Wu-Tang Clan - Shame on a Nigga

ASUS ROG Matrix GeForce GTX 260 896MB / ENGTX260 (Prequel No.2 to the HEAVY COPPER episode)

If I stay and think a little, maybe I should've called this episode: "GET PUNK'D!". Why use this as a secondary title for this episode? Well, you see, I found this card in my city on the OLX site. I sent a message, I negotiated, I got a reduction of the asking price and I established when and where to meet the seller. All was fine... I went to the meeting place and to my surprise I was met by a 17 year old "kid". Heck brother do you like PCs and stuff? I said. Yeah my brother! Said the young'un. After we chatted for a few minutes I asked to see the wonder that made us to get together : THE ASUS ROG MATRIX GTX 260!!! AWESOME! What a brick! I said. I looked briefly over the card and I paid the asking price. One of the DVI ports was missing a screw, a few pins were a little ruffled and the plastic had some marks made by a neanderthalian which maybe tried to insert a VGA cable in the DVI slot but all in all I fell in love with the card. The deal concluded. The seller assured me that it was in good working condition and if I was to have troubles with it we will speak on the phone. The boy seemed trustworthy and I wasn't worried. I didn't want to test the card before I bought it.

I got back to my car and when I took the card in my hands I felt a sweet heavy smell coming from it. YUCK! IT STINKS!

I thoroughly checked the card and I soon found some problems. On the back a Schottky diode was missing. F..K! Oh well, it could be worse I said to myself. I flipped the card and I found another problem. A ferrite choke was damaged. F..K!

GET PUNK'D! ... that's how I felt ... I called the seller and I informed him of the problems, I sent him pictures and I said that I will test the card when I have the time and I will call him afterwards. He agreed but I was still feeling the sour taste of GET PUNK'D! If I didn't peel my eyes better ...

Initially I wanted to return the card but it already had my name written all over it and besides the seller seemed trustworthy and he said that he wasn't aware of the problems that it had. He assured me again that the card works and that he has used it recently.

I stood for a moment and thought about it. If I found this card at the flea market I would've bought even if it would've had bigger problems so why bother? THIS IS MINE! I said to myself ...

The card was awesome. Back in the day I wanted one but I used a 9800GTX until I got a 460GTX Hawk. I loved that Hawk but I trade it for something way better, but this is a story for another time ...

Awesome non-reference design. ASUS ROG BABY!!!

Dingded perfection ...

Slightly bent heat pipe.

The following day I searched for a Schottky diode but I didnt find what I needed. The missing diode was SX34 https://www.digchip.com/datasheets/parts/data … 52/SX34-pdf.php. In the end I found something close to perfect but I was very close to soldering a higher value diode. I found a SB34 diode on a damaged motherboard from a dead laptop. https://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/v … FSEMI/SB34.html. The transplant went without a hitch. The SB34 is slightly wider than the SX34 but it fit perfectly.

I quickly tested the card before I was to return it to its lost glory. All was well. It ran like a dream.

Purring like a kitten! ... but what's that smell ... that awful perfume like smell ...

Fan stop.

Independent fan stop.

The fans were in great condition. No suspect noises. They have a nice tone even if they arent exactly silent. The moment they stopped spinning I thought the card passed away ... but it was normal. I dodged a bullet, I said to myself.

The SB34 diode got warm during testing, sign that it did its job.

I wasn't going to replace the dinged ferrite choke as it was too much hassle for little return. I had a back up plan for this shortcoming.

I called the seller and "I pulled him by the ears". I said to him to pay more attention as he might meet someone that could have an inappropriate reaction next time. I asked him to delete the add as the card will remain with me. The boy was respectful and he assured me that he didn't know about those problems and he will be more careful with the stuff he sells in the future. Also I should've paid more attention to what I buy. One thing is certain though: I would've bought it regardless. 😁 I didn't ask for another price reduction as I deemed it out of place. Maybe the boy needed the money more than me. All in all I was quite happy wit ma brick!

My work was just beginning. Let's see what I did wit ma brick! 😁

What was that sweet heavy perfume like smell? Initially I thought that the smell was from a GLADE type like perfume, but a test with a cotton stick dipped in IPA 99% on the brown crust present on the heatsink brought me some bad news. My sneaking suspicion was right. It seemed that the graphic card was a heavy vaper or at least one of the previous owners was vaping like hell. Yep electronic cigar residue. Sheeshhhh ... I have the work cut out for me I said to myself. If there is something that I didn't do before then it is to clean something that came from a smoking environment. I read of such horror stories. At least I'm not dealing with a regular cigar smoker I said to myself. Little did I know ... I washed the card so many times that it was kind of ridiculous ... 😁

Let's crack this can of worms open.

Awsome! I will not have to deal with any damned thermal pads! I love this non-reference design even if I regret that it's missing some heatsinks on those tasty memory chips or VRM ICs.

Skunk smell. Brownish deposits all over those cooling fins.

The TIM was still in good condition albeit it was starting to dry a little.

Brown stuff started to pour out as soon as I started to wash the heatsink with IPA 99%. I washed the heatsink many times with hot water and Fairy Lemon dish soap. After this I used an air compressor to eliminate any moisture as it could damage the metal surfaces. Next on the list were many IPA 99% washes with a soft tooth brush until I removed 99% of the deposits. It took a lot of elbow grease.

Nothing was spared from contamination. Brownish residues all over the place.

I removed everything that could be removed.

YUCK!

The light at the end of the tunnel. There's still hope.

I immersed in IPA 99% just about everything I coould.

