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graphics card suddenly broke?

Associate
Joined
26 May 2006
Posts
7
hi guys

i own a x800xt pci-ex and during summer time it overheats and causes the pc to crash very frequently, so i bought an arctic cooler fan to replace the standard one.

i fitted it on the card, applyin all the thermal compound where needed then realised the power supply for the fan has a bigger socket than the one on the card. i decided to just put the old fan back on till i could figure out what to do next, inserted the card back in and all.

now when i try to turn my pc on, theres a split second where it powers up then dies again almost instantly. it wont even do that subsequently until i pull the power cable out of the box and put it back in, and it repeats. i mean its literally a fraction of a second where the power goes on and its off again just as quickly.

when i take the card out of the slot the pc boots up fine but obviously doesnt get very far because of the fact that there is no graphics card..

does this mean i somehow broke the card in the process of fitting the new fan and would have to get a new one?


thanks a lot in advance
 
Man of Honour
Joined
15 Jan 2006
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Tosche Station
Sounds like something is loose, make sure all cables aer attached firmly and that the card is properly inserted in to the slot. That's about all I can think of.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
26 May 2006
Posts
7
well i didnt really touch any cables apart from the power one going from the card to the power supply and ive tried that on almost all available sockets thats hanging around in the case. the card is inserted as firmly as possible.. tomoro morning when i finally rummage up the willpower to try again ill double check all connections in the case but i somehow doubt thats the problem. i guess i managed to damage it in some way.

thanks in any case for the quick response
 

Dup

Dup

Soldato
Joined
10 Mar 2006
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11,225
Location
East Lancs
estiann said:
well i didnt really touch any cables apart from the power one going from the card to the power supply and ive tried that on almost all available sockets thats hanging around in the case. the card is inserted as firmly as possible.. tomoro morning when i finally rummage up the willpower to try again ill double check all connections in the case but i somehow doubt thats the problem. i guess i managed to damage it in some way.

thanks in any case for the quick response

Did you get any thermal paste on the PCB? Clean any bits of the paste off the PCB with alcohol or whitespirit using a bit of tough tissue. Kitchen type stuff. The paste should only be a thin layer between the Heatsink and Chip.
 
Associate
OP
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26 May 2006
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7
Dup said:
Did you get any thermal paste on the PCB? Clean any bits of the paste off the PCB with alcohol or whitespirit using a bit of tough tissue. Kitchen type stuff. The paste should only be a thin layer between the Heatsink and Chip.

quite possibly i got that paste everywhere. ill try clean it off once i can get some whitespirit. what is the pcb >_<
 
Caporegime
Joined
8 Sep 2005
Posts
29,917
Location
Norrbotten, Sweden.
PCB = printed circuit board :O

THe big rectangle of silicon metal wafer that all the "stuff" is stuck to. If u get the thermal paste on it, its possible its shorted out some of the tracks or components on it, thus casuing a "not working" situation. :D
 
Associate
OP
Joined
26 May 2006
Posts
7
Efour2 said:
PCB = printed circuit board :O

THe big rectangle of silicon metal wafer that all the "stuff" is stuck to. If u get the thermal paste on it, its possible its shorted out some of the tracks or components on it, thus casuing a "not working" situation. :D

is it fixable by cleaning or is the damage permanent
 
Soldato
Joined
4 Aug 2003
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2,636
Location
Wicklow, Ireland
If your lucky, there won't be any permanent damage, but make sure to get rid of all traces of compound before refitting it.

You only need half a grain of rice worth of thermal compound on the centre of the core, the heatsink should spread it out evenly. It might be worth a few practice attempts, to make sure the paste spreads evenly without being squeezed out the sides. When you're satisfied that you're using the right amount, attach the heatsink and DON'T remove it to check, or you'll trap air-bubbles when you replace it.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
26 May 2006
Posts
7
i tried cleaning it up but the same problem persists. i guess ill be ordering a new card today..

any recommendations on a card of comparable quality to the x800xt and reasonably priced [pci-ex]
 
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