[SOLVED] Possible fried VRM on RTX 2070 armor?

[Soap2G]

Hi!
Long story short: my 2070 is stuck at 300MHz clock, and in GPU-Z the Board Power Draw field is at 580W idle! Also the GPU chip is strangely high (619W).

Got this card from a friend. What further tests can I do? Is the issue solvable? Any ideas?

EDIT: no RMA possible

Idle state of the card:

https://imgur.com/iV6dSp0

 

[Newtonius]

Have you even tried gaming on it? The readings could just be bad. If you have tried and are not able to, try installing MSI afterburner running an overclock test. It should test out every possible setting at different power phases. You can also monitor other details using that software.

Since these readings are crazy and should not be possible, I'd recommend flashing the VBIOS with a fresh VBIOS file. THOUGH PLEASE NOTE THIS SHOULD BE A LAST RESORT. The VBIOS is the graphic's card firmware (software that communicates with the physical components on the card) so installing the wrong version can brick your card. If you do plan to go this route please research the correct firmware and procedure to install it, it's not hard but not something to do without preparing first.

 

[Soap2G]

Gaming on it feels just bad.. Cyberpunk 2077 runs smoothly with the "medium" overall setting, and on FHD. If I try to increase anything starts to lag. (Cyberpunk could run at least on "high" if not "ultra" and in 2k with this card)
I tried with Afterburner, and the clock frequency stays at 300MHz even if I tune it.
Also, the overall performance in gaming reflects the readings..
Tried also Heaven Benchmark 4.0 , and the result is very similar to the one coming from an old 1050Ti that I have..
Here is a UserBenchmark of my overall configuration, the GPU performs at the 0-th percentile lol

https://imgur.com/a/iUIBPt1

 

[Newtonius]

Gaming on it feels just bad.. Cyberpunk 2077 runs smoothly with the "medium" overall setting, and on FHD. If I try to increase anything starts to lag. (Cyberpung could run at least on "high" if not "ultra" and in 2k with this card)
I tried with Afterburner, and the clock frequency stays at 300MHz even if I tune it.
Also, the overall performance in gaming reflects the readings..
Tried also Heaven Benchmark 4.0 , and the result is very similar to the one coming from an old 1050Ti that I have..
Here is a UserBenchmark of my overall configuration, the GPU performs at the 0-th percentile lol

https://imgur.com/a/iUIBPt1

Yeah something doesn't seem right. I would treat this delicately and test every possible root of the issue:

1. Uninstall graphics driver using DDU (display driver uninstaller) then reinstalling
2. Physically reinstalling the GPU and power cables
3. Testing it out in another computer system (see if it was a windows issue or with the initial rig)
4. flashing the VBIOS with a fresh VBIOS file

That would be my method of troubleshooting, if neither of these work then it is possible you have a messed up 2070.

 

[Soap2G]

Yeah something doesn't seem right. I would treat this delicately and test every possible root of the issue:

1. Uninstall graphics driver using DDU (display driver uninstaller) then reinstalling
2. Physically reinstalling the GPU and power cables
3. Testing it out in another computer system (see if it was a windows issue or with the initial rig)
4. flashing the VBIOS with a fresh VBIOS file

That would be my method of troubleshooting, if neither of these work then it is possible you have a messed up 2070.

Hello, I tried everything in the order you proposed:
Points 1,2,3 reported no results.
The flashing option got some update: after the flash with a custom VBIOS for the 2070, I got the Board Power Draw and GPU Chip Power Draw values significantly reduced (respectively 580W->90W, 620W->120W) while the clock remains stuck at 300MHz. The Benchmarks report the same results as before the flash.

 

[Newtonius]

Hello, I tried everything in the order you proposed:
Points 1,2,3 reported no results.
The flashing option got some update: after the flash with a custom VBIOS for the 2070, I got the Board Power Draw and GPU Chip Power Draw values significantly reduced (respectively 580W->90W, 620W->120W) while the clock remains stuck at 300MHz. The Benchmarks report the same results as before the flash.

Sounds like your GPU has a physical defect/issue that's not solvable through software. Unfortunately there's not much you can do if that's the case - unless you know how to identify and repair defective SMD components on PCB's. Those power draw values still look a little too high but at least they're not outrageous like before. Maybe try flashing one more time with a manufacturer VBIOS and not a custom one (where did you find the one you used?). But if that doesn't work then I'm out of options sadly. This one is the latest official VBIOS for the RTX 2070 Armor non-super variant.

 

[Soap2G]

Sounds like your GPU has a physical defect/issue that's not solvable through software. Unfortunately there's not much you can do if that's the case - unless you know how to identify and repair defective SMD components on PCB's. Those power draw values still look a little too high but at least they're not outrageous like before. Maybe try flashing one more time with a manufacturer VBIOS and not a custom one (where did you find the one you used?). But if that doesn't work then I'm out of options sadly. This one is the latest official VBIOS for the RTX 2070 Armor non-super variant.

All right, thank you very much for the help, I appreciate it 😀
When flashing with the official VBIOS everything returns as it was at the beginning. I guess I'll try to go to a repair store.
Thanks again!