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100% Working repair for Gateway XHD3000 30" LCD monitor

R

revtech

n00b
Joined
Jun 22, 2010
Messages
8
Hi
I'm from Sri Lanka and this is for the benefit of every owner of the Gateway XHD3000 who have been having the dreaded green lines. This a collection of all the usefull information and methods described by other owners to repair the problems 100%. It's in sections for easier reading.

The 3 types of problems this monitor develops are the following;

1) Green haze, lines, shades, distortions, banding.
2) Flickering, strobe and grid sectioning (10cm x 10cm) nightmare (this is the worst one to tolerate)
3) Vertical band of changing rainbow lines (mine was a ~30cm wide vertical band to the left) going from top to bottom.

I would like to confirm that the resouldering method described by "Pawstar" WORKS 100% and it fixed all 3 problems in my XHD3000!
YES THE XHD3000 CAN BE REPAIRED EASILY!:D

There are 2 ways to fix this monitor (Don't even bother with GATEWAY support; it doesn't exist).
1) Resoulder the ALTERA BGA chip on the "LTM300M1C8LV3.2" "Logic board" situated at the top of the monitor within a aluminum box.
2) Replace the "LTM300M1C8LV3.2" Logic board with a new one.
Some people are offering to "reapair for $170. Not worth it.

Just to elaborate on the 2 methods;

****

1) RESOULDERING and REFLOW.
First dismantle the montior so that you can remove the logic board at the top. Refer to the picture I made with labels. These were screenshots off a youtube video. Make sure to view the pics at original size to see the labels.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51382249@N07/4724012455/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51382249@N07/4724013045/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51382249@N07/4724031961/

Then you have to heat the ALTERA BGA chip (big black chip in the middle).Here is the link to the Aletra company website;
http://www.altera.com/
and here is the link to 2 pdf files that describes the resouldering procedure for the chip. It has a nice temp vs time graph!
AN081.pdf (http://www.altera.com/literature/an/an081.pdf?GSA_pos=1&WT.oss_r=1&WT.oss=an081)
AN353.pdf (http://www.altera.com/literature/an/an353.pdf?GSA_pos=1&WT.oss_r=1&WT.oss=an353)

RESOULDERING means you heat the chip until the lead contacts, at the bottom of the chip, between the board and chip, melt, so that they can reform proper contacts with the circuit board again (I think "REFLOW" means the same). The tech guy that did it for me, said he had to acctually heat it to 340 celsius (manufacturer recomends heating to a max of 220 Celcius) before he got the smell of melting lead; that's how he figured out the optimum temperature; he didn't have a thermal camera. But it worked! He did it in steps though (meaning first he tried at 220 C, then 250 C, then 300 C and finally 350 C).
There is something called "flux" which is like a wax like paste that you are supposed to apply somewhere to prevent short circuits (I guess you apply it around the edges of the chip). My tech guy applied it too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flux_(metallurgy)

"In soldering of metals, flux serves a threefold purpose: it removes oxidation from the surfaces to be soldered, it seals out air thus preventing further oxidation, and by facilitating amalgamation improves wetting characteristics of the liquid solder. Flux is corrosive, so the parts have to be cleaned with a damp sponge or other absorbent material after soldering to prevent damage."

Here are Youtube videos on resouldering
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=Ek-F-M-YW5E&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB1InDsWCjQ&feature=related

Here is a forum link by User "vblh1976"
http://forums.macnn.com/69/mac-notebooks/210232/diy-ibook-dual-usb-logic-board/

In addition to the manufacture's method, there are other ways to heat this chip.
a) Place a metal "candle cup" on top of the chip and light a candle. This should generate enough heat to melt the lead. As for how long you keep it, that depends observation and "smell". Here are some links. Try a search for "resoulder bga"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apv19Y3VlGQ
http://hackaday.com/2010/05/13/ghetto-repairs-desoldering-with-a-candle/
http://www.tuaw.com/2007/06/25/repair-your-ibooks-logic-board-with-a-candle/

b) Someone used a butane flame torch:eek:. One user discourages this method though.

