I Baked a GPU last night and it was delicious!

JazzyTech

JazzyTech
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT DO THIS UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING! I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY if you ruin your hardware. Check the Net, Videos extensively before attempting anything mentioned in this post!

I thought I'd share something I haven't had to do in many years which was to re-flow the solder joints on a circuit board.
The last time I did this was pre-SMD; before electronics were super tiny like they are today.

My brother has a PC that has been giving him serious problems over the last few months. He mentioned seeing graphic errors on the screen while in bios. After helping him and testing the motherboard with a known good graphic card, my brother decided to buy a new GPU.

I remembered re-flowing and jokingly suggested we could bake the card in the oven since it was basically trash anyway.
He agreed so I set it up.
The GPU in question is an NVidia 960 which had the "dancing pixels/lines" that made everything on the screen unreadable. I stripped down the board of all labels, plastic (not the connector for the fan or the DVI port), and heatsink grease, and lastly, removed all dust.

Took a baking sheet and covered the bottom with foil. made for "posts" to suspend the card above the baking sheet.
I preheated the oven to 385 degrees Fahrenheit and put the card on the center rack and baked it for exactly 10 minutes.
Removed the card and baking sheet cautiously and slowly; I didn't want to shake the molten solder.
Allowed it to cool off for 30 minutes and reassembled.
Installed it in the PC and it worked flawlessly.
I called my brother this morning and he says it's still working great.

I find it funny that something as complex as a GPU can (under the right circumstances) be remedied with a bake oven :D

Again I stress that if anyone wants to try this inform yourself thoroughly. I did this out of curiosity more than actually expecting it to work!
 

JazzyTech

JazzyTech
some time ago now did the same with a turboflame lighter on GTX590
Click to expand...

I used to repair motherboards for pinball machines, video games, jukebokes, etc. Since those units were at the mercy of the public, often times they were shaken, dropped and jolted. Re-flowing was often the solution back then. Never thought to try it on a GPU until yesterday. After looking on the Net, I found it's "a thing" :)

Never thought to try your method; I'd be concerned with uneven heating, but I can see an advantage (and speed) if you know what you're doing and what part of the circuit is failing.
 
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Morbad

Morbad
385F is usually a bit low for a reflow, especially for more modern parts and higher temp RoHS solders. That said, ghetto oven reflows often work, at least for a while.

Solder doesn't fully melt in a whole board reflow...at least one that works...if it did, you'd have seen surface mount components laying on the foil you put down that had fallen off the card. Just needs to get close enough for cracks to seal.

Do note that it's probably a temporary fix. Even professional BGA reflows with proper tools and procedures often only last 6-12 months. I do have a stick of DDR2 that I reflowed in a toaster oven about fifteen years ago that still works though...
 

JazzyTech

JazzyTech
I used to reflow at higher temps and longer bake times, but opted to keep it lower due to my ignorance of SMD and current methods. The thought of the components dropping off the board due to the adhesive melting also crossed my mind. I agree it's most certainly temporary and it will be interesting to see how long the GPU will last. Fifteen years is quite a long time!
 

STRONTIUM DOG

STRONTIUM DOG
I might have to invest in a re-balling jig for my next card when i am satisfied I wont be buying a new card for quite some time(unless truly )
to see If I can extend its life expectancy.
great to hear you had success...……...
oh yea did my wireless sony headphones too as was getting crackling when adjusting volume with my turboflame too
all the sweat dinner grease from fingers etc over the years cant be to good for them and that was 4 years ago .. (wearing them now) just giving the solder a general re-shine over the board can work wonders
funny still got my zx spectrum from back in the day still works fine no problems same with my amiga 1200 (probably the collecting dust factor helps)
just don't build em like they used too lol.
ps got another approx14 months on that gtx590 new pads & paste of course btw b4 it went to that great gpu in the sky or android heaven as Kryton form red dwarf would put it.
and rma'd my current GTX980 after 30 months because artefact pixeling out of place on games and subsequent furmark test.
as for killing your device warning if its already past warranty and you are gona buy a new one anyways you have nothing to loose but a little of your precious time in attempting these type of fix if you have the basic skill set required
I also find good use of alcohol helps...………... and when used on device repairs ;) but not too much flux
 
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JazzyTech

JazzyTech
That reminds me that I have an old PS3 headset that needs some TLC. The connector is flaky; I have to pull it to one side to get it to charge. LoL @ your "4 years of grease" :)
I think the lead content in solder these days is lower than 20(+) years ago. I still have two A500s and two A3000s that still work perfectly after all these years. So true that things aren't made with real quality anymore. Since computer components become obsolete (at least from the manufacturer's standpoint) so quickly its just easier to buy a new one. :/
 

Frank

Frank
That reminds me of another "not recommended but it works" cure. The old Atari STs had a problem that the CPU would sometimes walk out of its holder because of temperature changes. The quick and dirty solution was to slam it on a hard surface to drive the chip back into its holder. The advice on the internet was that his had to be slammed down fairly hard, and that your girlfriend would be more inclined to use the force necessary to perform the task <grin>
 

JazzyTech

JazzyTech
Frank said:
That reminds me of another "not recommended but it works" cure. The old Atari STs had a problem that the CPU would sometimes walk out of its holder because of temperature changes. The quick and dirty solution was to slam it on a hard surface to drive the chip back into its holder. The advice on the internet was that his had to be slammed down fairly hard, and that your girlfriend would be more inclined to use the force necessary to perform the task <grin>
Click to expand...

Ah yes, that brings back similar memories, but of the Amiga 500 :) The mention of old computers got me nostalgic so I had a walk down memory lane via YouTube about the Amiga.
My then wife actually held one of my machines out of the window saying: "Me or this machine?" (from the eight floor). That's not what you want to hear when fighting with ASM68000 code.
 

CMDR X

CMDR X
I did this three times with my 8800GT. It fixed it for about six months each time.
Round number four didn't go as well. It died for good. I kept it just for the fond
memories and the fact that this crazy method does indeed work.
X.
 

JazzyTech

JazzyTech
With "traditional" pre-smd component boards (where all components are on one side, soldered on the other) there's no real danger of losing components due to melting solder. I was pleasantly surprised this method actually worked, although it's just a way to give my brother time to buy a "less baked" graphic card :)
 
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