XFX 7970 DD hole in cooler

D

DiscoCristo

n00b
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
7
Hi Guys,

I am making this thread to document how XFX is dealing with a latent defect in my 7970. Here is the story so far:

I bought a XFX 7970 reference card at launch of the 7970, The card at the time cost a little over $750 (south african pricing)

A few months in after certain driver updates the card started flashing white on screen, with certain flashes with corrupt textures. I thought it was a driver issue and kept on playing, just after my warranty expired and after more driver updates the card started flashing even more so to the point that I faced the possibility that I would have to throw the card away.

I contacted the pc shop I bought the card from and they generously at their expense had RMA'd the card out of warranty for me with me paying in a $60 OOW fee.

So firstly I am not ungrateful but it was replaced with a 7970 DD, I like(liked as I have a 290x now) the amd reference coolers and this was clearly out of their power to do as they probably have no more reference 7970 stock.

first week is fine, temps are in the 70c-75c area then I get a bsod in BF3.

SO i started trouble shooting, found that the 7970 was running hot, over the 90c's

I thought well this is now so far out of warranty I might as well replace he TIM myself. Opening the card I found what appeared to be oil on the GPU

It was hard to see so I cleaned off the cooler and found what I think was a hole in the cooler itself.

So I took photo's, replaced the cooler and installed it to see if temps improve and they did going down to 85c at full load which is perfectly acceptable with vrm temps at 110c(which wasn't as high on the ref but there was nothing i can do to the vrm temps...)

I sent xfx an email, to the only one which i could find that was a .co.uk email from which i did not receive a reply.

So the card a week or so later suddenly died during bf4, upon restart I found it gave yellow stripes all over the screen and using it for just a little would cause a bsod.


So I send xfx an email tot he co.uk adress again, hoping for help.

No reply and 3 weeks pass

so I open a ticket by resurrecting an old email and I get no reply

so I remember that this forum had a xfx support guy and registered here and asked him. the first reply in basically 2-3 months.

He said the card came from europe and I assume it was a refurbished card.


Now comes the question I really want to know above all else:

what was the original reason for the RMA of this card in europe, as I found a guy with a similar issue in europe with a hole in a cooler and that thread went just as well as mine.:(

Was it perhaps, a hole int he cooler? overheating? yellow stripes over the screen? :confused:

Although this card is now months and months out of warranty surely this has to go somewhere?


XFX support has offered a replacement fan, which will not solve nor help me with a broken card it will also not fix the hole in the cooler. I have opened the card again, and found greenish gunk on the side of the gpu on the pcb.

The TIM was again "washed" away with what I can only presume to be coolant leaking out of the vapor chamber.

I understand there is no xfx support in africa anymore, which is fine but I do hope you guys carry at least a standard of quality that does not leave me with a dead and possibly dangerous card.

http://i58.tinypic.com/ivjxhs.jpg

http://i61.tinypic.com/wbrz8z.jpg

http://i59.tinypic.com/213ja4i.jpg

http://i60.tinypic.com/30nkz2h.jpg

http://i57.tinypic.com/2vht4jn.jpg


I bought 2 xfx reference 290x's, and I have been buying xfx since they first released. I have never had a issue with any cards even the top dogs cards and I have never had a xfx card die on me. I don't even oc... :(

Cheers,

Chris
 
I wasn't aware that XFX used a vapor chamber cooler?

Most Vapor chambers use alcohol or acetone. They can also use distilled water, but fluids with lower boiling points work better and are generally preferred. They wouldn't leave any residue like you are seeing. While I don't doubt that you are having a problem, I don't think it's being caused by a leaky vapor chamber.
 
you sure that hole goes all the way in it looks really small also you would be better off since there is no warranty to put an aftermarket cooler on it rather than try to fix that one since if that is the coolant forcing itself out of that hole you would need a way to put more in...
 
I wouldn't rule it out at all. If the vapor chamber leaked it could easily dissolve the TIM and cause it to flow around, and looking at the die shot I would say thats exactly what it looks like happened. I'm not sure about the residue, but if its acetone I really wouldn't be surprised if it dissolved something out of the PCB itself
 
It really does look like something is leaking out, and I bet it is from that hole. I would try to put a tiny drop of silicon/glue on that hole, try to force it in the hole a bit. then use some fine grit sand paper to remove the excess silicon/glue, reapply TIM and try again.

Or you could always slap a waterblock on it. :D

Since it's out of warranty it gets iffy, but they should at least offer you a discount on a new cooler for it. Too bad XFX support is no longer active in your country.
 
If this GPU still works, get an aftermarket cooler and install that. It's money to spend, sure, but at least then you can eliminate the stock cooler from the equation and continue to troubleshoot.
 
