Graphics Card Necromancy - Card B - R9 290X Episode 3

[@RetroUpgrade]

Exactly the info i was looking for on the r9 family of cards. my card just suddenly bsod windows and didn't want to boot after. after i installed win10 again noticed it only stopped it from booting after i installed the drivers , works just fine with the windows vga drivers. i'll check to see if my card has excess heat in on of the vrms. you definitely got a sub here :D great job if you are interested in game console repair i have a few videos on my channel .

[@GeorgeBoudouris]

Nice job man. I like you pay attention on the details while assembling it.

[@sebastiandenenfeld9886]

Keep going with the subject,i love to watch your videos!

[@L30x]

Thanks for taking your time to share your knowledge. Good job.

[@SantodosAssassinos]

Your video helped me a lot to test an r9 290 that I won. I've been trying to find the specifications on the thermal pads I should put on and I can't find them. How many millimeters do I have to use? All are 1.0mm for both the VRM and the memories ??

[@AaronAverett]

As I recall, they're all 1.0mm.

[@SantodosAssassinos]

@@AaronAverett thanks man👍

[@amtpdb1]

You mentioned that the one chip is programed and you would have to take one off another board because it needs to be programmed. Is there a reason that you could not purchase a chip and then program that chip? Can you purchase the chip un programmed? Thanks for the video.

[@Vlad6323]

Beautiful job!

[@PiezPiedPy]

A microscope would make your soldering a whole lot easier ;)

[@AaronAverett]

If you've got one you care to donate, I'm open. :) Seriously though, that's on my wish list, but I haven't encountered a situation yet where not having one made the difference between success and failure. I think I'd get more mileage out of a board preheater at this point, actually.

[@PiezPiedPy]

@@AaronAverett I'm using a steak griddle wired to a temp controller and a Solid state relay for a board heater, works great for a fraction of the cost ;)

[@RetroUpgrade]

@PiezPiedPy Nice ingenuity , i use my 3d printers heated bed 😆 Works great!

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

Hey Aaron: I do think any blower card needs the copper mod to keep temps down. I don't believe in liquid metal for graphics cards but water cooling might be ok. A copper mod on a blower card lowers the temps 30 degrees.

[@AaronAverett]

You'll have to forgive my ignorance, but what is a "copper mod?"

[@βενεδικτοςστολλας-β1σ]

Great job, Aaron. But i wanted to ask you something. Where did you learned all these things about gpus ? Are threre some books someone could read ? Thanks in advance.

[@AaronAverett]

There is a book called "The Art of Electronics" by Paul Horowitz and Winfield Hill that my uncles, who are real electrical engineers, tell me is the best introduction to the subject. It doesn't cover graphics cards explicitly, but it does talk in great detail about all the parts that make them up, and circuits in general. You may be able to see my copy of it on the shelf behind me in the video. It's a tough book to just read cover to cover, though. The way I learned most of what you see here is mainly by doing, and also watching other KZbinrs. Arduino is a good place to start learning, and once you have a grasp of how to assemble some basic logic circuits, a lot of the material that's available on KZbin that's specific to graphics cards will start to make a lot more sense. There are many channels where people do this sort of thing now. Louis Rossmann is one, and Actually Hardcore Overclocking is another.

[@LittleBear85]

I am really happy you made these videos. Your explanations are great as of now I am waiting for parts to get my cards working again. I also am interested in the 390 with the 3550 mod to see if power delivery is improved but I know that's totally not worth a video but made me interested in what else is possible with newer cards with low end components that can be upgraded like the 3553 to 3550.

[@calebrutherford9010]

I have a 290x that just black screens while installing drivers, was this the symptoms you experienced?

[@AaronAverett]

I believe in that case, the problem was that the card had a couple of spots that ran super hot, and would sometimes crash. Your problem sounds like a BGA (or BGA-connected component) failure.

[@DaKosi]

It was the right decision. Great job, Aaron.

[@AbdulBasit-sw5vw]

Watched all 3 of your videos...great stuff but unfortunately I don't have the expertise or the tools to change components...but still thank you for the quick rply

[@Tiago_Ferrari]

hey! ive seen your 3 episodes, ive got the same gpu and it doesnt start, the fan work and everything, but the pc does not boot, could you have any clues to know what is happening? any similar gpus that had the same problem? it would be really useful if you reply, nice vids!

[@AaronAverett]

It could be almost anything with that set of symptoms. A failed GPU is a distinct possibility, but so is a dead power rail for some other reason. If you have a multimeter, you might try probing each power rail for voltage and resistance. That will inform what the next diagnostic steps are.

[@Tiago_Ferrari]

@@AaronAverett thank you very much!! ill try this week cause i dont have a multimeter but a friend of mine has, ill use your vids as a guide

[@RacheyPL]

​@@AaronAverett Hoping you see this and hoping even more that you still own one of those GPU's - any chance to get the capacity of MC200 cap and confirmation if B200 is a 0ohm or a ferrite bead (mixed info that I've found - trying to find anything about that part is a horror - multiple people had those die on them, noone bothers confirming/denying anything after "I'll give this a try" post...)? Both are near the fan connector and sadly mine did not like the idea of some fine replacement fan manufacturer to put the 4pin connector pins in wrong order... The GPU is fine except for fans not even trying to start, so it would be a shame to bin it, expecially with current GPU prices.

[@AaronAverett]

@@RacheyPL I did see this, and I'm not ignoring you. I have a stack of 290s in various states of disrepair sitting on a shelf - I'll try to get the measurements you need this weekend. Maybe I should make a video about it?

[@mikangv08]

Awesome video

[@AaronAverett]

Thanks!

[@pasi8997]

Well done

[@nikolakarovic5964]

With 290 cards just problems.

[@pascals5408]

Just as a tip, it is really hard to find your videos, maybe put Gpu repair in the title and tags