2020/07/18 17:59:42
warcobra
So I have a Titan X (Maxwell) GPU. It recently ended its own life. I am really sad about this because I had set records with 2 of these back in 2015. Now I have fixed my electronics before, but this is a little out of my field and equipment. Do you think it's possible to fix the Vcore Phase that blew up? I am not looking for is it worth it. I'm looking for, do you think it's possible? I really want to fix it for sentimental reasons more than anything. I was going to start looking for someone in my area with the equipment to fix it, but I thought I would ask the community here about it first. Thanks in advance.
 

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2020/07/18 18:21:44
TiN_EE
It's possible, if GPU is not blown. I'd start with inspecting GPU if it has any visual cracks. If looks fine, then proceed with removing blown stage and cleaning the damaged PCB. All carbonized PCB material must be removed to prevent shorts. Then another inspection of damaged area and check if any planes and traces are shorted. If no shorts, card could be powered without damaged phase to check if still have a chance to work.
2020/07/18 19:49:09
warcobra
I checked over everything on the front and back of the card. Nothing looks out of place. I am worried about the surrounding area around the phase. I don't see anything on the reverse side but I feel like from the looks of it that there might be a bit of board damage with maybe some trace damage but once I feel up to it ill clean it up more and start taking a multimeter and testing traces. Do you think I can do this phase and the capacitor with the heat gun and solder? I have some more advanced stuff that I used for replacing an x79 socket on a board one time but that is a lot different than this phase and capacitor. 
2020/07/18 20:18:20
TiN_EE
Photo of cleaned GPU would help. Cracks or damages are often hard to see. You can also probe resistance of GPU (output of VRM to ground). It shouldn't be zero. I don't remember Maxwell GPU "good" resistance anymore, but should be something like 0.3-0.5 ohms probably. If you have reflow station, I'd use that for sure, as PCB is 10 or 12 layers and it will dissipate heat very nicely.
2020/07/19 06:23:20
ty_ger07
1 hour ago:
Buildzoid's dead Titan X video:
https://youtu.be/MunL4-DqFm8

You will probably find good information about probing and determining the extent of the damage.

Spoiler: his has a dead VRM power stage, and he talks about how to determine which one is dead (if not already obvious) and how to determine if there may be bigger underlying issues. It's good stuff. Should be right up your alley.

He hasn't fixed his yet. He said that he will probably stream the repair attempt, and then also post a shortened update/summary video once it has happened. So, keep an eye out for that.
2020/07/19 20:47:21
warcobra
So I noticed that he released that video and had to laugh. What timing right? So I did my full cleaning of the damaged area. So in his video, he talked about it cratering. Well, I can say with confidence that mine cratered. I have a few layers of PCB missing. So I checked the motherboard where it went boom and found PCB dust all over the board next to the PCI-E slot. I also when around and tested the resistance between all the same points in his video and mine is so dead that it is a very lost cause. I might even send it to him for a laugh. Thanks for the responses guys. But it looks like this is the real death of what was an amazing Titan X.
2020/07/20 00:38:25
TiN_EE
Probing without removing the shorted phase is pretty pointless. I'd say chances to fix your TTX are about ~80%, if you careful and know what you doing. 10% that GPU is dead, 5% that something else is dead, and 5% for unknown causes.
2020/07/20 18:07:22
warcobra
Well, the issue is I have a small crater on the board that has blown through many layers of PCB. I have nowhere to put a new capacitor because its original location was blown up. I will be working on it later. I just don't have all the parts yet. Also, doing VRM is really difficult to do without the right equipment. 
2020/07/20 23:15:31
TiN_EE
You don't need to worry about some puny capacitor. And importance of PCB is overrated, I had fixed some VGAs before with finger-size thru hole in them (drilled out charred area), if you lucky with area, to have no important inner signal traces damage .
2020/08/15 11:43:09
MaddMutt
I know THIS is WAY outside of my knowledge but have to ask anyways as we have TiN_EE involved. The basic theory is to replace the capacitor so that the product will work? Could you not take the power section from a busted GTX-680 Classified -> GTX-980ti and make a new power section? It would be like taking a E-Power and solder it. This should completely bypass the damaged area and allow you to use the card again in OC benching :-). <- This is beyond my skill level but should be possible. Thumbs Up
 
Thank You
 
 
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