I prepared the PCB for cleaning.

I "fixed" the problem that was hurting my eyes. Intially I wanted to use BISON EPOXY METAL to rebuild the missing piece from the ferrite choke but in the end I used grey POXIPOL as it is easier to file. Also the POXIPOL is rated for max 120C vs the BISON EPOXY METAL which is rated up to 100C. I knew that the fan would blow over the area and the ferrite choke would not reach high temps but I felt more comfortable to use something rated for a higher temperature.

I straightened all the bent heat pipes and I fixed with transparent POXIPOL some fins that were rattling. From factory they have been fixed with something similar.

I cleaned the PCB to perfection. IPA 99% in ridiculous quantities.

I washed with hot water and dish soap all of the plastics. Again it took a lot of elbow grease to remove all of the residues that were present.

The fans were also caked in brown stuff ... GREAT! More work.

Fallen soldiers.

There was still hope that I would be able to get rid of all this vaping byproduct.

i didn't want to dismantle the fans as they worked great and I had to make an exception from the rule. I cleaned them through the keyhole.

The results were beyond my expectations.

I keep on talking about the heatsink but where are the pictures? I saved the best for last!

All the fins were checked so they won't rattle. All of the fins that have been moved during cleaning were fixed using fine tweezers and each small hook that attaches them to each other has been brought to the required position. At the end I pat myself on the shoulder for a job well done. 😁

I must underline that those minor scratches present on the base of the cooler have been there from the start. I'm not responsible for them.

Clean as a whistle.

Some Arctic MX-4 2019 lovin'. Good for at least 8 years from now. The quantity of TIM used initially was huge. I used an amount that I deemed it was adequate for the task.

Smiling to the camera.

DONE!

DONE! & DONE!

I absolutely love this brick! My BRICK!

I decided to give this card an entire episode as it took a lot of work to restore. Also, let's be honest, this card is anything but regular.

I wanted to have such a card, which I consider to be collectible, as during the testing fase of the HEAVY COPPER episode, I came to the obvious conclusion that I don't have a more capable PCI-E single GPU. My dual GPU ASUS ATI 3870x2 is too hungry and I don't have a PSU higher than 370W. In the future I plan to address this shortcoming with something that is at least 1200W. We'll see ...

I can report that I got rid of 95% of the smell that the card had initially. The chemicals present in the vape smoke have penetrated the plastics and the smell still can be faintly felt on the cooling fans. All in all I am not bothered by the smell as it is way bellow the minimum threshold.

VAPING is bad for health but I guess you already knew that ... Because I didn't want to start smoking just to escape from cleaning this card, I had put in some work to get it up to my stringent standards. If I will ever buy something that comes from a smoking environment this aspect will weigh heavily in my buying decision.

But didn't I forget something? AaaaaaAAaA the DVI port that had some cosmetic issued worked well I just had to straighten some pins with a fine needle. I won't lose any sleep over this.

THIS GPU IS HERE TO STAY! aka I GOT PUNK'D with this beauty so who's complainin'? 😁 Mariah Carey - Fantasy

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1mdkl35ck/

More later.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Noisestorm - Barracuda [Monstercat Release]

TODAY! HEAVY COPPER ... if there is such a thing ... 😁

Good Ol' P35 & X48!

More later.

Muzzy - Children of Hell

HEAVY COPPER

After two prequels, the time to handle something "heavy" has arrived. Why heavy? Let's read on and find out! 😁

Before we start I must say that I absolutely love Gigabyte motherboards with the blue PCB and the golden heat pipes. Call me strange I don't care! If I stare enough at them I start getting all the wrong thoughts if you know what I mean. 😁

Is it getting hot in here or is it just me? ... Probably just me ... Probably ...

As you have noticed, lately I started presenting newer parts but this should not be a reason for concern as I'm still on the lookout for old and very old stuff. I say newer parts in the broad sense of the word as this stuff is way over the ten years old mark . Many of us, which grew up with them, might feel as if they handled them yesterday but we should not fool ourselves as TIME FLIES and it is unforgiving.

Because back in the day I had a nice Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R with a E8400 C0, the motherboards from that era are close to my heart.

A few months ago I started thinking about DQs and Xs and Ps ... P35, X38, P45, X48, DQ6, DS5, DS4, etc ... so something had to be done!

I was on the lookout for a Gigabyte motherboard but I wouldn't've turned down other offers if the price would've been right. To my surprise I soon came to the rather obvious conclusion that high end motherboards still sell for quite a lot of money and some are even growing in price. My thought of buying them cheap wasn't a realistic one. Too late to the party, I guess ...

Time passed...

On a Saturday, in November this year, I was at the local flea market, and what did I find? A Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 Rev: 2.1! motherboard! Ueheheheh, how did you end up here? Poor thing! Hmmm a bend here, a dent there, a scratch here, a Texas Instruments chip absolutely clubbed to death, what the F..K? The color of the heat pipes told me that this motherboard wasn't used too much or it might've been taken out from its box and dumped in a pile with various other bits. Such a shame ...

I looked at the pins from the CPU socket and I saw that they were in a reasonable state. The damaged ones could be easily put back into the original position.

Surprisingly I decided not to buy it as I deemed it too far gone, so I put it back from where I took it and I left.

As I didn't find anything else that day, my thoughts went back to that Gigabyte motherboard ... elementary ... so I returned to the seller.

I looked again at the motherboard and I almost started cursing. More pins from the CPU socket have been bent. In just 20 minutes this motherboard registered more hits under its belt.

HOW MUCH IS IT? 6 EUROS as it is very heavy. I can take this much at the scrappers! Nope! 5!

