How did we get here?
One word. eBay.
In many other words, I attempted a trick I saw on YouTube to repair a graphics card with a similar problem. While my attempt is here, I will go over some of the finer points. This was almost successful, and I thought I had done something.
Several months ago, I was buying fixable parts on eBay for YouTube content. One of those was an OEM version of an RTX2060 that I believe came from a Dell system. The listing claimed that it worked under normal circumstances, but failed under any kind of load.
I immediately thought this was a thermal throttling issue and ordered it. This should be an easy repair and I would have another video card. It wasn’t until I opened the card and found it full of thermal paste that I realized someone else had the same idea. Still, I gave it a good cleaning, and tested it.
So, what happened?
To be quite honest, other things came in that I could repair and they made it to a video. This one literally was shelved. In fact, this card sat on a shelf until about a month ago when someone mentioned under-volting. This card was a perfect candidate.
Components rely on a few things to work, the right voltage and a limit to how much power it should use. In this case, if the power delivery system was faulty, I would decrease the voltage needed to reach the same frequencies it used. It may never reach that output, but it wouldn’t try to use too much voltage.
I found a stable voltage and using MSI Afterburner, set a voltage limit to reach the max frequency for the card. It took a few tries, but it worked. Well, okay, it passed a few tests, but it wasn’t under a true load. I have to say that I did have a bit of confidence that I pulled this off.
That confidence didn’t last long. As soon as I started the first game benchmark, there was a loud pop, and a burning smell. It didn’t just shut off, it was a catastrophic failure. I knew this card pulled more power than the PSU was rated, but thankfully, it was the card, not the PSU. The PC has a Ryzen 4600g and still works great, in spite of my calamity.
The smell came from the card, and it was very hot to the touch. There was no doubt, it suffered a tragic end. Still, the effort did result in a YouTube video, mentioned above.
What do I do now?
For the past year, the card sat on a shelf as decoration. It will take the same role now, but I know more certainly that I won’t attempt to fix it again. I’ve had success in the past buying untested or nonworking parts, so I will again, and I have another video card that still needs attention.
The other card doesn’t work, but the fans spin. It also doesn’t show up in any hardware profile or in BIOS. My though is, though, that cleaning the contacts on the x16 connector and the ports has a chance and doesn’t cost any money. The worst that can happen is that it still doesn’t work. No Loss.
Of course, if it does work, it will be a new video, and a blog, so I have that going for me, and that’s nice. For more of these blogs click here.