R7 370 Repairing (almost there!)

[LaloFP73]

Hi guys!

I'm trying to repair a dead MSI R7 370 Gaming 4gb GPU. I didn't find any shorts and I think the voltages look good (pictures below). I have experience in electronics, but a first timer in diagnosing PC/GPU stuff.

What would be the next step/measure/check? Maybe flashing the Bios to be sure?

I have more detailed pictures if you need.

Symptoms:
- Doesn't POST and shows no image, same beeping as if no card is connected
- GPU LED and FANs turn on
- Core slowly and slightly warms up (I didn't power on too long, to be safe)
- PC works with my other GPU (I bought this R7 broken, as a challenge!)
- Previous owner says it suddenly stopped working, but I don't know if it's the whole story.

System:
- MOBO: m5a97 evo r2.0
- PS: Thermaltake tr2 500w
- CPU: AMD Phenom ii x4 965 BE





Thanks!!!

 

[kiriakost]

I would love to see a picture of your Oscilloscope and multimeter and soldering and desoldering station too.
In the past fifteen years many people them naked of a pile of required tools, they think that they can succeed repairing something made by the edge of robotics assembly systems.

 

[LaloFP73]

I don't know what are you adding to the conversation...

Anyway, an update:
if I plug this card in the second PCIe slot and the functional one in the first PCIe slot, when Windows starts, it begins to recognise and install the generic driver for the "new device" and then the screen goes black (without asking if I want to switch cards or something).

In Windows Safe mode I can see the card in the Device Manager, but it says that is a R9 200 Series, not a R7. Is it a faulty Bios thing?
(The HD is the old working one)

 

[Final_Fighter]

sounds like a faulty bios. might be worth opening gpuz and seeing what it says about it.

 

[Caring1]

R7 is a rebrand of the earlier R9 200 series.
If the card is recognised prior to driver installation, then you could test if it functions using basic VGA drivers in Windows without the other card installed.
If that fails then the card is most likely borked.

 

[silentbogo]

Those are typical symptoms of a dead or dying GPU. Not much you can do about it.
Just in case, try this BIOS, and if it won't help - it's gone.
Back in a day I used to buy broken 200/300 series cards in bulk, and from my personal experience I can tell you that the only few things that are fixable in those cards are:
1) VRMs (usually manifests as 12V short)
2) Physically damaged components (e.g. corrosion, blown fuses, or knocked-off caps)
3) VRAM (usually seen as purple vertical lines), but that wasn't cost-efficient even when those cards were brand new.

If the card is recognised prior to driver installation, then you could test if it functions using basic VGA drivers in Windows without the other card installed.

Some of my cards did initialize as the primary GPU, but it's still not an indicator that it's working correctly. I'd rather try booting Ubuntu and if it succeeds - giving it a light load.

 

[LaloFP73]

Hey! thanks for the comments!

I flashed the BIOS and nothing changed (the installed one was the exact same. I flashed it anyways just for the case of a corrupted one)

The 0Mhz GPU Clock is because of a dead core? But the memory clock is dead too...
The Windows device manager said "Device correctly installed" after oficial drivers installed but no image on that card. And cant POST with only that one.

I will look for shorts near the core manually with the multimeter. And maybe I buy the "Fault finder" freeze spray just to use it for the first time and experience with it.

In videos, I saw that there is usually 5v on some parts, but I couldn't find that on my card. Are there more voltages/something-else that can be measured besides what I already shared? I want to check everything that can be checked to learn the most of this situation/card. Its more about the journey, you know!

 

[silentbogo]

In videos, I saw that there is usually 5v on some parts, but I couldn't find that on my card. Are there more voltages/something-else that can be measured besides what I already shared? I want to check everything that can be checked to learn the most of this situation/card. Its more about the journey, you know!

Don't bother with voltages or shorts. If you had a short - it would not boot at all or puffed some magic smoke while not POSTing. If one of the voltages was missing - the card would not POST as well. It's a dying GPU. No clocks/temps in GPUz only means that driver can't report them. Trust me - I've been there many times before.

 

[LaloFP73]

Don't bother with voltages or shorts. If you had a short - it would not boot at all or puffed some magic smoke while not POSTing. If one of the voltages was missing - the card would not POST as well. It's a dying GPU. No clocks/temps in GPUz only means that driver can't report them. Trust me - I've been there many times before.

@silentbogo nono, the R7 doesn't post! Im able to flash it and see the GPU-Z info because I boot with my other old card plugged in. If I only plug the R7, it doesnt post and beeps the same as if there is no gpu at all.

 

[silentbogo]

@silentbogo nono, the R7 doesn't post! Im able to flash it and see the GPU-Z info because I boot with my other old card plugged in. If I only plug the R7, it doesnt post and beeps the same as if there is no gpu at all.

If you had a short or any type of electrical issue, it wouldn't be detected at all.
Just because you are so stubborn, here are some hints : 5V is created by the part marked REG1 (pic1 top-left, large contact). It's used for various things like VGA power, powering your PWM controller and/or gate drivers, and since GPU Vcore is present, I can safely assume it's fine as well.
3.3V is running directly from PEX in most cases. Things like Vbios and minor 3.3V rails spread out through a variety of switches from 3VPEX(usually tiny mosfets or SOT-23-5/23-6 chips). In most cases you have to bruteforce your way through PCB to find all of those.
Everything else seems to be in place according to your first measurements.

Also, what's the reason you've decided that your PC doesn't POST with that card? Do you have a POST card? Cause at least in my understanding there is a big difference between "no POST" and "stops at code XX". Some consumer-grade boards won't boot without a proper video output device (for example, if GPU is malfunctioning, or BIOS is corrupted, or there is an issue with video memory etc).

 

[LaloFP73]

awesome! Thanks silentbogo

I say that it doesn't POST because of the beeping pattern. I don't have a POST card but the beeping indicates an error in the graphic card, and it is the same beeping code that sounds if no card is plugged in. I would love to have a more "verbose" indication... but I don't :/

And I can't believe It didn't occur to me to google "gpu architecture" before... Now I have plenty to read this weekend!

(if you have book/link/text recommendations, are welcome)

 

[cralx2k]

It seems that your card has all the necessary voltages and you have already flashed the BIOS ... I think the next step should be reballing GPU and the memories.

You need a cable like this : https://www.amazon.com/Mining-Expre...iser+Card&qid=1594003787&s=electronics&sr=1-1

I'm doing the same thing as you, I bought a GTX590 to try to perform the repair and get to know the GPU circuit better.