For just 5 EUROS I had yet another project on my hands... Robert B (TM)!

Let's see the "marvel".

From high up it looks rather well but let's delve deeper.

The Texas Instruments chip responsible for the IEEE 1394 connectivity took one for the country and it ended up with a missing pin and many other bent.

After I checked the spec sheet for the Texas Instruments TSB43AB23 I arrived at the conclusion that the torn pin was NC so it wasn't needed.

http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tsb43ab23.pdf

I started straightening the bent pins with a fine needle. The results were promising.

While I battled with the bent pins I overlooked the mighty scratch on the PCB. A sharp object has cut a few traces. After an analysis I came to the conclusion that I can use jumper wires but I didn't do this as I still don't have the required tools as the traces are very fine. I want to do this right so for the time being I left the matter untouched. This is not a deal breaker for me as in almost 25 years I only used a FireWire device once and I don't have anything else that would require something like this.

I straightened the bent pins from the CPU socket and I was ready to see if the motherboard was still alive.

Did it work? Well ... my gut feeling ... was right! It usually is by the way.

During testing I saw that the top end heat pipe, the one that was quite damaged, didn't make good contact with the chips so I cut the testing time short and I went straight to the restoration part.

Some lovin'. Fine tweezers. Various other tools. Patience. Hot water and Fairy Lemon dish soap. An air compressor soon after the wash. Awesome final results.

I bought a E8400 E0 CPU that was just about right for this motherboard.

Intial state. Some dirt and grime. Scratches. Hits. You name it. Against all the odds nothing vital was harmed and this motherboard is here to stay for another 20 years! ULTRA DURABLE BABY!

I arranged again the pins from the CPU socket. This time I was quite thorough. Only one pin still isn't perfect but I let you find out which one. 😁

I installed a P4 s775 CPU as protection during cleaning and I was ready to do my job.

I've seen worse. Child's play!

Nothing was left to chance.

On another Saturday, I found two Corsair DDR2 800MHz XM2 kits at the same flea market and I started to feel that I have something really nice in my hands. P35+Corsair XMS2=LOVE!

As usual, to wash the board I used IPA 99% in ridiculous quantities.

Two washes later I was still not satisfied with the results. Some leftover dirt and grime gave me the middle finger. White streaks were still present on the PCB so I said to myself that there's only one thing left to do: hot water and dish soap, followed by a a quick air compressor session, more IPA 99% washes, other air compressor sessions, then fine detailing.

Some time later I got what I wanted.

Uuuhhhhhhhhhhhh it is sooooooo SHINY!

I had to massage the slightly bent heat pipe that didn't make good contact with the chips from the top part of the motherboard and I was ready to take the final shots of the board.. MX-4 paste was used over the NB chip and I was ready to rock and roll!

This board is a survivor.

Why HEAVY COPPER. How I came up with such a title?

When I took this motherboard in my hands for the first time I thought that much of the weight came from the cooling system and boy was I surprised that when I removed it, it was feather-light . Elementary my dear Robert! Elementary! HEAVY COPPER is LIGHT! Who would've thought ... food for thought I said to myself. 😁

Regardless, I must say that just by looking at this motherboard there's only one thing that would come up into your mind and this is HEAVY. The joining of the word HEAVY with the word COPPER was rather obvious so this is how the name of this episode was born.

Hold your horses! I'm not done yet! There's still time for something HEAVY. Here comes part. 2!

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/11zz7rpxs

Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6 REV: 1.1

High end glory!

Some of you might think that the DDR3 (GA-X48T-DQ6) is better than this motherboard but I don't think this way. This is a high-end motherboard. Period. It has all the bells and whistles and it is quite something to look at.

After I got my P35 I still wanted a X48 and it had to also be from GIGABYTE. Nothing else would cut it!

Obviously I wanted a DQ6.

The seller of the motherboard gave me all the details and it even sent the board with someone for fear that it might be damaged if he would've sent it by courier. The one that delivered it to me didn't want to take anything for its effort. GG!

P35 and in the opposite corner the X48. Two awesome boards from two different places. One kicked in the teeth the other pampered from birth. Opposing city states in all their glory.

Looking good! HEAVY COPPER! Look at the thickness of that slab of copper!

Before I restored the motherboard I tested to see if it was in good working condition. All crews reporting!

I conducted a thorough examination of the motherboard and besides some dust I only found one problem. The heat pipes weren't shiny enough. 😁

I removed the cooling system. This was a breeze. Thermal pads all around.

Ready to be great again!

Thermal pads.

While I cleaned the motherboard I had the same troubles like the P35 motherboard so I knew what I had to do.

Hot water. Fairy Lemon. Air compressor. IPA 99%. Air compressor. Fine detailing.

To rejuvenate the heat pipes I decided to address only the areas that were dull and leave the other parts that had the required shine coefficient, alone. 😁

I patiently polished, the copper tubes and other bits. Afterwards I washed them with hot water and dish soap . Then a quick dry with my trusty air compressor.

The dirty thermal pads were gently cleaned with a cotton stick and IPA 99%.

Shiny!

When I removed the cooling system from the motherboard I was quite shocked to see that it is quite heavy. While the P35 cooling was feather light the X48 was something else entirely. Who would've thought that LIGHT COPPER is actually HEAVY? or Not all heat pipes are created equally!

Elementary my dear Robert! Elementary! LIGHT COPPER is HEAVY! Who would've thought ... food for thought I said to myself.

Almost there.

Final results!

Awesome piece of HW!

