Bizarre failure on AMD Firepro 2270

[Pentium4]

I've never seen something like this happen before. This 3 year old computer came in because it wasn't getting video anymore. Hmmmm. Cracked it open to see this:


I was so puzzled by it at first. It looks like the heatsink just bloated up like a balloon. And, it actually still has perfect contact on the GPU die. We ended up sawing open the heatsink, and found that piece of material and small piece of metal inside it. I'm not sure what the material is, but it's very stiff and feels strong but it's easily bendable and feels a little like light sandpaper. It seems to be soaked in rubbing alcohol I guess the heat just made the liquid expand over time. That's strong metal, too. Planned obsolescence?

[canadaboy25]

Re: Bizarre failure on AMD Firepro 2270

Haha jeez

I've never seen a heatsink do that.

[kaboom]

Re: Bizarre failure on AMD Firepro 2270

Contaminants in that "refrigerant," or whatever phase-change substance.

It's corroding the aluminum, and the gas generated pressurizes the inside of the heatsink/heatpipe contraption. Gray aluminum oxide is visible.

Exactly in the same way cheep caps swell without ever being connected.

I guess the heat just made the liquid expand over time.

No. In a heatpipe, there's "head space" for the liquid to expand and boil. If it was hydrostatic expansion, being completely full of liquid, it would've swollen the first time it heated up.

Hmmm... Don't Cheapo Teapos or Crapxons sometimes take 3 years before they finally pop? Oh, "Jee."

[Compgeke]

Re: Bizarre failure on AMD Firepro 2270

This is apparently a very common issue on these cards, especially in Dells. I believe Dell will RMA these as it's a known issue, there've been quite a few posts about it on reddit.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: Bizarre failure on AMD Firepro 2270

Oh, this is so bad. I actually feel bad for the card.

[SuperDuty]

Re: Bizarre failure on AMD Firepro 2270

Yes, bad heatsink design : http://community.spiceworks.com/topi...elated-failure
The HD6450 with a similar heatsink have the same issue.

[ddscentral]

Re: Bizarre failure on AMD Firepro 2270

And HD6670 too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvc3fAy4G_8

[Pentium4]

Re: Bizarre failure on AMD Firepro 2270

No. In a heatpipe, there's "head space" for the liquid to expand and boil. If it was hydrostatic expansion, being completely full of liquid, it would've swollen the first time it heated up.

Cool, thanks for letting me know. I was just guessing.

Hmmm... Don't Cheapo Teapos or Crapxons sometimes take 3 years before they finally pop? Oh, "Jee."

The truth has been revealed

[momaka]

Re: Bizarre failure on AMD Firepro 2270

Wow, that video card is warped! And I was worried about board flex on my s939 and s775 boards.

I guess time to keep an eye on eBay for these. I wonder if a reflow will fix a warped card like the one above. Be funny if it did, actually.

[Pentium4]

Re: Bizarre failure on AMD Firepro 2270

What I want to know is how long it was still functioning during the flexing "period" I still have it if you really want it

[momaka]

Re: Bizarre failure on AMD Firepro 2270

^Well sure... But I think it's my turn to send you something . So maybe after that? I'll PM you.