Geforce 8600 gs graphics card, failed repair

[Behemot]

Re: Geforce 8600 gs graphics card, failed repair

You can just collect coolers like Accelero L1 from dead non-reference cards, it has plenty of power for craps like 8600 GT, and use them when necessary. I believe the mounting hole dimensions are the same for about a decade now, maybe even more than that. My S1 still works with all cards with PCB long enough so it does not collide with the back of the case.

[Agent24]

Re: Geforce 8600 gs graphics card, failed repair

I looked that one up, it looks like a good option, if I had a working 8600GT to put it on!

[momaka]

Re: Geforce 8600 gs graphics card, failed repair

Current attitude is to keep noise down and temps between 70-90 °C. So the fan increases speed if necessary to keep temps under these values but to stay silent also.

Indeed.

It makes sense too, if it runs the whole time at constant temperatures, there won't be any mechanical stress from constant heating and cooling down. If you don't put it to sleep all the time anyway.

Wrong.
Tin whisker growth above 60C accelerates much faster, and most lead-free solder alloys are very prone to Tin whisker growth. At best, you will get around 3 years of service, which for most people (especially gamers) who replace hardware on a regular basis, this won't even be a problem.

Also, it seems that for the last few generations of video cards, electron migration has become an even bigger issue that BGA. This has mainly to do with manufacturers pushing too high of a voltage on the GPU core to get higher speeds. At high temperatures, electron migration deterioration also accelerates faster, so that's another reason to keep GPUs even cooler than before... unless you prefer to under-clock and under-volt to more sane values that seem more reasonable for the current nm tech.

I also wonder if a bigger heatsink will only delay the failure since the GPU will have been at over 60 degree temperatures before that anyway.

That's what I am about to find out with my experiments.

Your solution might work well if you already had that cooler which fits the card, but to find one the right size for an 8600GT nowadays is probably not worth it - and considering how many PCI slots it will block. All that for an 8600GT, which is not that great nowadays.

True.

But my main point is to show that manufacturers often cheap out on the heatsinks/coolers and use a smaller one to save on cost. If you want good cooling and silent operation with good temperatures, you need a much bigger heatsink.

As for the 8600 GT not being a worthwhile video card - that, I completely agree with. However, nothing says you can't take this same concept and apply it to a newer low-mid-range GPU that has an inadequate cooler. For example, I have a Radeon HD6670 that is in the same boat - a 66W TDP GPU with a heatsink slightly bigger in size than the HD2400/HD3450.

I looked that one up, it looks like a good option, if I had a working 8600GT to put it on!

I have three - all working (got saved by badcaps )

[Behemot]

Re: Geforce 8600 gs graphics card, failed repair

Whiskers are the least of your problems.

[Agent24]

Re: Geforce 8600 gs graphics card, failed repair

I decided to repair an XFX 8600GT I had laying around with blown Sacon FZ...

Some new Rubycon and Panasonic later, it's working! I'm using it to power a 24" Dell LCD on my workbench (great for viewing schematics etc)

It idles at about 44 - 47°C with the stock cooler (fan still in good condition). I'm not going to be gaming on it. Should I bother with a better cooler?

[momaka]

Re: Geforce 8600 gs graphics card, failed repair

I decided to repair an XFX 8600GT I had laying around with blown Sacon FZ...

Some new Rubycon and Panasonic later, it's working! I'm using it to power a 24" Dell LCD on my workbench (great for viewing schematics etc)

Nice!

So it's the same like my XFX 8600 GT cards I posted?

It idles at about 44 - 47°C with the stock cooler (fan still in good condition). I'm not going to be gaming on it. Should I bother with a better cooler?

Not unless the noise from it bothers you.

IMO, the noise wasn't that terrible in a closed case, but still quite loud.
44-47C is pretty decent for idle temperatures. I was getting no less than 46C at 18C ambient room temperature with open PC case. And 18C is too damn cold for me, so my room temps are usually higher (I prefer 25-27C).

[Agent24]

Re: Geforce 8600 gs graphics card, failed repair

Yeah, I think so, I've added photos.

Out of convenience I mounted the new capacitors to the SMD-alternate pads on the top side.