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1q8euvk7k/

Now I can cross something else from my list of must have parts. The only downside is that the list is getting longer and longer. Damn it!

This was the HEAVY COPPER story and in the end we arrived at the conclusion that COPPER is LIGHT or HEAVY depending of the situation or the "angle" from which we "look". Elementary ... indeed!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

More later.

Man, every post of yours makes me happy.

I'm glad you like 'em! 😀

More to come.

Here's to another New Year. Only 2.5 hours in my time zone until New Years Day.

bjwil1991 wrote on 2019-12-31, 18:17:

Man, every post of yours makes me happy.

+1 to that! Happy New Year and to many more episodes!

Hey Robert! I had a question about some of the older builds, particularly the AM5x86. What makes that CPU family so difficult to find in the wild compared to the Intel products from the same years? Are the comparable Intel 486's just as hard to come across? Were the AMD products just less popular? Was the AM5x86 just not highly produced? I am interested in learning more about the rarity and history of this processor class.

Thanks!

Hi solidus

I got my AMD 5x86 very late in the cycle. In our country it was still sold extensively. Being my first ever PC and as I didn't have experience I just went to the shop with my father and I said I want a 5x86 as deh 5 is better that 4. 😁 I also said I specifically want a 850MB HDD and 1MB video card. No sound card and no CD-ROM. 4 MB of ram and a 14" monitor. In '96 this was around 1000USD. Pentium stuff was an uknown for me as informati0n wasn't so readily available. Internet was just as dream. When my classmates at high school found out that I got a PC the first thing they asked was: WHY DIDN'T YOU GET A PENTIUM! 😁 Good times! Anyway that AMD 5x86 is forever engraved into every fiber of my body and soul.

In my opinion Pentium stuff is more common because even if it costed an arm and a leg, people used them way more as they were more powerful. Also if you knew you paid a lot of doe for it then for sure you will try to get your moneys worth. Stuff that was cheap had lower performance and maybe it was discarded sooner.

I wouldn't call the AMD 5x86 rare as it was manufactured in quite vast quantities. Also the AMD 5x86 is just a souped up 4x86 and it should not be confused with an AMD K5. I still find them in my country for around 12+ EUROS a piece. I reserve the title rare for the Cyrix 5x86. Also I still find Intel 4x86 CPU at the local flea market from time to time but they have gotten scarce lately. If you know where to look you can still find these CPUs. It takes patience, luck and sometimes more money than usual.

AMD 4x86 CPUs were pretty common in my country and I'm sure that sellers put a higher price for Intel 4x86 CPUs even if the AMDs were in some instances maybe faster.

Here on vogons you can find a lot of info about the 5x86 class.

The Ultimate 486 Benchmark Comparison
So you want a Cyrix 5x86-133?
Cyrix 5x86-133 Testing
Hypothetical 5x86
Overclocking AMD 5x86 to 180MHz
AMD 5x86 @200
AMD 5x86@160mhz., Media Vision PAS16. ( Win 95 )
The World's Fastest 486

and much more.

Robert B wrote on 2020-01-09, 19:46:

... is forever engraved into every fiber of my body and soul.

Have the same feeling about a Cyrix 6x86 PR150... but I wasn't so lucky, the year was 2001...

Robert B wrote on 2020-01-09, 19:46:

... Also I still find Intel 4x86 CPU at the local flea market from time to time but they have gotten scarce lately. If you know where to look you can still find these CPUs. It takes patience, luck and sometimes more money than usual.

You are right here, I'm looking for a Intel 486 DX4-100 for more than 6 months now, and today I just found one right at my workplace... for free, on an old ISA SBC 😀

By the way, I've read all your posts from this thread, it took me a few weeks... You are doing a great job! Congrats!

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad you liked them. 😀

Tomorrow I'll post the flea market FX 3000 story. 😁

More later.

Poldoore - This Road (feat. Sleepy Wonder)

The FX 5900 Ult.. ahem FX 5900 ahem ... I mean ... F..K IT! QUADRO FX 3000!

I wanted a Geforce FX 5800 but I couldn't find one. A Geforce FX 5800 Ultra smiled at me but my wallet said HECK NO! I wanted a Geforce FX 5900 but I couldn't find one. So I looked for a Geforce FX 5900 Ultra but I couldn't find one. So ... I wanted nothing for a long time. 😁

In December 2019 I was at the flea market. The weather was nice, sun, a lot of people, many sellers. Even so it seemed that I'll go home empty handed. Someone snatched from me two Corsair DDR2 kits because I didn't buy them when I held them in my hands. My plan to first see what is available and then buy has backfired ...

I walked absent minded and I was a little pissed ... "the crisis" came to our little flea market too ...

When I was about to call it a day, I saw something green with a beefy cooler and that was quite long. The heck is this?

The label said the following: Quadro FX 3000!

The heck is this 3000? A quick Internet search has revealed that actually is an nVIDIA Geforce FX 5900 in disguise. NICE! Being fed up with FX 5200, 5500, 5600 or 5700 stuff, this card was something else.

By looks, the Quadro FX 3000 is very much alike the FX 5900 Ultra. After I checked the specs I came to the conclusion that this card is and it isn't an ULTRA. A regular FX 5900 has a GPU(NV35) frequency of 400 MHz and 128MB at 425MHz / 850MHz effective. A FX 5900 Ultra has a GPU(NV35) running at 450MHz and 256MB at 425MHz / 850MHz effective. A Quadro FX 3000 has a GPU(NV35) frequency of 400MHz and 256MB at 425Mhz / 800MHz Effective. So this is how the name of this episode came to be ...