****

2) Replace the "LTM300M1C8LV3.2" Logic board with a new one.
There are many ways to buy a replacement logic board
1) Search for "LTM300M1C8LV3.2" on ebay. ~$300 - $400 ( rip off , not worth it:mad:).
2) Search for "LTM300M1C8LV3.2" on google. Lots of links
3) Try the chineese auction site provided by user "vblh1976". ~ $40 (worth it I would say).
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=4424159871
4) Another chineese comapny;
http://www.xincai168.com/product_show.asp?id=475
Email: xincaikeji@163.com


Remeber its "version 3.2" in "LTM300M1C8LV3.2".

If chineese charatcers are not showing properly, use this method;
http://www.chinese-tools.com/resources/windows-xp.html

If you want to translate try;
http://translate.google.com/#
http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=EN
http://babelfish.yahoo.com/

****

Steps for PROLONGING the life of the repaired monitor.
1) Fix a small fan on top of the Altera chip (can be placed on the outside of the metal cage). I did this, and now the top, back and the front screen doesn't heat up as much!
2) Go to your video card settings and select "Enable GPU scalling". This will make your video card do all the scalling work instead of the monitor's built in video processing chip (and I think the Altera is the video chip). Obviously run the monitor at 2560 x 1600 resolution (again no scalling needed then). This way when a game runs at say 1920 x 1200 resolution or lower, your GPU will scale it up to 2560 x 1600 and send that to the monitor.
3) Put heat sinks on the other chips.
4) Say a few prayers to whatever god you beleive in.

Remember this wont solve the mysterious 1 second screen blanking that happens once or twice a day.

As for future choices, I'm never buying anything from gateway as there support is terrible. There should be class action law suit. I used to laugh at people suing for "emotional distress" thinking they were simply ripping off somebody. But now I understand what it is (not to mention the 6 months I used it with the green problems). Even though the monitor is fixed 100%, I still have this terrible feeling that the monitor might go anytime and the problems will start again. Everytime I start the PC I wait to see if it is going to be normal. This sucks. Hopefully it will go away with time. I will only buy DELL and SAMSUNG (amazing engineering) and Asus from now on.

Well hope this helps. Feel free to add to or correct this information and spread it.

Keywords tags: Repair Gateway XHD3000 30" LCD Green lines banding flicker strobe Altera BGA resoulder reflow flux TM300M1C8LV3.2 Logic board.
 
Hi

Any other xhd3000 owners have any success with the methods described? Please reply with your solutions and experiences.
 
You know Gateway is bought by Acer right? It is a Taiwan company now. I bought me a new i3 17.3" Gateway for US$539 last week.
 
I just did the candle bit on my xhd3000 and it seems to have worked.

It was giving me various colored lines across random parts of the screen, and the bottom 1/3 of the screen was being flashed as a semi transparent image on the top 1/3 of the screen ober the regular background. It just started doing this Saturday. The monitor is right at 2 years old. As of the repair this morning, it seems to be right with the world again. It always did experience the typical 1 second black screen, come back issue that many have reported. It was totally random in interval and frequency.

None of the foil tape I ended up removing seems to be necessary if you take it off.

Tools needed: Philips screwdriver, standard size (I used a power drill with a phillips head, they can be tight).
Small Phillips screwdriver (the 4 screws on the repair card cage were super tight and have tiny phillips holes).
A good pair of long tweezers/forceps for detaching/reattaching the touchpad strip (it's the one hidden under the cloth tape that comes across the middle left, be careful when messing with it as you don't want to ruin that white strip under the tape).

To complete the repair (if it holds up, could fail any time with my luck) I did the following:

Unscrewed the 4 screws on the mounting bracket (take off the speaker bar first if you use it).

Lifted off the back plastic shield. You may need to work around the silver edge a bit to loose the back up enough to come off.

Removed the foil tape covering the metal cage in the middle of the back. Unplug the very thin touch display wire (it's just a thin flat strip that sits in a tiny input on a card on the back). Unplug the two wires on the bottom right corner (one from the middle, one from the corner socket). Unplug the connector on the left side of the center cage.

Undo the 4 large black and 4 small black screws on the top/bottom of the cage. Also undo the 3 small silver screws on the left next to the connector over there that you undid.

