Solder repair on asus Radeon 9800XT

[Harry Putnam]

Running:
Athlon Tbird 1.2
Asus A7V-E mobo
Radeon 9800XT
win xp pro

Just installed a new asus Radeon 9800XT. The fit was very close.
Infact it won't fit without actually touching the locking mechanism
for ram cards.

I ended up popping one of the little dark colored blocks off of the
Radeon card. Popped right out of the solder. Its in a circuit in
the lower rear corner right where the bind is with memory cards.

I'm runnning the card now and haven't seen any problems to speak of.
However, I might not notice something fairly esoteric since I don't
have mush experience with heavy graphic use. I bought this
particular card for video editing purposes.

My manual that came with the card doens't really tell anything about
the actual hardware. Just how to install, and all about the soft
ware that came bundled.

I'd like to find out what that circuit does and if I might be able to
just solder it back in. It is very close to other small circuits so
it looks like it might be hard to keep from melting other solder and
maybe making the problem worse.

I've never soldered an electronic component. My experience with
solder is on much bigger and harder to hurt stuff, like car radiators
and some electrical circuits.

 

[JAD]

I would 'rma' it, if you can prove without a doubt the MB arrangement caused it, something is not conforming to standards.

 

[Wblane]

If your soldering iron is too hot you can de-laminate the board. It's probably
a decoupling capacitor to reduce signal noise. If you solder it you probably
won't be able to RMA it, because your soldering skills aren't as good as a
surface mount soldering bath.

I'd like to find out what that circuit does and if I might be able to
just solder it back in. It is very close to other small circuits so
it looks like it might be hard to keep from melting other solder and
maybe making the problem worse.

I've never soldered an electronic component. My experience with
solder is on much bigger and harder to hurt stuff, like car radiators
and some electrical circuits.

-Bill (remove "botizer" to reply via email)

 

[Harry Putnam]

I would 'rma' it, if you can prove without a doubt the MB arrangement
caused it, something is not conforming to standards.

Well it is a design flaw for sure. The card has to be bent slightly
to one side to avoid this when installing. And when running it is
tightly against the memory card holder clip.

I was a little reluctant to get into a big hassle or long delays
sending it back etc. Just wondered if I might be fixed and on my way
with a little home boy soldering.

As I mentioned, it runs as is. Any idea what the long term problems
might be?

From: (e-mail address removed) (Wblane):

If your soldering iron is too hot you can de-laminate the board. It's probably
a decoupling capacitor to reduce signal noise. If you solder it you probably
won't be able to RMA it, because your soldering skills aren't as good as a
surface mount soldering bath.

Definitely true about my solding skills... hehe.

I wondered if there soldering irons made specifically for this kind
of work. With good accurate heat controls. Any idea how much heat
is too much? And if it is necessary to use somekind of specialized
solder?

 

[DaveW]

The parts connect on multiple layers in the card. You can't just solder it
back on.

 

[GTX_SlotCar]

You could use a piece of clear tape to hold it in place. The piece is
probably broke, not the solder connection. Look at it with a magnifying
glass to check. Stick the top (or back) of the piece on the tape, look
through the tape to put it in the correct spot. I've had an nVidia card
working this way for a few months now.
The problem is that the motherboard doesn't meet specs properly to allow for
the larger video card.
If the piece is broken, soldering it might not work, but if you want to try,
use a 25 watt iron, tin the tip and clean it well on a damp sponge.

Look at it this way. If taping the piece to the card doesn't work, at least
you won't lose it

Gary

 

[J. Clarke]

The parts connect on multiple layers in the card. You can't just solder
it back on.

Why do you suppose they call it "surface mount technology"?

You have to be a troll--nobody else could have such perfect track record for
being wrong.

 

[J. Clarke]

Running:
Athlon Tbird 1.2
Asus A7V-E mobo
Radeon 9800XT
win xp pro

Just installed a new asus Radeon 9800XT. The fit was very close.
Infact it won't fit without actually touching the locking mechanism
for ram cards.

I ended up popping one of the little dark colored blocks off of the
Radeon card. Popped right out of the solder. Its in a circuit in
the lower rear corner right where the bind is with memory cards.

I'm runnning the card now and haven't seen any problems to speak of.
However, I might not notice something fairly esoteric since I don't
have mush experience with heavy graphic use. I bought this
particular card for video editing purposes.

My manual that came with the card doens't really tell anything about
the actual hardware. Just how to install, and all about the soft
ware that came bundled.

I'd like to find out what that circuit does and if I might be able to
just solder it back in. It is very close to other small circuits so
it looks like it might be hard to keep from melting other solder and
maybe making the problem worse.

I've never soldered an electronic component. My experience with
solder is on much bigger and harder to hurt stuff, like car radiators
and some electrical circuits.

If you aren't seeing any artifacts don't worry about it. Odds are that it's
a despiking capacitor that you can run without with very, very slightly
degraded performance.

If you aren't seeing any problems in ordinary use you probably won't see any
in video editing--it is, very simply, not very demanding on the video
board.

I'd try an RMA first--since it's physical damage and not a defect they might
not RMA it though, or if the they do they might charge a fee for the
repair.

If that fails, get yourself a _small_ soldering iron--18-25 watt with a
1/16" tip (or if you've got bucks and like nice tools a temperature
controlled soldering station for $140-250 or if you've got _big_ bucks and
like _really_ nice tools a full surface mount rework station for about ten
times that) and be careful. Use rosin-core solder intended for
electronics, tin the board first, then hold the part in place with a needle
or dental explorer or fine tweezers or whatever and heat each end until the
solder reflows.

 

[Harry Putnam]

The parts connect on multiple layers in the card. You can't just solder it
back on.

Why do you suppose they call it "surface mount technology"?

hehe....


[...]

Look at it this way. If taping the piece to the card doesn't work, at least
you won't lose it

Gary

This sounds like a plan... I'm going to try this first


[...]

If you aren't seeing any problems in ordinary use you probably won't see any
in video editing--it is, very simply, not very demanding on the video
board.

I'd try an RMA first--since it's physical damage and not a defect they might
not RMA it though, or if the they do they might charge a fee for the
repair.

If that fails, get yourself a _small_ soldering iron--18-25 watt with a
1/16" tip (or if you've got bucks and like nice tools a temperature
controlled soldering station for $140-250 or if you've got _big_ bucks and
like _really_ nice tools a full surface mount rework station for about ten
times that) and be careful. Use rosin-core solder intended for
electronics, tin the board first, then hold the part in place with a needle
or dental explorer or fine tweezers or whatever and heat each end until the
solder reflows.

Ok folks,
Thanks for the input. And just thought I'd mention I fixed the space
constraint problem by using my wifes dremel tool to saw off the heels
of the memory card hanger clips. It made about another 1/8 inch of
space so that even with the little block thingy in place there is now
clearance.

I may try the soldering later If I get braver or see some problem.

I am actually seeing a kind of problem now that I've installed
Pinnacle Studio 8 (the video editing software).

Freeze ups when running thru a clip. I'm thinking its pci latency
timing and trying some different settings on that.

Anyone have a better guess... or is this likely to be caused by the
popped out block?

Oh yes, someone mentioned that the block itself was probably broken.
I can see the solder traces left on both sides and nothing that looks
cracked so I think its still in one piece.
Anyone know what these things are made of? Solder doesn't stick to
it all that well. Is it even some kind of metal.... Sort of looks
like a small block of carbon.