Quake3World

nVidia GTX 280, latest drivers (also tested on a fresh Windows install with older drivers). I'd RMA it except it's a BFG card and they just recently went out of business. WTF? They were a really popular company!

Screenshot (Quake 3):


It's not specifically heat related since it will more often crash from a cold boot rather than when the computer has been on for hours. I replaced the thermal paste but no change. It'll usually crash in the mornings when I first turn on my computer and I certainly won't be able to run any 3D applications. Oddly enough, if I leave the computer on long enough it seems to be more stable, I can run any 3D games in the evening. I thought about baking it but am naturally a bit worried about the procedure that may either fix the card or melt it. Any suggestions?

I'm guessing one of the ball-grid arrays is damaged, and over time as the card heats up, the metals expand and the connections become firm. Alternatively, you may have a bad capacitor.

I'd also take a close look at the card to see if any power-controlling transistors are burnt out. (sometimes this can also be smelled) I've seen a few devices burn out a little bit, but they still work, just not very well.

Google Nvidia Oven trick,

Do it, Do it now.

heat problem?

blow the dust outta the fucker.

reinsert the card./reinstall drivers.

check mobo for popped caps .

GL

I guess PSU problem, not stable enough, afaik once it has warmed up it has a more stable flow of electricity (wild guess). And 280 is quite demanding I think. I read using other wires from the PSU could help.. like connecting from 2x6->8 pin connector with some converter, instead of using directly the 8pins cable of the psu.

Not dust. Already cleaned and spotless. Almost 100% certain it's not the PSU either, it's a good quality Corsair PSU with more than enough power and I'm using both an 8 pin and 6 pin power adapter for the GPU as required from 2 different rails directly from the PSU.


Amidy: anything else I need to yank off the video card besides the entire heat sink and plastic bezel? Won't it melt stuff like the plastic bits and LED light, etc? Like, even the power connectors are plastic and they are soldered on.

Not at that heat/time frame, No.

Just make sure you stick to the instructions, and clean the oven after.

Good luck man!

you're not OC'ing i assume ?

lower the Mhz.

how old is the card and did you get new drivers?

No.

Already did.

About a year and already mentioned in the first post.

wasn't this an opengl driver issue back in the day ?

Have you tried speaking to Jesus about the issue?

There is no Jeebus and there is no Go .. Oh hi Dm

I talked to Jesus, but he would only comment about how he smoked Dark Metal in the best beard contest last year.

So the GPU has been getting steadily worse, yesterday it would crash about every hour when only doing basic tasks. Fed up, I took it apart and stripped it clean. Preheated my convection oven to 375F and baked the card for 8 mins. It seems to work just fine now!

There is probably something wrong with it and it'll probably eventually degrade again, but it's pretty cool that you can extend the life of a GPU when all else fails.

You're a brave man.
I followed this thread and thought wtf, sticking your expensive gear in the oven seems a bit counterintuitive, no?
But glad it apparently worked. Kinda amazing.

Have you thought about spending $200 and getting a new card? You could make that cash up in one night on the street if you tried really hard.

If the card breaks beyond repair, I have no problem spending $350 on a new card. I was reading about the GTX 570 recently for just this reason. Though if I can save $350 and resurrect my current card which is more than sufficient for any games I throw at it, then why waste the money? I can blow it on a new SSD drive instead. Or on the 27" iMac I intend to buy in the spring.

Anyway, my point is that your mom works the streets, I just have to collect and defend my territory from time to time, so money isn't an issue.

Are you still playing ETQW these days and owning those upset Aussies?

I might be willing to part with my ATI 5770 if you're interested.

obsidian wrote: So the GPU has been getting steadily worse, yesterday it would crash about every hour when only doing basic tasks. Fed up, I took it apart and stripped it clean. Preheated my convection oven to 375F and baked the card for 8 mins. It seems to work just fine now!

glad to hear its worked out for you.

Put some decent thermal paste on the GPU and turn the Fan up on it keeping the temps in check and you shouldn't have to much of an issue.

Plan B wrote:You're a brave man.
I followed this thread and thought wtf, sticking your expensive gear in the oven seems a bit counterintuitive, no?
But glad it apparently worked. Kinda amazing.

the main issue is due to the heat of the gfx card, the solder has become cracked and brittle.
Putting it in the oven at that temp gets it to solidify again and reinforce the connections thus fixing the issues.


Heat is the enemy, and the friend for these, xbox's, ps3's, mobos, etc.