I checked out the card and I saw that one of the DVI ports was damaged.

The seller assaulted me with questions and in the end threw out a price: around 10 EUR.

I said that it is too much and I really don't like that messed up DVI port.

The seller was swift to demonstrate that the DVI port was ok, so he took a DVI cable from the table and plugged it into the damaged DVI port. He also said the card came from a server and that it is 100% working.

I spoke at length with the seller and I said that I'm willing to pay 4 EUR as this is the usual price here at the flea market but in the end I didn't even pay that as I backed off and I decided to think about for a little more.

Bad move ... what was to think about I really don't know ... . 😁

I checked out the rest of the market and as I was preparing to leave I walked again past the table of the seller of the FX 3000.

My thoughts remained with that long card ...

What do I see? The guy that probably snatched those two Corsair DDR2 kits, was holding the Quadro FX 3000 in his hand. ^$@#^*&#$&*^!#$!%$!*!!!!! 😁 I also snatched some stuff from him over the time so in a way we are even. 😁

The seller took the same cable in his hands and showed him that it goes in easily ...

I was looking from the distance and I saw that the cable did not enter easily.

%^#&^@&^%#$!!!!

Not even this time the seller was able to sell the card.

By this time I was quite furious that right before my eyes the card took yet another hit bellow its belt and I went straight to him and I handed him the 4 EUR. I bought it without even looking at the DVI ports.

Don't you want to buy the cable? THANKS BUT NO THANKS!!!

Bad move after bad move on my behalf, I had yet another project on my hands.

Let's see the star of this episode.

SUN 900-50171-1800-000 Quadro 256MB Dual DVI AGP/ 370-6803-02 SUN MICROSYSTEMS FX3000 QUADRO 256MB DUAL DVI AGP

Not even taking into account the abuse from the seller, this card didn't have an easy life. Look at the wool stuck in the cooling fan.

Now let's look at the messed up DVI ports. The damaged area is the one responsible with the analogue signal.

Before everything I wanted to sort out the DVI ports. I had to use a tiny bit of white plastic to replace what was missing. This piece was a little thicker but I didn't find anything better no matter how much I searched. Even so, it took some fiddling to get it in place using super glue. I had to be very careful with the super glue. Too much could spell disaster. I really wanted to glue the missing piece as maybe the neighbouring pins could make contact in some instances. I knew that the probability was quite low but I did it anyway.

After about 30 minutes I got what I wanted.

I made some tests with various DVI cables and VGA adapters. The DVI Port #1, the one with the glued plastic piece, was only tested with DVI cables. The DVI Port #2, which was in better shape was tested with all the types of cables.

All was ok. The glue job held. The pins that were arranged with a fine needle stayed in place.

The DVI ports can be replaced but I'm not sure that I can find someone to do a factory level job so I discarded this option.

Some time after I sorted out the DVI ports I briefly tested the card to see if it is alive.

I cleaned the fan.

I plugged the FX 3000 in my PIII 800MHz with AGP 2x 3.3V not before cheking out that it can run at 3.3V and I powered it up for the first time.

http://www.playtool.com/pages/agpcompat/newagp.html

All was okay and the image was crystal clear.

I didn't run more tests as I was planing to get out a AGP 8x test bed and determine exactly the state of the card.

I knew that the card was alive so I did what I do best.

I removed the heatsink from the video memory. I really liked the construction of the card. You can almost taste that workstation quality all over the place.

The screws that hold the heatsinks from the video memory were a little stuck and I was stressed that I might strip the threads. All was ok though. Also I manged to save the paper thin and extremely soft thermal pads which are the fiberglass reinforced kind. The one that starts falling apart just by looking at them. I dodged a bullet. I really didn't want to buy replacements.

When I wanted to remove the heatsink from the GPU I was confronted with a somewhat new situation. The cable from the fan was held in place on a neighbouring capacitor through the use of some sort of hot glue. It took some work to free it using a fine needle. There was no other way to do it. No capacitors were harmed during this process. 😁 YAY!

Next came the removal of the GPU heatsink. This was quite well fixed and it didn't budge at all. I removed the fan and I tried to clean it with it in place. This wasn't easy and I didn't like the end results so I decided to remove it no matter what. Said and done. After a few minutes of thinking I came up with the perfect solution. I put the card with the face down and I flooded the contact area of the heatsink with the GPU with IPA 99% using a syringe. Then I placed the card with the face down on a heater for a few minutes. Afterwards I just gently twisted the heatsink back and forth until it was free.

To remove the leftover TIM I used small quantities of acetone and a cotton stick. You don't want that stuff all over the PCB.

Eversince I bought the card, the black ring present on the silver shroud of the cooler was hurting my eyes. The dirt that was stuck in the cooling fan rubbed against it over the time. Some polishing paste and a cotton stick later made all the difference.

Cleaning the heatsink from the GPU took some work. The black deposits inside were a pain to remove. In the end the dirt was no match for hot water, Fairy and a determined guy like me. The leftover TIM was removed with acetone.

I protected the thermal pads from contamination .

I dismantled the fan for future cleaning. The fan was also quite dirty and covered by black stuff that got into all the nooks and crannies.

I cleaned the heatsink from the video memory. The thermal pads were gently cleaned with cotton sticks dipped in IPA 99%. Scratched fins were covered with glossy black paint. The final results were up to my specs so I was very pleased with them.

I cleaned the PCB.

