Replacing or maybe just reflowing the BGA RAM chips would do it if the issue is RAM related .

Replacing the bga ram is not something doable so easy...
Reflow should I use a heat gun?

Thanks

For diagnosing the memory: Do the artifacts get worse as the card heats up? If the artifacts are the same regardless of temperature then it suggests a loose connection which a heat gun might fix. This can be further confirmed by pressing each chip until you find a loose connection that's fixed by applying pressure. If the artifacts get worse as the card heats up, it could still be a loose connection but could also be a bad chip. This can be further confirmed by cooling each chip with compressed air. I'll give each chip a 0.5 second spray with an upside-down can of compressed air to see if the artifacts get better and then worse again as the chip is cooled and then heated again. Temperature dependent artifacts usually means bad chip but you should also still try pressing each chip to get more evidence as it might be a broken connection induced by temperature. If you find a loose connection, I'd use a heat gun and temperature gun, watch a video first, do a dry run and take my time with it. Anything worse I'd probably go for broke and try an oven reflow. I must say though it looks brutal, as Ash would say if he were still with us, "You have my sympathies."

maestro wrote on 2021-07-23, 01:03:

For diagnosing the memory: Do the artifacts get worse as the card heats up? If the artifacts are the same regardless of temperature then it suggests a loose connection which a heat gun might fix. This can be further confirmed by pressing each chip until you find a loose connection that's fixed by applying pressure. If the artifacts get worse as the card heats up, it could still be a loose connection but could also be a bad chip. This can be further confirmed by cooling each chip with compressed air. I'll give each chip a 0.5 second spray with an upside-down can of compressed air to see if the artifacts get better and then worse again as the chip is cooled and then heated again. Temperature dependent artifacts usually means bad chip but you should also still try pressing each chip to get more evidence as it might be a broken connection induced by temperature. If you find a loose connection, I'd use a heat gun and temperature gun, watch a video first, do a dry run and take my time with it. Anything worse I'd probably go for broke and try an oven reflow. I must say though it looks brutal, as Ash would say if he were still with us, "You have my sympathies."

1379966_orig.jpg

And that Ash did not have a boomstick . 😉

Thank you all for the tips.

The artifacts do not change with temperature, nor if I push the memory chips (as much as I can do since there is an heatsink on any of them).

Oven time?

Nemo1985 wrote on 2021-07-23, 03:41:

Thank you all for the tips.

The artifacts do not change with temperature, nor if I push the memory chips (as much as I can do since there is an heatsink on any of them).

Oven time?

I would not do that using an oven I use to cook food in . See https://www.reddit.com/r/PrintedCircuitBoard/ … d_toaster_oven/ . Not sure how reliable that info is, but I still would not risk it .

As for the potential damage to the card, I will leave the answer to someone more knowledgeable and experienced in the matter at hand .

Isn't there too much paste? I don't know, if Your paste is conductive and if you have any smd parts in it, but I remember how because of the large amount of paste, that shorted out the smd parts, HD 7970 didn't work for me (black screen, no picture) - I had to wipe the paste and smd wash it with IPA.

Ydee wrote on 2021-07-23, 16:02:

Isn't there too much paste? I don't know, if Your paste is conductive and if you have any smd parts in it, but I remember how because of the large amount of paste, that shorted out the smd parts, HD 7970 didn't work for me (black screen, no picture) - I had to wipe the paste and smd wash it with IPA.

That doesn't look like conductive paste, it looks like Arctic MX-4.

It's not conductive it's cheap chinese thermal paste (the one that they give you with the cpus when you buy from online websites).

I do not use expensive paste before testing the stuff.

In for the ride... I've got one with probs, though pretty definite it's the RAM chips, the artifacts nearly disappear when I press on them. Might get a cheapy amazon hot air pencil... I've done laptop chipsets with a paint stripping gun, but just a leeeeeeetle more finesse required on these I think.

I’ve successfully done repairs in the past like replacing capacitors, soldering SDRAM style memory chips, but I’ve never tried the oven reflow, I would if I were left with no other options and I didn’t care if the card was ruined in the process. Be sure to heed that good advice and get a used toaster oven from a thrift store if you want to attempt it and make sure to remove as much plastic as possible, and remove those memory heatsinks before you do it. Watch a few videos first, it should be fun times, but I would also try scrubbing the board with a toothbrush and IPA before trying the oven which should be your last resort.

BitWrangler wrote on 2021-07-23, 18:35:

In for the ride... I've got one with probs, though pretty definite it's the RAM chips, the artifacts nearly disappear when I press on them. Might get a cheapy amazon hot air pencil... I've done laptop chipsets with a paint stripping gun, but just a leeeeeeetle more finesse required on these I think.

See if you can figure out what part of the chip needs the work by pressing in different corners, top-right or bottom-left, etc. Then you can focus on that area alone during your repair. In my experience additional solder is not really needed, you can get away with melting what’s already there and reconnect the pins. If it’s has the pins exposed then all you need is a soldering iron and variety of tips to get it done. As far as I know BGA can only be resoldered with a heat gun, not as easy to repair as SDRAM style memory.

I had a 9800XT that looked much like this. I tried a toaster oven reflow......didn't fix it. It's a shame so many of these 9000 series cards have died heat deaths.

I'm updating, While inspecting the board, I noticed that there are 1 loose smd caps and the other just fell off while I was moving the card.

This one is lifted from one side

This one came off and found on the table while turning the card.

Could it be this the reason of the artifacts?

I know that memory artifacts are different from gpu artifacts, do they sound memory or gpu artifacts to you?

Thanks

Confirmed bad memory chip(s), I suppose there is no viable solution.

How did you test it?

It just seems your cards fried from wear and tear and the flux has left the solder joins.
Personally I'd lube the circuitry with a flux tube and heat it up to shine the solder up without moving the components.
Some people put their motherboards in the oven to do that too but I think that's a little over the top.
I would recommend testing your motherboard's AGP with another AGP card to confirm the AGP socket isn't worn causing issues.

I brought the video card to my expert guy, he resoldered the 2 smd and then booted up the card, same result, he tried to press memory chip after memory chip and while pressing one the artifacts completely changed.