At this point you may have to pry slightly to make the gripper tab release the center but it doesn't take much. There are two more small connections from the top of the large cage to the bottom of the actual card you're going to take out that has it's own cage at the top middle of the monitor, disconnect those as well (the wide one has clips on either side to grasp to make it release).

Undo the 4 silver screws holding in the cage over the card at the top. Be careful as the 4 flat strip input connectors are pretty weak. The little green cover just flips up to release the strip connectors. It will be slightly tacky and there is some oil/lube of some sort in a couple of places, so have a rag handy to wipe that up with (just enough to get on your clothes if you aren't paying attention).

The card comes out easily at this point. I then lit the candle and just ran the flame over the chip in the middle for maybe 30ish seconds, until I got just a bit of smoke it seemed that didn't come from the initial burnoff of the oily substance. It will blacken the top of the chip and area around it with soot, but this is wiped right off.

The opposite side of the card was hot enough to have burned my finger if I'd touched it, but after wiping off the black soot, the card seemed fine and none the worse for wear.

I did take some regular household foil, fold it up into a thin square and placed it over the back of the chip to act as a DIY heatsink. I have no idea if that will actually do anything at all, but it certainly can't hurt. It will stay in place by itself since there is a pad that touched the chip anyway.

Reattaching the 4 strips is done by shoving them into the connectors, akin to installing a memory strip with the locking ends, then closing the lids. It will seem like they will come loose if you look at them wrong, but I managed to get it back together properly. The only other slightly tricky reconnect is the touchpad strip, with just is inserted back into it's hole tight enough, and the tape keeps it in place. Check by plugging in the monitor that you have the strip reinserted correctly and it works before putting the back on. You just need power and a visual check that it is working will do.

It seems to be working fine now, no issues (keeping my fingers crossed).

I ordered a 3008wfp anyway. My sister is getting the xhd3000, graduating from a 24" dell (I love Dell monitors, hate their computers).
 
I did this trick yesterday and it worked for about 3 hours then went back to the awful lines. Did the trick again today and its been working for about an hour. I will keep this post updated with my monitors progress :cool:

also

THANK YOU VERY MUCH THIS IS AWESOME!
 
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alright so my xhd3000 just turned messed up again. So I guess it lasted just under a day. I am going to try it again, perhaps tomorrow. I feel like I should maybe heat it up more, or at least with a different method. The first time when it lasted only a little while I used a bic lighter, and held the board upside down for ~20 seconds. This last time I used a butane torch but only for ~10 seconds, and actually put the board down flat and aimed the lighter down. I think I'm going to use the bic lighter method again but probably do it from further away and heat it up longer. I will take some pics of the process for anybody else who wants to attempt this.

BTW I have had a 12" fan on the case where the chip is ever since the original attempt, so cooling is not my issue, even though its been extremely warm recently.
 
So yea, I got impatient and burned my chip a third time. To no surprise, it worked again. 15 minutes so far so good. I will post back if it dies.
Fingers crossed.
 
mine is giving me the tinting problem just this weekend. i did get almost 3 years out of this. sigh
 
[bowing to the east...]

revtech, you are the man. I'm typing this on my 3 hour new, freshly reflowed XHD. No more blue bands (started last week, but I've been waiting for it the past year). I'll check back in and report how well it lasts.

Heat gun, milwaukee brand from hardware store. Foil barrier, a quarter (coin) on top to hold some heat. Cooking thermometer with tip on coin, limited scale so I had to extrapolate/guess the temp. I read all the links and took note of the heating technique, adjusted height of heat gun slowly in both directions.

The manufacturer notes on temp seem low. I did one set at those specs, but wasn't convinced so took advice from revtech's tech-guy. I didn't go quite so high as 340C, but maybe around 300 (i'm on F, so 550-575). A little apprehensive about cooking it so hot, but went slow and all seems fine.

Now who wants to sell me theirs cheap?
 
sorry, to clarify, I did the first round at the temps/time described in the manf notes, then after cooling decided to do a second round at the higher temps. No solder smell the first time, but on the second round slowly turned the heat up until a very slight smell of solder.

