OK, so some updates on the below, even though this wasn't done today:
momaka wrote on 2025-06-22, 08:06:
Hopefully will have enough energy today (sick with some kind of a stomach bug the last few days) to finish putting back together some of the retro GPUs and mobos I have taken apart for cleaning. The list is pretty long, though, so I'll probably start with the GPUs. I have 3x GF 4 MX-440, an FX 5200, a Radeon 9600 Pro, and Radeon HD 3450 AGP all waiting to be tested.
So I only had enough energy that day to test a few of the cards - namely, one of the MX-440's, the FX5200, Radeon 9600 Pro, and Radeon HD 3450 AGP.
The MX-440 worked as I expected. Nice card with 128-bit memory bus *and* DDR memory chips. What a great budget DX-7 video card this is!
The FX 5200 also worked, no surprises. 64-bit memory bus, so it's more sluggish. But for some early DX 8/9 games on lower settings and lower resolution (800x600), it still offers playable performance.
Next, the Gigabyte Radeon 9600 Pro.
Sadly, this one needs a bit of work. But fortunately nothing too crazy - has a cracked series termination array resistor on one of the RAM modules (card probably took a hit somewhere.) So it was displaying artifacts in both Windows and in games, but not crashing. I actually took a video and some screenshots for shits and giggles. Trying to finish stage 1 in Sweeden on Collin McRae Rally 04 (a stage that I know like the back of my hand) was comically challenging with all of the messed up textures and geometry in the game. 🤣 I don't have the picture on me right now, but I'll try to post them here some day.
Last but not least...
momaka wrote on 2025-06-22, 08:06:
... and I'd like to put a heatsink on the HD3450's Realto AGP IC before testing it out, as it's summer and a bit hotter here now. These cards simply don't last when the Realto IC runs hot... that is, if it's even working to begin with. I got that HD3450 for $2.50. Its fan was seized and cooler caked in nicotine-soaked dust (likely a smoker's PC), so not too hopeful.
^ And that one's dead. No surprise. Either Realto or GPU chip is bad. Probably the former, though, because when the fan on the GPU stops working, the whole PCB gets even hotter (as the GPU is dissipating heat through its BGA down on the PCB.) With that, the Realto probably reached even higher temperatures than it was already running (and it already runs too hot as-is on these cards.)
Ah well, at least it's an ASUS card with decent quality caps, so I can always reuse those on another card. That alone is worth money I paid for it. But I won't leave it alone before attempting a few "reflows"/reheat cycles on both the GPU and Realto IC anyways. If it comes back to life, I'll hack it with an oversized cooler and see how long it lasts. I've done that to quite a few cards and many are still working.
Trashbytes wrote on 2025-06-23, 08:35:
Tested this 5900Xt that arrived today, it works just fine but I will need to find a solution for the fans, they work ok but the method used to hold them in the cooler was poorly designed so they are not held in that great. Might need to find a 3rd party cooler solution for it or find a method of fixing how the fans are held in the cooler.
The attachment FX5900Xt Front.jpg is no longer available
Nice card... but yeah, given the fan setup, I would replace those right away before using it. No way that cooler with those fans is adequate to keep the card cool enough and not make it die over time.
Ozzuneoj wrote on 2025-06-23, 14:25:
If someone wants to collect them with the original cooler style, they can have all the dead cards that were run too long with bad fans. There are thousands of them out there floating around (either FX series or 6000 series).
Yeah, I never understood that logic of people collecting old GPUs and running them with the crappy stock cooler just to have it "all original". I mean, I do it only when the cooler is actually capable of keeping the card cool *AND* isn't too noisy... which is almost never the case with old video cards. That said, rare cases do exist. For example, I bought several GeForce 4 MX-440 cards recently, and on some of thees, the stock cooler is pretty acceptable both in terms of noise and cooling performance. Actually, since MX cards tend to run pretty cool overall, I will probably still install a series resistor for the fan on those coolers to make them a little more quiet (and last longer too.) FWIW, the GPU temperatures were OK even with the fans barely moving (had two of these with the fans malfunctioning - one completely dead, and the other grinding and barely turning.)
Trashbytes wrote on 2025-06-23, 16:06:
I would switch them out for some Noctua 40/50 mm fans, they are small and quiet.
... but those might not move enough air. :\
Just my 2 cents, but I find Noctua is way too over-hyped around here. Yes, they are good quality, but at rather steep prices. You can get a good quality and quiet fan for much less on Mouser or Digikey from a known brand and still get the same cooling performance and quietness.
As someone else put it here, Noctua is to fans as Apple is to computers: both get the job done, but at very inflated prices.
Trashbytes wrote on 2025-07-05, 07:07:
I did salvage the coolers from them and was going to spares the boards but I really want to get away from having to do repairs so these boards will go into the local e-waste bin.
Why not put them on ebay for $0.99 starting bid as a lot instead? Even if they aren't anything special, more decent AGP cards will still sell (even without the coolers).
The 7300 GT for example, might just need a new MOSFET or two. That's how I got my 7600 GS AGP - burned hi-side MOSFET on the GPU. Trying it in a system would just trigger the PSUs crowbar / short-circuit protection. I thought it'be dead, since shorted hi-side MOSFET means the GPU chip could have seen the full 12V rail. Turns out, it somehow didn't and was fine after the MOSFET replacement. Still works 10 years later now. I got without the cooler too, so had to make my own at the time... which I'm glad I did - it turned out pretty well and keeps the card nice and cool (important for a bump-gate card.)
