Introduction
Graphics cards “burn out” and are not usable after 5-10 years of operation. As these "burn outs" occur, some graphics cards can be recovered temporarily using these steps.
While following this guide, be extremely careful- this procedure can potentially damage your GPU beyond repair. Applying heat to a video card for a continuous amount of time will melt the solder connections and potentially repair any damaged solder points.
WARNING: Be cautious of toxic gas that is created when heating up plastic, solder, and electrical components. Always wear protective clothing and gloves when handling heated materials. Ensure you properly ventilate the area you are working in and do not breathe in toxic fumes.
Tools
Parts
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Check to see if your warranty is valid. This can be done by looking up the serial number of your graphics card for retail cards in most situations. For OEM video cards, the warranty is tied to the system and may expire sooner then a retail card.
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If the graphics card is still installed into the system, begin by removing the card.
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Unplug all applicable cables from the graphics card as highlighted in blue, your card may have more or less cables
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To remove your card you'll need to remove the screw(s) from the back of the card
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After doing so ensure that there is no other things blocking the card from being removed from the motherboard
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Remove the card from the PC
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Precision screwdriver(s): usually Phillips #0 and/or #1.
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Aluminum foil to cover heat sensitive components while propping the card up onto the tray.
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Thermal paste to replace the paste afterwards.
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Paper towels to rub any excess of old heatsink compound from the components. (Alcohol wipes work as-well)
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An oven.
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A baking tray.
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Preheat the oven to 385F (195C).
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Most of these temporary repairs only consist of the expanding/shrinking of bumps under the surface mount of the graphics chip. Therefore, a lower heat may work as well.
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While the oven is pre-heating:
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Remove the screws or clips holding your fan and any duct-work to the video card.
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Gently take the fan/duct-work off.
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Remove any old heatsink compound from the chips (using a paper towel).
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Place the GPU on a baking sheet with the side with most of the chips facing up.
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Place the baking sheet or dish in the middle of the oven.
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You have 2 options:
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1. Test the card quickly without reinstalling the fan/heatsink.
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2. Reinstall the fan/heatsink, then test the card.
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Repeat steps 2-9 if GPU fails test.
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Proceed to step 10 if GPU passes test.
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Apply thermal paste onto the main chip or on the connection side of the fan.
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Place the heat-sink over the GPU carefully, lining up any screws or clips.
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Apply heatsink on thermal pads as applicable.
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Reinsert GPU into GPU slot on motherboard.
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Monitor GPU temperatures while PC is at idle, opening programs, while performing intensive tasks.
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Verify that the fan was reconnected (if there is one).
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Verify that the fan spins when the PC is powered up.
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Verify the GPU works and is detectable by the system.
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98 comments
I fixed my friends dead out-of-warranty Leadtek Geforce 8800 GTS 640MB card using this procedure
That was 3 weeks ago, and he's still using it daily since then
We forgot to plug in the fan connector and his temperatures reached 124C while playing a game
Since then he reconnected his fan and it's working fine
Thanks for reading, hope it helps someone
How long did your reflowed graphics card last? Is it still rocking?
The card did eventually fail, i believe around 4 months later - the guy ended up buying a new card
Hi everyone,
I also fixed a almost dead NVIDIA 512mb MXM II card, at the first point I put the card 8 min to 190ºC aprox, it improved the performance but not yet to run.
Then i repeated the operation with 205ºC and 10 min and the card ran perfectly, add some thermal paste and it's solved.
Thanks for this manual it's very usefull!!!
javier -
I just finished doing this with an evga gtx460 i got from a friend of mine. It was throwing up artifacts and crashing constantly before. Now it's stable for over 10 minutes. It looks like it's fixed but only time will tell. Wish me luck and thanks for the guide!
Chris S -
Hey, how long did it work for?