I dreaded putting all those screws back in only to realize I had been too conservative, so went for broke and cooked it the second time. Also, sister-in-law is chinese, so figured I'd just order up the board if I melted it.
 
So now this guy John farms the repair fix thread, even after everybody lambasted him over at the original XHD3000 thread? Seriously man, c'mon.

I understand that many people won't want to risk the disassembly that some of us don't mind doing, but suffice to say it seems to work with exceedingly good results. Mine's still rolling fine, and as an additional bonus, now the background hum that was barely noticeable before is completely gone. I didn't install an extra fan yet due to lack of expertise, but I plan to learn the process and do it myself soon. These monitors are great for the scaling feature alone, especially if you want larger views at native Mac resolutions (not independent yet).

If you're indeed willing to make "fair" offers for faulty units from those who don't wish to repair, then why not go ahead and do it here to be open and honest about it? Go ahead John, tell us how much you'll give for the broken ones, then we can all make good choices with full info/disclosure, including how much you end up selling them for on ebay after 30min of labor to fix...

That said, I like these so much that I now want a second one, for a dual 30in setup (1 landscape + 1 portrait for browser-specific use). Hell, I'd set up three if I had extra money to burn. Here's a serious offer, check with me after getting John's price and I very well might be willing to pay more - because I'll be buying it for myself rather than trying to make money off of your misfortune.
 
This is a DIY thread where people are sharing info on how to fix their broken $1700 one-of-a-kind feature-specific monitors. XHDman, would you like to return the favor and share your repair methods and insights with the rest of us?

I have nothing against doing legitimate business by offering a service, or even offering those services on a forum like this (if you contribute to the forum community, and if rules allow). But this guy has been called out constantly on the other 52 page discussion thread, and I'm not afraid to be the first person to do it on is one. Be honest, tell us how much you'll pay for our broken ones if we wanna "keep it from collecting dust". Seriously bro, even if some of us aren't comfortable doing the repair ourselves, don't you think most people who read this are smart enough to see your game? Sure, I'd rather take a few hundred bucks from you than junk an otherwise bricked monitor, but after reading these threads I'd despise you afterward for stealing it. Happy customers? Anybody wanna vouch for this guy and prove the rest of us wrong?

By the way, I have Chinese relatives who are glad to help me order the controller boards. If there were enough requests, I could place a group order. Hey maybe i could jack up the price and use the profits tomfund a class-action against gateway? Seems like it's definitely worth trying the reflow first though since there's nothing to lose (except some tiny screws and an hour of your time)

BTW, mine still runs great, better than before the reflow in fact, quieter.

the shah
 
XHD3000Man said:
Here check out my eBay feedback the comments and if you dont believe its me then tell my your eBay user name and I will be happy to send you message inside eBay.

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=computerguru43560&ftab=AllFeedback

John
Click to expand...

Seriously no one minds you wanting to run a business but this isn't the place for it. Everyone is trying out solutions that don't require the service of someone like you and hundreds of dollars. Keep it to the official thread not the DIY one.
 
I don't see it on the list exactly, but recently the XHD3000 that I bought in November 2008 stopped displaying anything at all. (I wonder if this an advanced case of logic board failure.) When it happened I thought that the monitor was in some kind of power saving status, but nothing showed on screen up after I moved my mouse even though the power light changed back to blue and stayed that way. I ended up turning the monitor off and on a couple of times to have it display a portion of my desktop (left half of the screen), then the whole desktop after a couple of more tries which eventually disappeared after a little while and never came back. Afterwards I tried it out with my XBox360 and an old PSX and came up with the same blank screen. Also the screen fails to display it's usual Gateway logo when it's turned on, but the startup chime does play when I plug in the audio bar/etc. and the backlight appears to be functioning as well. Is this another result of heat damage to the Altera chip, like I've been thinking, or is it probably something different?


(While searching around I saw a list of what panels are in which monitors. I don't know if the boards inside would be different though.)
 
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I'm actually experiencing the same issue. Ever since 2 days ago, the monitor would just totally blank out. Even when turning off and on, even the gateway logo will not show. But it seems to recognize the feed as the monitor wakes up from power save when moving the mouse. I have to turn it off and leave it for about 30 or so minutes in order to use it again.

