Sapphire R9 390 Nitro Blackscreen...why?

[WinUser]

Hello there, is there any known faulty component on a R9-390 Nitro that cause the blackscreens?
About the Nitro R9-390 /390x cards from sapphire, you can read many threads in internet, all the sam error: Blackscreen on 2D or light load. But no one hav a realy working solution about this issue.

I have replaces each electrolyt capacitor - but error is still here...after loading drivers -> blackscreen. Without installed drivers, all is fine

have here in this forum anyone a working solution about this error?

[piernov]

Re: Sapphire R9 390 Nitro Blackscreen...why?

This sounds like just your usual dead GPU chip, nothing can be done about it. Except replacing GPU chip but it's very difficult to find good new ones.

[WinUser]

Re: Sapphire R9 390 Nitro Blackscreen...why?

Jea...i think its a dead gpu. i have test many things...underclock it to 600Mhz, more/less vcore, underclock memory,...nothing works

this blackscreen error also apears on many other R9 290/390 graphic cards...its crazy. Nothing helps

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: Sapphire R9 390 Nitro Blackscreen...why?

yupp the only way to fix a faulty/failing gpu is to reflow it with a hot air gun or hot air bga rework station but it doesnt always work. depends on your luck 50/50. try it. doesnt matter. u cant make it any worse than it is. its already dead. lol!

[piernov]

Re: Sapphire R9 390 Nitro Blackscreen...why?

Reflow is useless, not a fix and has more chance to completely destroy the chip and the board. To confirm dead chip, you can heat the chip at 200°C max for a couple of minute, sometimes it makes them work again for a short time. The chip has to be replaced, but you cannot buy them.

[momaka]

Re: Sapphire R9 390 Nitro Blackscreen...why?

Reflow is useless, not a fix and has more chance to completely destroy the chip and the board.

True, it's not a fix.

But if it destroys the board, who cares? I mean, you said it yourself - can't really buy a replacement GPU chip anyways.

So reflow (or re-heating of the GPU chip, more precisely) is not really that useless. Actually, it works quite well on certain GPUs. (Unfortunately, I don't think the R9 cards fall in that category... though I do have to try to confirm, as I have an R9 290 that's dying in a similar way.) The key afterwards is to keep those GPUs very cool if you want them to work for any significant period of time. The old Xbox 360's could go for 6+ months on a reflow sometimes. If cooled well with a proper heatsink over the GPU, even longer.

Regarding the "reflow", I no longer waste time putting flux or anything like that, because as I've learned over the years (and like you say), it's the GPU chip itself that fails and not the BGA under it.

[WinUser]

Re: Sapphire R9 390 Nitro Blackscreen...why?

hmm...Are there known cases where it really is? i mean - i can reballing the GPU with leaded solder balls. I must only buy a stencil for Hawaii GPUs (i only have for GM204/GM200 and GK104)
but how often does it happen that this GPUs becomes broken solderballs?

[momaka]

Re: Sapphire R9 390 Nitro Blackscreen...why?

Probably almost never.

Broken BGA really only seems to happen when there is excessive physical force - i.e. board flexing too much or a heatsink causing the PCB to bend too much.