broken graphics card

[pHatmHat]

hi,

i recently fitted a artic cooling vga silencer to my radeon 9800 pro, and now it doesnt work (i have not overclocked it and i downloaded a ocing program to check my clock speeds and they are normal)
the best way i can explain it is that when windows is booting up there are a few artefacts then when i am actually in windows it is fine until i try and go into a game where the graphics are screwed up. to give you an idea of what the graphics look like, in 3dmark03 the first wings of fury test the tails of planes never stop and just carry on going up into the sky.
Any ideas on what i might have done to cause this?
Also is it possible to fix this or have i just lost my gfx card 🙁

thanks

matt

 

[scottchen]

The VGA silencer is probably not making contact with the core itself, you have 2 choices, removing the shim, or use a lot of thermal grease between the core and the contact surface of the silencer.

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[cleeve]

I wouldn't consider tons of thermal grease as an option...

Remove the shim!

________________
<b>Radeon <font color=red>9500 PRO</b></font color=red> <i>(hardmodded 9500, o/c 340/310)</i>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>~2750+</b></font color=red> <i>(2400+ @2.2Ghz)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>4,055</b>

 

[etp777]

Don't use lots of thermal grease, as this is a nightmare from a cooling standpoint.

a) Remove the shim
or
b) Use hand/power tools of your choice to bevel the base of the heatsink in the fashion of the stock HSF. This will allow the HSF to fit inside of the shim, just like the stock cooling solution. This is what I'm going to do sometime when I'm not so lazy to help ensure the best contact.

Either way, clean off whatever thermal paste you have on there, and reapply after you do step a or b up there. Arctic silver has good directions, with pictures, on their website on the proper way to use thermal paste(the proper method is the same whether you use Arctic silver or the cheap crap from Radio shack. And it's not to put on a really thick coat).

 

[GeneticWeapon]

He might have cracked the core when he tightened the cooler down, the damage isnt alway's visible.

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[pHatmHat]

hi,

do you have any instructions for removing the shim?
also do you think that accidentally getting some heatsink paste on the metal lumps around the core might damage the graphics card?
finally is there any way to tell whether i might have cracked the core as there is definately no crack lines on the actually core?

thanks

matt

 

[pHatmHat]

hi,

what is the shim?
im geussing that it is the metal rim around the outside of the chip. am i right?
when i do remove this will i have to be extra carefull when tightening because it will be easier to crush the chip?
also does anyone know any of the answers to my other quetions in my last post?

thanks

matt

 

[pHatmHat]

hi,

could i have "fried" my graphics card by accidentally getting heatsink paste on the metal lumps around the core?
i very much doubt i have cracked the gpu core then from what you say as it would be nearly impossible to apply it unevenly with the shim on.

thanks

matt

 

[tombance]

Try taking the card out of the AGP slot and putting it back in firmly. If this doesnt work, try feeling the Arctic cooler during a game to see whether it is getting warm. If it isnt, its your thermal interface. if it is, try looking elseware (like the thermal paste of the little metal things). Then again it might be a good idea to take the shim off anyway.

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[pHatmHat]

hi

sorry for such a long post but im desparate to save my 9800pro

in reply to your ideas:
1) Ive tried taking it in and out quite a few times and supporting it so its not sagging but that doesnt do anything
2)It is getting warm so the connection is fine
3)i cleaned all of the little metal lumps with alchohol and that didnt do anything
4)I put a ruler on the shim and it was touching the core still so i dont think removing the shim would do anything but increase my chances of cracking the core

Heres some more points that may help you figure out whats broken:
1)the writing on the chip is imprinted onto the artic cooling vga silencer (maybe burnt on becuase the imprint stays on when i wipe the thermal paste off)
2)after the first time i went into a game and found it was broken i took it out and the heatsink was really hot. quite abit hotter than my processor heatsink (worryingly hot) could this be a sign that a component has burnt up?
3)In the artic cooling instructions it say to tighten the bracket down to the washers but in doing this it became hard to tighten the screws but i carried on as the instructions told me to. then suddenly i heard a cracking/clicking sound. this makes me think i have crack something but i cant see any obvious crack lines anywhere on the card.

i think i am going to have to contact artic cooling or sapphire on tuesday.

any ideas on whats wrong and if its possible to fix it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

matt

 

[tombance]

Dont Tell Sapphire, because you've just voided your warranty. Dont bother with Arctic (arCtic, remember the C) Cooling either, because they wont be held responsible for your mistake.

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