Just ordered 2 dell 3008wfp monitors, but the ETA on shipment is 3-5 weeks =O.
So I'm stuck with this in the meantime. What totally sucks is that I work from home and I have no clue how I'm going to survive the 3-5 weeks.

Saboten said:
I don't see it on the list exactly, but recently the XHD3000 that I bought in November 2008 stopped displaying anything at all. (I wonder if this an advanced case of logic board failure.) When it happened I thought that the monitor was in some kind of power saving status, but nothing showed on screen up after I moved my mouse even though the power light changed back to blue and stayed that way. I ended up turning the monitor off and on a couple of times to have it display a portion of my desktop (left half of the screen), then the whole desktop after a couple of more tries which eventually disappeared after a little while and never came back. Afterwards I tried it out with my XBox360 and an old PSX and came up with the same blank screen. Also the screen fails to display it's usual Gateway logo when it's turned on, but the startup chime does play when I plug in the audio bar/etc. and the backlight appears to be functioning as well. Is this another result of heat damage to the Altera chip, like I've been thinking, or is it probably something different?


(While searching around I saw a list of what panels are in which monitors. I don't know if the boards inside would be different though.)
Click to expand...
 
bammbammfran said:
There are a couple things that can cause white screen.
One is overheating the Altera chip when doing a rework which cooks it (So, redoing one by yourself does have it's gambles)
It could fail on it's own from heat, but out of the 20+ that I have fixed, I have not seen this yet.

The other thing could be a lack of power coming from the main logic board to the T-con (lcd controller board) You can check for this by checking for about 17 volts dc at the main fuse of the T-con board. Fuse is by the smaller plug and is white with gold ends.
If dc power is not there at both sides of the fuse then it could be one of the fuses on the main board OR another part on the main board gone bad.
If power is there, then check all connections. If they are ok then it is probably a toasted T-con board.
Fran
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. :)

I checked at the fuse and it was getting ~17v so I decided to go for broke and try out the heat gun method that theshahofiran mentioned earlier in this thread. I used a double layer of heavy duty foil (with a cutout for the chip) as a heat shield and put a quarter on the chip as suggested. I didn't have any kind of device to gauge the temperature so I had to eyeball/smell it. Well, it didn't work the first time so I tried it again with a gradual heating on the first setting for 3-4 minutes before clicking up to the second one until the 20 minute mark. (I got the solder odor earlier than that, but I wanted to make sure since it didn't work on the first attempt when I stopped at the first scent of it.) After 20 minutes, I dropped the heat down to the first setting for a few minutes before letting it air cool until it's no longer warm (I don't know if the gradual decrease in temperature helps or not). Apparently it was enough for a bit of XHD3000 necromancy as the monitor's startup screen appeared and I was able to get video from the PSX I was using to test it. I didn't get around to thoroughly testing it, but I plan on seeing how it handles regular use after I receive a case fan I ordered and terminate it with a USB plug.
 
wow. came to displays subforum to ask about dp adapters, and saw this. a friend of mine has this monitor sitting in his hall unused because its bricked. i asked about it once and he said i could have it, but its unfixable. i guess we will see! :D
 
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thanks so much revtech! i just got a free XHD3000 from my friend's roommate and fixed it in 30 minutes. :D i couldnt be happier right now.
 
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Hello Fellow xdh3000anites!

Wow so this is actually working for people then! Yepee:D! And thanks (woodboat, theshahofan, tallas, bammbammfran) for elaborating on your methods! I feel like Han solo been able to repair my own hardware!

And thanks to "theshahofiran" for chasing away all the spammers from the threads. Like a lot of people said, this thread is for victims of bad business practices by Gateway, who have already spent ~$1600 on this montior (whose main engineering and design feet has been to fail exactly after 1 year). So only reply to this thread if you
1) Need to correct or add to the DIY info provided here by other helpful users
2) Rant about gateway (AKA therapy)

Anyway if someone is starting a class action law suit, all I want is my $1600 back so I can buy a Dell WFP3008! However, I have graduated from my US college and left the US (and comicons and starwars conventions ... sob :(... ).

