Ripped a DVI port off my GTX 560 Ti with pliers (lol)

Zinn

Zinn

2[H]4U
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Jan 31, 2010
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So my Zotac GTX 560 Ti with its stock cooler was hitting 100C under load and throttling. I thought I would add a Arctic Cooling Accelero XTreme Plus II to cool it down (how's that for a fucking stupid product name)...

Problem: The vertically stacked DVI ports were enclosed in this metal box that interfered with installation, and said metal box was firmly attached to the PCB.

Solution: Adjustable wrench to twist the metal box until it broke off, then twist and yank the top-most DVI port until it broke off in little pieces. The metal leads to the DVI socket pins on the PCB got tangled up in the process so needle-nose pliers were used to pluck each one out of the PCB socket individually.

Now I am left with one DVI port and amazingly the thing didn't short out and blow up my computer or whatever. The Accelero is great btw, hits 85C tops now (in SLI and overclocked)
 
Pics: (Sorry none of actual PCB but believe me it's ugly)
lol560_1.jpg

lol560_2.jpg

also, before anyone asks:

  • yes there is clearance between the accelero and the second video card. it's a 2.5 slot cooler
  • yes i know that is not ideal, airflow-wise, but 85C OC'ed stable beats 100+C stock and throttling
  • the temperature problem with the zotac is due to a horribly designed stock heatsink that barely makes contact with the GPU. improvements to airflow, single card testing and TIM reapplication made no difference. I would highly recommend against buying one of these video cards, ever.
 
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why does this remind me of the old thread where someone sawed off part of the PCI-E connector on their video card to make it fit in an AGP slot.....
 
lol i remember that.

Well OP I am assuming the card still works so I suggest you hope you never have to send it in to Zotac for RMA service.
 
Zinn said:
So my Zotac GTX 560 Ti with its stock cooler was hitting 100C under load and throttling. I thought I would add a Arctic Cooling Accelero XTreme Plus II to cool it down (how's that for a fucking stupid product name)...

Problem: The vertically stacked DVI ports were enclosed in this metal box that interfered with installation, and said metal box was firmly attached to the PCB.

Solution: Adjustable wrench to twist the metal box until it broke off, then twist and yank the top-most DVI port until it broke off in little pieces. The metal leads to the DVI socket pins on the PCB got tangled up in the process so needle-nose pliers were used to pluck each one out of the PCB socket individually.

Now I am left with one DVI port and amazingly the thing didn't short out and blow up my computer or whatever. The Accelero is great btw, hits 85C tops now (in SLI and overclocked)
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I'd have invested in the right cooling hardware for that card rather than breaking off a DVI port with pliers. Seriously, WTF?
 
I'd say that hitting 85c tops with an AXP is a total fucking disaster. I run a 480 that is capable of a very high overclock and even when I run the OC on it (rarely, because I don't even need that much extra power) the card tops out at around 72-73c under absolute maximum load. So... 85c with an AXP? Yikes.

edit: and yes, I am aware of the problems with both the Zotac and your airflow situation re: SLI but your case airflow must be seriously heinous to max that card at 85c with the AXP. Seriously heinous.
 
Dan_D said:
I'd have invested in the right cooling hardware for that card rather than breaking off a DVI port with pliers. Seriously, WTF?
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lol :D what aftermarket air cooling do you recommend for a GTX 560 Ti then? i had no choice but the Zotac because I needed Displayport.

requiem99 said:
edit: and yes, I am aware of the problems with both the Zotac and your airflow situation re: SLI but your case airflow must be seriously heinous to max that card at 85c with the AXP. Seriously heinous.
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It's a stock 600T with a mildly OC'ed Sandy Bridge and two mechanical hard drives. I wouldn't consider it great, but heinous... I dunno about that. Do you think the side panel with mesh / 120mm add-on would be a good investment?
 
Zinn said:
lol :D what aftermarket cooling do you recommend for a GTX 560 Ti then? i had no choice but the Zotac because I needed Displayport.
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I'm not sure. I wouldn't have broken a DVI port off my video card. That's for damn sure.
 
I was somewhat out of options and already dropped too much money on the computer. I am also extremely happy with the performance of the SLI 560 Ti before it overheats. Here were the options.
  • leave the card alone and let it cook itself, have $85 heatsink lying around that didn't fit. (net cost: eternal dissatisfaction)
  • return the Zotac to Amazon, sell the EVGA 560 Ti for $200, get 6950s with reasonable stock cooling (net cost: $150, performance downgrade in the games i play)
  • return the Zotac to Amazon, sell the EVGA 560 Ti for $200, get EVGA 570s w/ Displayport, miniscule upgrade, hope the coolers don't suck (net cost: $200)
  • rip a DVI port off with pliers (cost: FREE but extremely risky and stupid)
I figured if the next best option costs me $200 anyway then I might as well risk destroying the card which is worth about that much.
 
