ATI 4670 dead

[Audison]

https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/EAH4670DI1GD3/

I was not using this card for a while it was sitting in the drawer and after wanting to use it on some computer it would not turn on. It does not even heat up anything. No output on the screen computer just runs fans tried on 3 different motherboards the same result.

How to understand what is gone wrong on this board? where do you measure? any advice for a noob like me?

Thanks!

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: ATI 4670 dead

what cooler was used on it and does it have a backplate (show a pic)? some coolers can warp the board and kill the bga after a while.

how was the card stored? make sure it was properly stored in a static bag with nothing ever stacked on top of it. i had a video card that died because of stuff stacked on top of it with no bubble wrap.

u can also try cleaning the pci-e goldfinger contacts with an eraser and/or isopropyl alcohol. some video cards can become undetectable because of dirty/oxidised contacts. (fock that rohs sheet lol)

[Audison]

Re: ATI 4670 dead

The cooler used on this card was https://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/accelero-l2-plus.html
It does not have a back-plate but it's really light so I would think it was not the problem.
The card was not in static bag but there was never anything stacked on top or bellow it.
I did try to clean the pci contacts before posting here and testing it again but same result.

[momaka]

Re: ATI 4670 dead

I don't see any chipped off parts (very easy to do if the card wasn't stored properly, hit with another object, or dropped)... So I would say the issue is most likely heat-related BGA problems. One would think the HD4670 is a not a power-hungry video card (and it isn't!), but that's why it often gets an undersized cooler and overheats under load.

Chances are you can easily revive it with a reflow. Might need to remove the RAM heatsinks first, though, as those could weigh down on the RAM chips during the reflow and either move them or completely fall off.

[Audison]

Re: ATI 4670 dead

I don't see any chipped off parts (very easy to do if the card wasn't stored properly, hit with another object, or dropped)... So I would say the issue is most likely heat-related BGA problems. One would think the HD4670 is a not a power-hungry video card (and it isn't!), but that's why it often gets an undersized cooler and overheats under load.

Chances are you can easily revive it with a reflow. Might need to remove the RAM heatsinks first, though, as those could weigh down on the RAM chips during the reflow and either move them or completely fall off.

Thanks for information. Any advice on doing the reflow? can you do it in the oven at what temps and for how long? Thanks!

[momaka]

Re: ATI 4670 dead

I don't recommend the oven method. It's very easy to completely destroy the video card, because many ovens (especially electric ones) overshoot the temperatures when started cold. If you really must use the oven method, at least pre-heat the oven to 150-180C before putting the video card in it. Many YouTube videos will not tell you this. In fact, don't rely on those YouTube videos at all - a lot of them are bullshit and/or full of misinformation. There are better ways to reflow the video card, so save this as a last method if nothing else works. In fact, even selling the video card for parts is a better idea than trying to fix it with the oven method.

Now, if you have a gas stove or burner and a heat gun, that is by far the best method IMO (the gas burner is used to heat the video card from the bottom, and the heat gun is only used to heat the GPU after the video card is pre-heated).
Second best method is with a gas stove / gas burner only. Just heat the video card from the bottom side (under the GPU chip).
Third best is heat gun + electric stove used as a bottom heater.
You can also use just a heat gun by itself, alternating between heating from under and above the GPU chip. But you will need a temperature meter for sure.

Speaking of which, if you do repair computers somewhat more often or intend to in the future (either as a hobby or professionally), I encourage you to get a $5 type-K temperature meter. They are very easy to find on eBay and elsewhere online. The Lutron TM-902C is a really popular one. You'll find it very useful when doing reflows, because it is much more accurate than an oven thermostat.

Anyways, as for reflow temperatures, the GPU BGA chip needs to hit around 220-230C and stay in that temperature range for about 10 seconds (this is for lead-free solder, which is what your video card uses). To get to that temperature, though, the whole video card has to be heated slowly (but not too slow). The whole reflow process should last about 8-10 minutes max, then the video card is left to cool down.