Anyway another repair idea I would like to propose is the following;

3) Clamp down the altera chip.
Everyone knows how Intel chips are fixed to motherboards pretty tight right? When Intel chips are BGA type chips as well. So maybe for those who still have the problems even after resouldering, you could try to find a way to press the altera chip down hard onto the circuit board!

1) Like maybe a long metal "folder binding clip".
2) Or you could run wire around it.

If someone has a better idea on how to clamp it down harder (or even if this is a good idea ...) please reply.

As for the problem "Soboten" had, I bet thats another category of problem to add to this monitor. Gosh!

And Wow you certainly are lucky Ekuest (feel sorry about your friend though). You should play Crysis at 2560 X 1600. Gorgeous!

Meanwhile here are some more helpful windows tips
1) For a smaller volume control in windows XP press "Ctrl + S" within the volume window.
2) To view all the pages of a forum thread in one page (makes saving and searching easier) use this firefox extention;
http://www.printwhatyoulike.com/pagezipper
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/11284/
3) For comparing software and hardware;
http://www.toptenreviews.com/
4) Removing super cookies and advertising tracking;
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6623/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9609/
5) IF you want to use a non digitally signed driver or app in Windows 7 (like "riva tuner") turn on test mode by typing the following in "cmd" window and restart.

Disable:
bcdedit.exe -set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS
bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING ON

Enable:
bcdedit.exe -set loadoptions ENABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS
bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING OFF

Now you can intall unsigned drivers. Need to turn off UAC also.

6) For ALL Windows 7 settings in one place make a folder named
"GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}"

7) To unlock folders and files
http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/

8) Take ownership in Win 7
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...ership-to-explorer-right-click-menu-in-vista/

Thanks for your contributions!
 
so revtech, the monitor is working beautifully up to 1920x1200 input. any resolution over that and the image gets compressed to only the left half of the screen, and really distorted. i can take a picture later to show you. do you have any idea what would cause that? right now im using the monitor to upconvert that 1920x1200 signal to 2560x1600 but id really like to use the monitor at 1:1 and send it a 2560x1600 signal from my computer. is there another chip somewhere for handling greater-than-hd that i might be able to use the lighter trick on?
 
Hi Ekuest!

Remember you need a VIDEO CARD capable of "Dual link" dvi output AND also a Dual link DVI cable. Otherwise it only runs at 1920 x 1200;).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface
http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/dvi_info.html

If you don't have one, then buy any 5000 series video card from ATI. Nvidia is also good, but ATI cards are BETTER at 2D than Nvidia cards (Photoshop, Autocad, Video etc). 3D wise both are pretty similar.

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5000.aspx
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...320 600007855&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Pagesize=100
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compar...ocessing_units#Evergreen_.28HD_5xxx.29_series

Anything around ~$300 will be future proof. 5850 5870 etc. I would get this (price performance)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102884
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102881

Whats a good video card is a major debate though:rolleyes:. Ask around other forums and people. Do you game? If not get anything that fits your budget.

Could you provide the following info about your setup?
1) Video card and installed driver version (if it's on board video, then the Motherboard model number; but most onboard video chips only run at a max of 1920x1200).
2) OS exact version and service pack info?
3) Did you try running the "integrated product tour" in the monitor's menu? That runs at 2560x1600 and if that works properly, then It might be a GPU (and driver) problem.

If the monitor is up-converting a 1920 signal to 2560 WITHOUT A PROBLEM, then it can't be the monitor. Keep in mind the monitor has Picture in Picture (PIP) function too, so could be that too, where only the small box picture is shown.

Get that info please.
Revtech.
 
revtech said:
Hi Ekuest!

Remember you need a VIDEO CARD capable of "Dual link" dvi output AND also a Dual link DVI cable. Otherwise it only runs at 1920 x 1200;).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface
http://www.datapro.net/techinfo/dvi_info.html

If you don't have one, then buy any 5000 series video card from ATI. Nvidia is also good, but ATI cards are BETTER at 2D than Nvidia cards (Photoshop, Autocad, Video etc). 3D wise both are pretty similar.

http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5000.aspx
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...320 600007855&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Pagesize=100
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compar...ocessing_units#Evergreen_.28HD_5xxx.29_series

Anything around ~$300 will be future proof. 5850 5870 etc. I would get this (price performance)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102884
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102881

Whats a good video card is a major debate though:rolleyes:. Ask around other forums and people. Do you game? If not get anything that fits your budget.