If you needed displayport that badly, you probably should have just gone with HD6870s or HD6950s instead.
 
Zinn said:
I was somewhat out of options and already dropped too much money on the computer. I am also extremely happy with the performance of the SLI 560 Ti before it overheats. Here were the options.
  • leave the card alone and let it cook itself, have $85 heatsink lying around that didn't fit. (net cost: eternal dissatisfaction)
  • return the Zotac to Amazon, sell the EVGA 560 Ti for $200, get 6950s with reasonable stock cooling (net cost: $150, performance downgrade in the games i play)
  • return the Zotac to Amazon, sell the EVGA 560 Ti for $200, get EVGA 570s w/ Displayport, miniscule upgrade, hope the coolers don't suck (net cost: $200)
  • rip a DVI port off with pliers (cost: FREE but extremely risky and stupid)
I figured if the next best option costs me $200 anyway then I might as well risk destroying the card which is worth about that much.
Click to expand...

I would have improved the case cooling and bought a different aftermarket cooler than didn't require me to rip a DVI off the freaking video card.

Failing that, I would have returned the card and replaced it or sold both 560s and gone with a better setup that fit my needs without requiring invasive surgery.
 
Zinn said:
I was somewhat out of options and already dropped too much money on the computer. I am also extremely happy with the performance of the SLI 560 Ti before it overheats. Here were the options.
  • leave the card alone and let it cook itself, have $85 heatsink lying around that didn't fit. (net cost: eternal dissatisfaction)
  • return the Zotac to Amazon, sell the EVGA 560 Ti for $200, get 6950s with reasonable stock cooling (net cost: $150, performance downgrade in the games i play)
  • return the Zotac to Amazon, sell the EVGA 560 Ti for $200, get EVGA 570s w/ Displayport, miniscule upgrade, hope the coolers don't suck (net cost: $200)
  • rip a DVI port off with pliers (cost: FREE but extremely risky and stupid)
I figured if the next best option costs me $200 anyway then I might as well risk destroying the card which is worth about that much.
Click to expand...

What games are you playing that a pair of 6950s is a downgrade from a pair of 560 Ti's? 6950s are generally closer to the performance of 570s and in crossfire tend to have better scaling...
 
Dan_D said:
I'd have invested in the right cooling hardware for that card rather than breaking off a DVI port with pliers. Seriously, WTF?
Click to expand...

I would have invested in alternative cooling methods before wrenching off parts, my old ATI 9700 Pro had a major design flaw with the cooling, I went out and bought a Zalman Heatpipe cooling solution, no broken parts required.

Maybe switching the cards around, might have been more beneficial?
 
Outamyhead said:
I would have invested in alternative cooling methods before wrenching off parts, my old ATI 9700 Pro had a major design flaw with the cooling, I went out and bought a Zalman Heatpipe cooling solution, no broken parts required.
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I've never needed to break a DVI port off a card to make it work in a system or with after market cooling. I'd have looked at the card and the after market cooler and concluded that it was the wrong part for the card either because Zotac didn't follow the reference design or because the maker of the cooling solution didn't do a good enough job when engineering the thing. I'd have returned one or the other and done something differently. The day I can see no alternatives but to resort to such butchery is the day I stop building computers forever. I've seen some ghetto crap done to computers and other things for the sake of saving a few bucks or making things a little easier but few examples compare to this.
 
why the hate?

I think it's great that it worked out for him, he's happy with the results.

Great work OP.
 
Dan_D said:
The day I can see no alternatives but to resort to such butchery is the day I stop building computers forever.
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Word. Computing is a technical hobby that requires engineering common sense and a practical approach to problem solving. It does not reward literal brute force approaches.
 
adjas said:
why the hate?

I think it's great that it worked out for him, he's happy with the results.

Great work OP.
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Don't encourage him. (Though I've actually made a fair amount of money in the last 15 or so years fixing butchered hack jobs like this by people who supposedly know what they are doing.)

If he had desoldered the extra DVI port and removed it from the card properly, I don't think I'd be as mean about it. Ghetto is ghetto. It's not good, it's not commendable and he should feel ashamed for admitting he did it and for even taking pictures of it. The guy has basically ruined any chance of warranty replacement of the card down the line or any chance of resale. It's his card and he can do whatever he wants. I'm not denying that. It doesn't make it a logical or good move. To top off that quality decision making he takes pictures of the deed and posts his story about it. The fact that he's happy with the results is all that matters in the end I suppose. but if you can't handle the criticism then don't post pictures of it in a public forum.

He basically took a short cut to save time. People do that. But there is a right way and a wrong way to solve problems and taking short cuts often leads to half assed results like this.
 
Some people haven't had the last 15 years to be fixing butchered hack jobs like this to pay you to do it.