The screws that hold the heatsinks from the video memory were cleaned with polishing paste and a rag so that I won't have problems later. I must say that when I cleaned the heatsinks from the video memory I also cleaned the holes where the screws go in, with cotton sticks and polishing paste. Afterwards the holes have been cleaned with cotton sticks and IPA 99%.

All the small bits were cleaned.

I cleaned the fan and I greased it with a thin vaseline and a tiny amount of thin oil.

In the end it all came together quite nicely don't you think?

The GPU was cleaned one last time with acetone and cotton sticks. I was on the straight home and I felt it. I looked at the card and I liked what I saw.

ALL DONE!

For testing I decided to use my Asrock AM2NF3-VSTA motherboard. For some time I wanted to see if my AMD Phenom II X4 960T Black Edition works even if it isn't on the list of supported CPUs. Even with the BIOS updated to the final version and no matter what BIOS settings I used, I wasn't able to make the 960T run at more that 800MHz so I had to use my crappy Sempron 3000+. Even to this day I don't have a faster CPU for this motherboard. Oh well, this is no biggie I said to myself.

The DVI port #1 worked well. I knew this from before.

The DVI port #2 didn't work no matter what DVI cable I used. I started thinking that maybe it is dead but inspection after inspection of the PCB and various pins and chips have led me believe that the explanation lays in other place.

As you know by now I never quit until I find and answer or I run out of options. I looked on the Internet at a few pictures with FX 5900 Ultra cards and I saw that they have a VGA port and a DVI port. I looked at my FX 3000 and I saw that there are two Silicon Image chips present that might service each port. I said to myself that my sneaking suspicion, that the second port might be just a VGA port disguised as a DVI port, might be true. So, I used a VGA-DVI cable and an DVI-VGA adaptor. Sure enough the DVI port #2 put out a clear image on the first try. I don't know if this is normal but I'm not complaining.

Smile in the sun! My FX 5900 Ult.. / FX 590. / QUADRO FX 3000!

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/2r0f24rv4/

For some time I wanted to mod this card into a FX 5900 ULTRA but I decided not to do it even if I can as I deemed that I would not get more from this. It only takes some hardmods and a BIOS rewrite. This card is a Quadro and that's it. During testing it was pretty cool and I liked the sound of the fan even if it was on the loud side. You could feel those frames churning away. 😁 I'm sure that it can run at more than 400MHz so my Quadro-ULTRA is firing on all its cyclinders.

Being a Quadro, it means that it has a few extra settings in the drivers. There is also the option for a softmod using RivaTuner. All in all I wasn't going to mod this card. A Quadro from birth a Quadro 'till death. Over the time I used it I didn't encounter any problems with the drivers and it ran like any other video card.

Phill says it better here. Quadro FX to GeForce mod - And is it even worth it? Overpriced GeForce FX 5800 Ultra vs $15 Quadro FX 2000 - Revisiting the Quadro to GeForce Mod

Didn't I forget something? Aaaaa, the cable of the cooling fan that was held with hot glue was fixed on the same capacitor using transparent POXIPOL. No loose ends here!

More later.

Another great story! And also a nice card...

PS: I'we got your PM, but, being a newbie here 😀, I can't even reply. I'we got a few things from L. in the past months, I know him only form olx. He is a really nice guy. Actually, I started collecting mostly CPUs for more than 10 years ago, but I had to take a loooong break. I got married and had a little girl. Now that she's almost 4 now, I have a little spare time for this hobby 😀
PS2: my name is also Robert B. 😀

Small world! 😀 You should start a thread with your stuff! It is quite incredible that you have the same name as me. 😀

Found this puppy a few weeks ago. My second one. The story will be short. 😁

More later.

The Trashmen - Surfin Bird - Bird is the Word

cough, cough, ahem, ahem, ... surfin' bird finds a way! 😁

More later.

Bob Sinclar - Cinderella (She Said Her Name)

She said her name was ... Cinder ... Gainward 7900 GTX!

I don't know how to say this but I'm addicted to the trips I take to the flea market. Talking to people, meeting friends, losing some parts to competition right in front of my eyes, finding diamonds in the rough, getting pushed around by an angry seller (yep that has happened to me) but not responding to insults, haggling to a certain extent, giving some money to an old gipsy that needed to buy a cup of hot wine because it was very cold, giving some money to an old lady that was selling some stuff she had around the house and many other situations like these. Life is colorful! However, from the buyer's perspective, the grass is a tad greener than from the seller's perspective, just sayin' ... as the buyer isn't the one standing in the market trying to make a buck ...

I must underline the fact that no matter the state or the age of the components I find at the flea market, in regard to their functionality I'm an absolute optimist/idealist. I strongly believe by default that all of them are still alive an kicking and just by a twist of fate they ended up in the "dumpster". Most of the time this is a healthy perspective but as they say: all that glitters is not gold or is it?

On a Sunday morning in January 2020 I was at the flea market even if the day before I did the same exact thing. Something made me get out of the house quite early and drive there.

Once I arrived at the flea market I did my usual routine and I walked the same path I take every time. A careful planned route that allows me to go through the market in one go. I was in very good spirits even if I didn't find anything ... it looks like I won't spend any money today! I said to myself ... YAY!

A few meters later though, I found something huge that was placed on a dirty bed sheet.

GAINWARD 7900GTX PCI-E 512MB TV-OUT 2DVI *** NE/79GTX+T352-P348-non GS

It was a reference nVIDIA 7900 GTX which only had a few GAINWARD stickers. I would've wanted a red PCB and a funky cooling system but even so, this card is anything but mundane. Well built, heavy, something that doesn't pop up to often at the flea market.