Could you provide the following info about your setup?
1) Video card and installed driver version (if it's on board video, then the Motherboard model number; but most onboard video chips only run at a max of 1920x1200).
2) OS exact version and service pack info?
3) Did you try running the "integrated product tour" in the monitor's menu? That runs at 2560x1600 and if that works properly, then It might be a GPU (and driver) problem.

If the monitor is up-converting a 1920 signal to 2560 WITHOUT A PROBLEM, then it can't be the monitor. Keep in mind the monitor has Picture in Picture (PIP) function too, so could be that too, where only the small box picture is shown.

Get that info please.
Revtech.
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hey i completely forgot about my post when the forums went down til now. the picture is very messed up when i turn the computer to 2560x1600. in addition to only showing on the left half (or so) of the screen, it also is really blurry and compressed. my video card is a 5850 so its probably not that, and i have tried 2 different dvi cables, 1 of which i am SURE is dual link, and the other i'm pretty sure is. i will get another cable from monoprice to be sure since my for-sure dual link cable is a generic i bought off ebay. i also have an HDMI cable in my gfs car i can try. does that support 2560x1600? and are you SURE it cant be the monitor? the blurriness is really similar to what i experienced with the whole screen when i first got it from my friend. thanks for helping me out revtech!

heres a picture of what im talking about:
 
I was about to throw the thing away, and happened to Google this forum. Figured I'd give it a shot, though I've got zero electronics experience. I followed Woodboat's process - the brute-force "hold-a-candle-under-it for 30 seconds" approach.

It has worked for a full day now. I'll post back if it stops working.

A couple of small additions from my experience.

- I took off the board with the Altera chip, and used a Bic lighter, holding it for a bit over 30 seconds maybe an inch or two below the chip, moving it slowly so it all wound up soot covered. Wiped the soot off the chip, but couldn't get it off the surrounding board.

- The tiny cable that connects the touchpad on the front of the monitor was the hardest part for me to get back together. I had to take the middle cage off to really even see how it went back in. Once I got that off, the cable inserted cleanly.

UPDATE: It lasted three days before turning blue streaky again. I'll try it again, and report back what happens.

Thanks folks. Even if this gets just a few more months of use, it's worth it. I love this monitor, when it works!.
 
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I'm curious does the Samsung 305t have the same chip as the XHD3000 ? since they use the same panel??
 
Just as a note regarding the cables and running in dual-link DVI. I have had a friend that had a non-reference Asus 4870x2 that only one DVI port was dual-link while the other was single link. He was forced to RMA several times until Asus decided it truly was a problem with the design and replaced it with a GTX 280. Therefore if it is a non-reference card try the other DVI slot or try a different computer/card alltogether.
 
bbenz33 said:
Just as a note regarding the cables and running in dual-link DVI. I have had a friend that had a non-reference Asus 4870x2 that only one DVI port was dual-link while the other was single link. He was forced to RMA several times until Asus decided it truly was a problem with the design and replaced it with a GTX 280. Therefore if it is a non-reference card try the other DVI slot or try a different computer/card alltogether.
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i have tried both dvi ports on my 5850, and it is a reference card. :/ i do think i need to get a new dual-link dvi cable, but theyre $13 from monoprice! guess i'll have to bite the bullet. i really want to game on this thing at full resolution.
 
ok i buggered up my monitor. i was putting in some new fans i got and reflowing the chip again since it went green on me again today, and somehow the touch controls on the side stopped working. the little white ribbon cable is very firmly seated and in place, but i get nothing. it might be whatever controls the touch panel and not the ribbon, because i cant even access any menus or anything from the remote. so now i have the "select region" menu ALWAYS OPEN and i cant turn the monitor off or anything. :/ anyone else have a problem getting their controls to work after opening up and fixing their monitor?
 