I personally wouldn't have taken the OP's route ever, but if it pleases him, and it still works, why the hate? The card is obvious functional now, whereas before it was not.

He complained that the manufacturer of the card, as well as the card itself left something to be desired, so obviously the 200$ isn't worth most people's time giving a shit. The pictures might reflect that attitude.
 
He had to have known coming on [H] and posting up a story about ripping ports off a GPU with pliers would get him some shit. It would be the same thing if I posted on a car enthusiast board a picture my muffler attached to the frame with a wire coat hanger. Although I'm not sure which of the two is a "better" solution.
 
why the fuck not modify the heatsink? id rather cut the plastic back on the cooler than rip a damn dvi port off the card.
 
mrbigshot said:
why the fuck not modify the heatsink? id rather cut the plastic back on the cooler than rip a damn dvi port off the card.
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I would have had to cut through the heatpipes which would not work.

I'm surprised Dan is this worked up, I'm enjoying my little modification, and pretty smug it actually worked out. Can't really argue with results.
 
requiem99 said:
Word. Computing is a technical hobby that requires engineering common sense and a practical approach to problem solving. It does not reward literal brute force approaches.
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except when it does.
 
OP had balls to do what he did and it worked out for him. Anyway, it's just a DVI connector that he didn't use or need. What's the big deal? Doesn't even look that bad from the pics and his cooling improved due to being able to fit the new cooler on the GPU. It's not like he cut off a part of the PCI-E connection and the card doesn't work anymore, right?

Now if the cooler didn't fit and he used zip ties to keep it in place I would have been outraged. Oh wait, I've done that in past... :p
 
Wow, thats pretty extreme. Whatever works though, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
 
Zinn said:
except when it does.
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Yeah, you keep that response in mind as you continue working with hardware and count how many times crude brute force works and how many times it ruins your week. :)
 
Dan_D said:
If he had desoldered the extra DVI port and removed it from the card properly, I don't think I'd be as mean about it. Ghetto is ghetto. It's not good, it's not commendable and he should feel ashamed for admitting he did it and for even taking pictures of it. The guy has basically ruined any chance of warranty replacement of the card down the line or any chance of resale. It's his card and he can do whatever he wants. I'm not denying that. It doesn't make it a logical or good move. To top off that quality decision making he takes pictures of the deed and posts his story about it. The fact that he's happy with the results is all that matters in the end I suppose. but if you can't handle the criticism then don't post pictures of it in a public forum.

He basically took a short cut to save time. People do that. But there is a right way and a wrong way to solve problems and taking short cuts often leads to half assed results like this.
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What's creative for someone is stupid for someone else.

I think desoldering would be a worse idea, you need good soldering skills and you risk shorting something.

If everyone did things the "right way" there would be no pencil mods, no pin mods, no chip swap, no cap replacement, no cpu/gpu/heatsink lapping, etc.
 
Stoly said:
What's creative for someone is stupid for someone else.

I think desoldering would be a worse idea, you need good soldering skills and you risk shorting something.

If everyone did things the "right way" there would be no pencil mods, no pin mods, no chip swap, no cap replacement, no cpu/gpu/heatsink lapping, etc.
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Don't even put pin mods, chip swap, cap replacement, lapping, pencil mods, or even something you didn't mention, baking your card, in the same sentence as physically using force to rip the DVI off of a video card. They are not remotely the same thing, and quite frankly I am surprised his card survived in working condition.
 
requiem99 said:
Don't even put pin mods, chip swap, cap replacement, lapping, pencil mods, or even something you didn't mention, baking your card, in the same sentence as physically using force to rip the DVI off of a video card. They are not remotely the same thing, and quite frankly I am surprised his card survived in working condition.
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Why not compare it with baking? Before that became more common, people thought the same way. If it's done properly, there's no reason it should damage the card. I would have been more careful about it. Anyways a lot of people are willing to do whatever it takes to get more performance and don't mind taking the risk.

Physical using force is the a basic strategy that everyone should learn.
 
I can't believe nobody has yet to mention modifying the heatsink instead of breaking off the DVI ports and their faraday cage with pliers.

I have seen many people dremmelling off a few fins off the back of 3rd party coolers to get around hardware on videocards.

It's cheap, easy, and it's just a piece of plain aluminum so you can't break it unless you nick a heatpipe.
 
This is too damn funny, never in my life would I do that. At least it works still
 
Each his own, if OP is happy does anything else matter?

Myself no way in hell.
 
requiem99 said:
He came to [H] and posted about it like he was proud of it. What did you expect?
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Just the same, you can expect people like me to remind you it was his choice. Berate him if you will but he can do what he wants. Was it a smart idea? No. Would I do it or ever recommend anyone to go to those lengths? No. But does it make for an entertaining post? Yes. If everyone did everything the same exact way, it would be a pretty boring hobby. Right or wrong, it's the nature of the beast.
 
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