Obviously that I bought it but not before negociating a reduction of the asking price by 50%. If you don't haggle, the seller will remember you and the price will be bigger next time. I dislike this tactic but when in Rome ...

The fever that takes control of me when I find nice things at the flea market, took over and had incapacitated me. so I wasn't able to judge correctly. I know this feeling well but I still get caught off guard. Even if I checked the card very carefully two times, I completely missed details that were pretty obvious once I got back to my car and I looked at it "objectively". Three ceramic capacitors were MIA. One in particular was a tougher nut to crack but I knew I had a solution for it. To make matters worse, while I was still deciding, I saw that the PCB was bent but I bought the card regardless and I took it home with me.

Gainward my kryptonite ... I absolutely love Gainward cards, there is no secret ...

What was already a project, has turned into something bigger ...

When I dismantled the card I saw that a piece of the aluminium heatsink fell off, sign that the card took one for the country. This is not good I said to myself. Even so, I soldiered on and I was fully committed to restore it. There was no going back.

The shiny PCB, the fan that was barely dusty, the plastic shroud still in good shape, the almost new DVI ports, have reinforced my belief that the card was still alive so I didn't do a preliminary test. 99% of the time I don't test the cards before I restore them even if I am aware that this is not exactly "healthy". I might have a few screws loose but who cares. One of these days I really should tighten them but in the mean time ... 😁

The missing ceramic capacitors. Usual problem with stuff bought from the flea market.

The naked PCB.

Hammer time! I used a piece of soft wood, two strips of cardboard that held the bracket between them and a hammer. After a couple of well placed blows I managed to obtain very good results. Getting this perfect requires specialized tools and a little more metal work experience. So, this was as good as it was going to get.

I fixed the broken piece from the heatsink with superglue. Afterwards I reinforced the area with Bison Expoxy Metal.

Soon came the moment to tackle the ceramic capacitor at the position C700. The pad was missing completely so my options were limited.

In the end I decided to clean of lacquer a tiny trace that used to make contact with the missing pad.

With an exacto knife I carefully cleaned an area that I deemed it was big enough for the solder to stick.

I cut a tiny piece of solder wick that had some solder added to it.

I glued the piece on the PCB with a tiny amount of superglue then I soldered the ceramic capacitor. At that time I thought that I solved the problem. Little did I know... 😁

I soldered the other missing ceramic capacitors.

Something was still nagging me though. The tiny piece of solder wick that I used as a pad replacement didn't inspire confidence. There was no way for me to tell if it really made contact with the trace that had been cleaned of lacquer.

I decided to heat the opposite side of the ceramic capacitor and see if it would move. Right away, the ceramic capacitor had moved, a clear indication that the solder wick didn't make contact with the PCB. My hunch was right. When I added more solder to the solder wick piece, that piece had sucked more solder and it had separated from the PCB. Elementary ...

My solution to the missing pad wasn't the right one.

As a last resort I decided to try and solder the ceramic capacitor directly hoping that somehow I might be able to add enough solder and get a good contact with the cleaned trace.

I was successful right on the first try. It doesn't get any better than this. As a precaution I fixed the ceramic capacitor with a tiny amount of transparent POXIPOL.

I polished the bracket.

I cleaned the fan.

I cleaned the heatsink. A fin that was rattling was fixed with a discrete amount of transparent POXIPOL.

The PCB was cleaned until it was like a mirror. Damn this is an evil green PCB!

While I dismantled the card I saw that I had to deal with those awesome white thin and fragile fiberglass reinforced thermal pads ... $@&&$@*))!(&*#!()!$&!%!^&^!!!!! The good stuff !!!

As the thermal pads on the VRM section couldn't be saved I had to replace them with custom ones made from soft blue Arctic Cooling thermal pad. 😁

I wanted to place an order for more Arctic Cooling thermal pads as replacements for the ones on the video memory chips but something stopped me from doing this.

The thought that the card might be dead came into my mind quite vividly so, I decided to test it right away.

I reused the original thermal pads and I reconstructed them with bits from the pads that were on the VRM section. Not an ideal solution but it was the right one for that moment.

I assembled the cooling system. Damn this is a beefy cooler. I LIKE IT!

Bits and pieces ...

When I got to the end and I held the card in my hands I saw that all of my effort had been for nothing.

With what should I begin? I mentioned earlier that I knew that the card had a bent PCB but when I put everything back and I saw that the VRM heatsink almost made contact with the cooling fins of the main heatsink I knew that something was terribly wrong.

To make matters worse I also saw the there was a huge gap between the heatsink and the memory chips. Damn son ... you should've checked the card better ...

That broken off piece from the heatsink should've made me think. Warped PCB? Warped heatsink? In the end it doesn't matter.

I quickly put together a test bed and I anxiously pressed the power button.

Tense moments passed. Yep ... she ded ...

My GAINWARD eBorce 7900 GTX IS NOT firing on all its cylinders. Busted memory chip. RIP.

Angelo Badalamenti Twin Peaks Theme

A show piece and nothing more.

Relatively speaking, being pissed off, not for the work put in but for the fact that the card was dead, when I was about to post this story and I did a final check of the pictures, I saw that from the PCB a tiny resistor was also missing. So, I decided to address this new problem and see what's what.

I had around some Grizzly Minus Pad 8 1.0 mm thermal pads that I used on the video memory chips. The added thickness and the higher durity of the Grizzly pads have allowed me to reduce the warp of the PCB. That was my intention from the get go.

I must underline that after I mounted the thicker pads I also checked to see if the heatsink still made good contact with the die of the GPU. The results were great and I was able to assemble the card for the last time.