I just did revtech's suggestion of applying the reflowing method to my XHD3000 that I purchased used. Of course it initially had the remote not working, the eztouch blue buttons not responding, and the screen exhibited lines all across the bottom and middle part of the screen. I took apart the backside of the monitor and got to the board to reflow. I used a simple bic lighter and held it there for a good 30 seconds about 1-1.5 inches away and it did get black from the burn. I wiped away the black soot and carefully reconnected everything. Especially the white band that leads to the side panel of buttons (that's what caused my buttons not to appear at all). Put it all together and am now a proud owner of dual XHD3000 monitors! 5120x1600 resolution FTW!!! :D

I will see how long this lasts. But for the meantime I'm as happy as can be.
 
denm107 said:
I just did revtech's suggestion of applying the reflowing method to my XHD3000 that I purchased used. Of course it initially had the remote not working, the eztouch blue buttons not responding, and the screen exhibited lines all across the bottom and middle part of the screen. I took apart the backside of the monitor and got to the board to reflow. I used a simple bic lighter and held it there for a good 30 seconds about 1-1.5 inches away and it did get black from the burn. I wiped away the black soot and carefully reconnected everything. Especially the white band that leads to the side panel of buttons (that's what caused my buttons not to appear at all). Put it all together and am now a proud owner of dual XHD3000 monitors! 5120x1600 resolution FTW!!! :D

I will see how long this lasts. But for the meantime I'm as happy as can be.
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i broke the touch buttons on mine. :/ cant get them to work, but i have the remote so nbd. and the resolution is 2560x1600 btw. :D
 
The reflow thing did the trick for me. I only had to do it once and it hasn't screwed up on me since. For preventative measures I used a 12" fan to cool the back of the xhd3000 but I recently came across a heatsink developed by bammbammfran which keeps the altera chip muuuuch cooler than it used to be so i dont have to have that fan pointed at the back of the monitor anymore. I suggest anyone look into this if looking for a heatsink for this monitor
 
yowzatheman said:
The reflow thing did the trick for me. I only had to do it once and it hasn't screwed up on me since. For preventative measures I used a 12" fan to cool the back of the xhd3000 but I recently came across a heatsink developed by bammbammfran which keeps the altera chip muuuuch cooler than it used to be so i dont have to have that fan pointed at the back of the monitor anymore. I suggest anyone look into this if looking for a heatsink for this monitor
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Can you elaborate on the heatsink? I can't find anything on it?
 
les_garten said:
Can you elaborate on the heatsink? I can't find anything on it?
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i searched xhd3000 on ebay looking for the logic board, and stumbled on his heatsink, so i contacted him about it and went from there. you should send him a pm as he's a member here too. he's very helpful haha
 
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yowzatheman said:
i searched xhd3000 on ebay looking for the logic board, and stumbled on his heasink, so i contacted him about it and went from there. you should send him a pm as he's a member here too. he's very helpful haha
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Thanx, I dropped an email to him.
 
I also bought this thing in the US in Summer-Fall 2008 and it took me a couple of replacements to finally get one with no stuck pixels.

Then I had to travel to India and wasn't able to start using this thing until Jan 2010 when I had all my stuff shipped to India.

Its been working great for me without any of the said issues for 8 months.

Exception being the occasional flicker (as if the monitor power downs / suspends). Thought I suspect this is due to the Low Power / Turn off feature in Windows etc?

(Note - This does not seem to happen when I am using my XBMC hacked Apple TV on HDMI.

Is there an easy fix for this problem as I do not seem to have the other issues.

Also, is there a way to do something (heat sink or extra cooling fan - outside or inside) so that I could prevent the outlined issues affecting it in the future.

ekuest said:
i broke the touch buttons on mine. :/ cant get them to work, but i have the remote so nbd. and the resolution is 2560x1600 btw. :D
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Can the Remote do everything that the Menu bottons did / do? For some wierd reason I can only control the volume at this point. Is there a way to check / make the remote do all the controlling?

yowzatheman said:
i searched xhd3000 on ebay looking for the logic board, and stumbled on his heasink, so i contacted him about it and went from there. you should send him a pm as he's a member here too. he's very helpful haha
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