Help! I think my GPU is borked!

[thejimster]

Hello all,


I'll try to keep this brief. I think my graphics card is broken/faulty as when I switch on my rig the fan on the card spins up to it's maximum setting and then stays there, and there is no signal on my monitor. I get an "FF" code on my MB POST code LED reader (which is basically "Fully functional"/"a-ok") which, when coupled with no display, means that (according to the MB manual) "The graphics card was not connected properly or it is defective" (I'm almost 100% sure it IS connected properly as up until today it's been working fine, even under stress).


Initially I thought, ok fair enough it must just be hot/overheating, so I took off the heat sink, cleaned off and reapplied the thermal paste stock thermal paste with AS5 and then tried booting again to no avail, the same issue occurred.


I removed the GPU and the RAM (to test the CPU) and this seemed fine (going off the BIOS code, I got the "memory not inserted" code as expected).


I then replaced the RAM and got a successful POST (although obviously still no display without the GPU in place).


Upon replacing the GPU I got the same issue; hence why I think the problem is the GPU.


I'm not sure what to do now. I think I have a spare (albeit very old) NVidia 7600GS kicking about somewhere I could in theory use to make doubly sure it's definitely not another component that's faulty.


Do you guys reckon I need to spring for a new GPU, or am I missing something obvious here? Thanks ever so much for any help you guys can give.


Jim

[Flaminx]

I had something similar happen to me but it was the power supply that was at fault, what power supply do you have and what GPU are you using?

[djbriandamage]

I would definitely recommend popping in your old GPU to see whether that fixes the issue. If so then it's time to buy a new one, unfortunately.

You should also verify the warranty on your card. Many cards have multi-year warranties, if not lifetime. For the price of return shipping (and a few weeks of slumming with the old GPU) you could have your video card refurbished or replaced.

--edit--

Flaminx's advice above is excellent as well. Does your power supply have a second 12 volt connection you can try? Or have you added any other new components like a hard disk or optical drive that could be drawing additional power?

[thejimster]

Sorry, this was double post from OCUK where my rig is in my sig. Current RIG is:

Q9300 @ stock(2.5GHz) ~ DFI LAN Party P45 T2RS ~ Noctua NH-U12P ~ 4GB Corsair Dominator RAM ~ Saphire Radeon HD5830 ~ OCZ 'Mod-X-Stream' 900W PSU ~ 120GB OCZ Agility 2 SSD ~ 2TB Samsung Storage ~ Antec 900 Case

Could potentially be the PSU but I doubt it (900W should be overkill in terms of my power requirements) and I've added nothing new to the rig in the last 5-6 months.

[Feldspar]

Power is obviously getting to your graphics card (you say the fan is working), which would lead me to think the fault is more likely in the card than in the power supply. Unless you can try the card in another machine, or have a spare power supply, you're going to have to replace one or the other and hope that you were right. In balance, I'd replace the graphics card with something shinier (another graphics card, that is, not a heap of bling) with the reasoning that sooner or later I'd end up doing that anyway.

[Mistabashi]

Just to re-iterate what has already been suggested: The card is probably faulty, but try swapping it out or using the integrated GPU to double-check.

Also 900w PSU?! You realise your system isn't pulling half that?

[thejimster]

Just to re-iterate what has already been suggested: The card is probably faulty, but try swapping it out or using the integrated GPU to double-check.

Also 900w PSU?! You realise your system isn't pulling half that?

No integrated GPU :( Or at least no mobo HDMI/VGA slots to indicate that there is :(

And yes I know the 900W is overkill, I got it 3 years ago when I was told I needed a bigger PSU for an old card (can't remember what card it was) and I had no idea what I was doing, so just got one with a big number. Luckily it was OCZ and not WinPower!

[thejimster]

Update:


Found and installed my old Nvidia 7600GS and booted up fine, normal POST, loaded in to Windows no problems so I'm now certain it is the GPU that is borked and nothing else. I'm guessing this means a new card, then. Balls :(

[rapchee]

you could try baking it, if you need the card/credit for now.
no srsly.
strip (carefully ofc) melty/burny stuff, pre-heat oven, bake for ~10 min, cool for ~30, and pray. it worked on my laptop videocard. google around for better, more detailed info XI

[bonkers]

Baking works but in most cases only for a few days. I baked my 8800 when it broke (only a few days after the warranty wore off...) but that only got it working for about three days. So in the end baking is only a quick fix if you really need the card. But you will have to get a new card soon anyway.

[Mistabashi]

you could try baking it, if you need the card/credit for now.
no srsly.
strip (carefully ofc) melty/burny stuff, pre-heat oven, bake for ~10 min, cool for ~30, and pray. it worked on my laptop videocard. google around for better, more detailed info XI

'Baking' only works if the problem is with dodgy solder joints, which isn't all that common. It's pretty much how modern electronics are made in the first place, since most of the components are surface mounted they can't be soldered by hand or machine, so they literally silk-screen solder pads onto the board where the components go then place them on to and 'bake' it in a special oven to melt the solder. Of course, it's a lot more controlled than just shoving it in a domestic oven, which is rather likely to cause components to overheat and do more damage than good. Electrolytic capacitors in particular are prone to high temperatures, which is why they solder them through the board afterwards.

[rapchee]

i've been using it for a while now. idk precisely, but more than 3 months.
but yeah its just quick fix