As expected, the added work didn't bring anything new. For sure one or more memory chips are damaged.

A reflow might cure it but for the mean time, the card, now completely restored, will sit in a box, just as a reminder of times gone by and will not be put to work no more.

As the PCB is warped, the explanation is quite obvious. Bent PCB - Damaged solder ball(s) - That's all she wrote.

What hurts me the most, is the fact that a card that had very little signs of use suffered a stupid death. It was dumped in a pile with a bunch of stuff and that was it. THE END!

Better luck next time. 😀 DBMM - Starscream feat. Lostcause (Original Mix)

This was just another learning experience for me as I was faced with new problems that needed new solutions. The upside is that now I am better prepared to take on future patients that hopefully won't be dead on arrival.

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1g1kw0xq8/ *** https://postimg.cc/gallery/1uhg8at9c/

More later.

Interesting. I also got a Quadro FX3000 card and one of the DVI ports was flakey with the analogue signal thru a VGA cable, as if one of the RGB signals wasn't making contact, although the female end of the DVI pins appeared intact. I ended up replacing the port from a dead graphics card and all was fine.

Parachute Youth - Can't Get Better Than This

NEXT EPISODE: Another Dragon joins the herd!

More later.

Scorpions - Always Somewhere

3dfx! Gainward DRAGON 4000! VOODOO! BANSHEEE!!! - half cocked ...

I wasn't planning to post this episode so soon, but truth be told I don't have anything else prepared at the moment, so ... , this is it folks! 😁

While I was editing the pictures for this episode I suddenly became aware of a fact that was blatantly obvious by the way ... It's been a while since I was over the moon about a 3dfx card ... 5 years since all this "madness" has started is quite a lot. Getting OLDER SUX BIG TIME! There's still fire inside me but the thing I miss the most is TIME! My ally and my enemy! TIME IS EVERYTHING!

I'm still free of many chains still waiting to hold me but that doesn't mean that I don't feel them against my skin ...

I still get sucked into my work and 4 hours later I wonder at how fast time has gone by even if I ENJOY EVERY GOD DAMN SECOND OF IT! For me it is a form a travelling into the past and also into the future.

Time is unforgiving ...

A few moons ago I was at my "eternal" hunting ground, the good ol' flea market.

What did I see on a dirty bed sheet? An unmistakable heatsink![/B] Send me an angel - Scorpions

The NLX format and the green heatsink have caught my eye! Gainward Dragon 4000 3dfx Voodoo Banshee! ICUVGA-GW816D

The crude writing "WOODOO BANSHEE 16MB", made all easier for me even if I didn't appreciate the slight error made with a fine point marker.

A WOODOO is still a 3dfx no matter what!

I paid a trivial sum of money and the card was trapped into my hungry hands. MINE ALL MINE JUST MINE!!! After months and months this 3dfx card was like a rain from above that fell onto the thirsty savannah. There is nothing like finding a 3dfx a card that has "a value" that only you know ... a value which by the way is relative, monetary or otherwise ... but a 3dfx is still a 3dfx ... they don't make them anymore ...

Don't you want the other cards? ATI RAGE IIC and a card that I don't remember anymore ... unfortunately no, thank you very much ... jus this WOODOO card ...

Looking sorry for itself but I knew I had a gem in front of me ... come my sweet and rest, your ordeals are over, fear no more, I'll treat you right ...

Battle scars all over the place ... and a missing bracket ...

Taking into consideration the dirt and the rust present on the card I had no restraint in washing the card with plenty of water and Fairy Lemon dish soap. Then came a few rounds of IPA 99%, cotton sticks and polishing paste ... I think you know the drill by now ... all of the restoring procedures were done in a gentle manner.

At the end of the restoring procedures I took out of a box my other GWD 4000 but why did a SiS card enjoy such a select crowd?

You see, the only bracket that would fit the WOODOO card was the one present on the SiS 6326. With a tight heart I removed the bracket and I put it on the 3dfx card but not before I promised the SiS card that on the first occasion I get I will return the all important bracket.

Shining like diamond in the goat's a$$! I didn't replace the "damaged" capacitor as I wanted to preserve the "character" of the card. I must underline that I didn't test the card before I cleaned it. I just feel when a card is alive or dead or should I say I just want and think they are all alive and kicking and I just postpone the moment of truth ... well, words are just words ...

I didn't have anything suitable to cover the scratched traces on the back. Even so I still felt I had a winner in my hand ... How? I just felt it ...

Two is a crowd ... or is it? Well, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves ... Guns N' Roses - November Rain

Looking at my first GWD 4000 I wondered why I didn't remove that ALS 1999 sticker. Now I know why I left in place. A testimony of times gone by, 20 years of it ...

And here we are at the end of this short story. Was the WOODOO still alive? For sure the TY-140 with its awesome cooling powah was to be blamed ... 😁

Why call this episode half cocked? Because it is in a way somewhat unfinished.

I searched locally for for some green solder mask to cover those exposed traces on the back but I didn't find anything. The online searches have returned only some green markers so I put this "problem" on the back burner for now.

When I'll find what I need I'll revisit this moment.

Cya next time with "meatier" episodes. 😁 Guns N' Roses - Don't Cry

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1ypf9823k/

More later.

Róisín Murphy - Overpowered

Episodes in progress:

1. Biscuits

2. NV30 in the house!

3. Leadtek WinFast A350XT

4. A slot motherboard in distress!

5. Good Ol' Socket A with a nForce engine

The posting order might change over time. 😁

More later.