself after seeing the BIOS etc displaying correctly.

 

[pkim1230]

If the MB BIOS show up properly, it's most likely a driver issue which is a good sign. But I doubt they will. Drivers here http://support.amd.com/en-us/download If not, like I said, you could try flashing the GPU's BIOS maybe https://www.techpowerup.com/vgabios/?did=1002-6738--,1002-6738--03c6 Have you definitely got the power supply attached correctly? If none of those things work, the card is broken.

THE BIOS/splash screens look fine, and that means it could be a driver/compatibility issue. It looks like the card is fine strangely. The GPU is displaying something ok which means it is more likely software related but that is really odd. Maybe thermal paste may help as perhaps the demand of even the OS is overheating it. I dont think its a bad contact problem myself after seeing the BIOS etc displaying correctly.

Should I flash the BIOS of the GPU?
I can't seem to get the drivers to load properly in windows.

 

[RobCrezz]

That card is broken.

You could try the baking method, but as it is, that card is no good.