Reviving NVIDIa chip - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: krzysiaczek99
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 14, 2017, 01:15:35 pm
content: Hello everybody,I have 3 old MBs with NVIDIA chipset produced beginning of 2008 which are turning off and on so I believe its know NVIDIA chip produced before 2009 problem and I would like temporary revive it by heating.I read here and there that you need to heat whole chip PCB but what I understand problem is in connection between die and PCB.So my question is: should I heat whole chip PCB or just die ?? For how long and what temperature. I seen some suggestions to heat whole PCB like 110-150 deg for 5 min but maybe i.e. heating for some hours will give better results ??Krzysztof

author: RayRay
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2017, 01:31:35 pm
content: I suggest you refer to this video:But set that aside, what makes you so sure it's a graphics issue?There are quite a few other possibilities, such as:1. A CPU overheating problem (this could definitely make it power off at random), but if you're saying it just switches off right after powering it up, that's unlikely to be the issue.2. A bad power button on the case (you could switch it for the reset button for testing)3. A bad power supply (try another?)4. A short between the motherboard to the case (if it's lacking in standoffs), try testing it outside the case sitting on a cardboard.5. A motherboard issue (such as a bad cap or mosfet)

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2017, 02:07:41 pm
content: I brought one back to life by heating for 15 min at 120C, just the chip itself, i see no point in heating the PCB other than as a pre-heat measure to help maintain the temperature during the process. The board came on line and was perfectly fine for general use on the desktop but when was tried in a heavy graphics game it died again.

author: krzysiaczek99
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 14, 2017, 02:08:07 pm
content: Hi,Thanks for the video, I've seen it already. I'm sure its not other problem and it's not GPU but NVIDIa chipset so my questions remain intact.Krzysztof

author: krzysiaczek99
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 14, 2017, 02:13:31 pm
content: Quote from: krzysiaczek99 on March 14, 2017, 02:08:07 pmQuote from: Bud on March 14, 2017, 02:07:41 pmThanks, will try it 1st. But i have a possibility to heat it like for some hours, do you know if somebody tried it ??Krzysztof

author: RayRay
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2017, 02:41:37 pm
content: Seems I got a bit confused earlier, sorry bout that!Anyhow, I'd strongly advise you against heating it for hours (as you are likely to damage it that way!)

author: Dachpappe
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2017, 02:52:17 pm
content: If it's the problem of "flexing" (cracking solder joints) the only good solution is to reflow the chip for a few seconds at a temperature over the melting point of the solder. I did this backyard style using a heatgun while covering the rest of the board with 2 layers of aluminium foil. Preheating the board and then giving direct heat to the gpu for ~40 seconds. Figured the time out by trial and error with old boards.Got two graphic cards revived this way. One died again after two years.Better solution would be a proper reflow with proper (controlled temperature) reflow equipment. Here we successfully used 260 deg C for a period of around a minute after preheating the board. Melting point of lead-free solder here was around 220 deg C.

author: Bushougoma
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2017, 02:16:57 pm
content: The solder balls from the chip to the PCB aren't the issue it's the solder bumps connecting the die to the substrate that crack. Any successful repair will be temporary. There are a few articles with the details search nvidia failures.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 15, 2017, 03:16:47 pm
content: Heating above say 120oC usually makes them going again for short time.