First you start with the pre-heating stage, where you heat the video card to about 150C-180C. Should take you about 2-3 minutes to get to that temperature. Then you leave the video card at that temperature for 30-60 seconds. Then you start ramping up the temperature until you hit the reflow solder temperature mentioned above. Should take you another 3-5 minutes for that. Then you turn off all heat and let the video card cool slowly.

Last but not least, DO NOT cover the video card in tinfoil / aluminum foil. Again, a lot of videos on YouTube tell you that you should. But it's a really bad idea with really bad outcomes usually.

In the past, I used to recommend people to use flux when doing their reflows, but I no longer do that, because people tend to over-apply it and make a huge mess in addition to destroying the hardware they were trying to repair. Moreover, what flux you get is very important, as not all fluxes are suitable for reflowing (the rosin ones, for example, evaporate and dry out too quickly, leaving a thin layer on the surface of the solder that nothing can adhere to). So skip the flux altogether.

[Audison]

Re: ATI 4670 dead

Great information momaka! Thank you very much! I will try doing reflow on a few dead cards I have lying around first and than try to fix this one.

[momaka]

Re: ATI 4670 dead

You're welcome!

By the way, I have a curious question: what other dead video cards do you have? Just wondering, because you may be able to revive those as well.

Also, I forgot to mention this important bit of info: if your video card has any electrolytic capacitors, definitely avoid the oven reflow method, as that is a sure way to pop the caps. Even solid caps can get cooked and die in the oven. This is one of the many reasons I am so vocal against the oven reflow method.

When doing a reflow on the stove or with a heat gun, at least you can place the card in such a way that any electrolytic caps do not get as much heat exposure.

I usually place a metal grille about 4-6 cm (about 2-2.5 inches) above the burner on my gas stove, and put the stove on the lowest flame first. Then I place the video card with the GPU facing up. The bottom side of the GPU should be more or less in the center of the flame's top. The flame from the gas burner should NOT touch the video card.

[Audison]

Re: ATI 4670 dead

NV GF7300GS 256MB DDR2 TV DVD PCI-E - works for few minutes than no more display output
GV-NX84S256HE rev 1.0 - displaying green artifacts
GV-84G256HE rev 2.0 - just dead
GV-NX84G256H rev 2.0 - dead

I will post some pictures later when I get hands on the camera.
Also all listed cards have passive cooling so they overheat all day so this might be a problem here.

[momaka]

Re: ATI 4670 dead

NV GF7300GS 256MB DDR2 TV DVD PCI-E - works for few minutes than no more display output
GV-NX84S256HE rev 1.0 - displaying green artifacts

For these two, it's a coin toss whether you will get them fixed. The GeForce 7 and early 8 series have the bumpgate issue (where the GPU core separates from the GPU substrate). But give the reflow a try anyways and see what happens. If they do get fixed, definitely make sure they run and stay cool (under 60C core temperature under maximum load).

GV-84G256HE rev 2.0 - just dead
GV-NX84G256H rev 2.0 - dead

Since these are revision 2.x, they may be based on the GeForce 9400 GPU core, so it's possible they don't have the bumpgate issue. Good chance you can bring these back with a reflow.

...
Though in my personal experience, nVidia has always been problematic when it comes to reflows. ATI, on the other hand, I've had very good success at reviving.

Also all listed cards have passive cooling so they overheat all day so this might be a problem here.

Yes, you are 100% right about that.

Generally, all you really need to do to fix that is just put a 80, 90, or 120 mm fan in the case and have it blowing air towards the video card (doesn't matter from which direction). You can run the fan on 5V instead of 12V to get silent or near-silent operation. That way you can keep your passive cards cool without adding any noise to your PC.

Testimony that this works:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showpo...9&postcount=31

[Drack]

Re: ATI 4670 dead

So what happened?