Buy an aftermarket cooler. Problems solved. An AIO cooler with one of the commercial brackets could be used on future set-ups as well.
 
I think unfortunately the card is dead... I get yellow stripes when I start the pc with the card. I am trying the XFX support route, I feel they can at least give me info how a RMA card can have such a failure as this is not something that should slip though quality control even for a refurbished unit.


I think what is in the vapor chamber is water, probably mixed with something else... found this:

http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTMyNzM5MjYxNDJaeGY1WHYxVVJfMV80X2wuanBn
 
DiscoCristo said:
I think unfortunately the card is dead... I get yellow stripes when I start the pc with the card. I am trying the XFX support route, I feel they can at least give me info how a RMA card can have such a failure as this is not something that should slip though quality control even for a refurbished unit.


I think what is in the vapor chamber is water, probably mixed with something else... found this:

http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTMyNzM5MjYxNDJaeGY1WHYxVVJfMV80X2wuanBn
Click to expand...

It says "pure water".
 
Water + copper + oxygen could make a greenish oxidation? I donno but here is the original pic when this all started. Cooler freshly removed with that "pure water" droplet on the gpu.

I did touch it and it felt a bit like oil...

http://i62.tinypic.com/k1tj5d.jpg

and yes that was the original tim... basically clean in the center :eek:
 
Hey, sorry for the delay, i was on Holiday.

The confusion with the fan issue was with another customer who was having a similar issue out of my range.

Here's the Problem. Your card was originally purchased in Finalnd, RMA'd, then resold, then re-registered in South Africa. This unit's warranty technically expired in Europe back in February 2014 for the first owner, and never truly existed for the 2nd owner. If i RMA it as a courtesy, which i will do because this is a manufacturer defect, my shipping department cannot ship to end-users in South Africa. Can it be done? Probably, but we're under strict order to only bill our shipping department for our region (N and S America). Will it get me in trouble? definitely.

RMAing a card out of warranty (by time and 2nd owner), as well as out of region will cause a problem i don't have authority to override.

Id like to offer you an RMA, but shipping it back to you (from the US) would be the major issue. I am more responsive via email. [email protected]

Thanks
 
XFXSupport said:
Hey, sorry for the delay, i was on Holiday.

The confusion with the fan issue was with another customer who was having a similar issue out of my range.

Here's the Problem. Your card was originally purchased in Finalnd, RMA'd, then resold, then re-registered in South Africa. This unit's warranty technically expired in Europe back in February 2014 for the first owner, and never truly existed for the 2nd owner. If i RMA it as a courtesy, which i will do because this is a manufacturer defect, my shipping department cannot ship to end-users in South Africa. Can it be done? Probably, but we're under strict order to only bill our shipping department for our region (N and S America). Will it get me in trouble? definitely.

RMAing a card out of warranty (by time and 2nd owner), as well as out of region will cause a problem i don't have authority to override.

Id like to offer you an RMA, but shipping it back to you (from the US) would be the major issue. I am more responsive via email. [email protected]

Thanks
Click to expand...

Well nice to see the support.I can also understand that this is a tricky situation and going beyond warranty limits is a nice touch,hope all can be worked out.
 
Wow, public response from XFX support. I may just buy XFX next time I upgrade.
 
I bought an XFX card R9 290 and its a great card.Same as all the other brands but the XFX card I bought was dirt cheap new.I will be buying more XFX brands.
 
XFX imo is a great value imo.....good prices, very good support, but not usually going to beat any overclocking competition...there more or less value cards with pretty much evga level support....at least if you live in america....the response from the rep here only helps prove that
i happen to have the exact same card.......working flawless.....it just wasn't designed to win any overclocking competition....but that shows in the price up front....it works as it should....and if i need an rma its no problem
it being totally out of warranty...they did all they could
 
primetime said:
XFX imo is a great value imo.....good prices, very good support, but not usually going to beat any overclocking competition...there more or less value cards with pretty much evga level support....at least if you live in america....the response from the rep here only helps prove that
i happen to have the exact same card.......working flawless.....it just wasn't designed to win any overclocking competition....but that shows in the price up front....it works as it should....and if i need an rma its no problem
it being totally out of warranty...they did all they could
Click to expand...

I used to sell tons of XFX cards back when I worked retail, I love the sleek new DD cooler. I've never had to deal with their support myself, is XFX customer support as good in Australia?
 
primetime said:
afsik....none do anymore....more like 3 years am i wrong?
Click to expand...

PNY does offer a lifetime warranty on their XLR8 series cards, just have to register it, but they only offer Nvidia cards.
 
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DraginDime said:
It really does look like something is leaking out, and I bet it is from that hole. I would try to put a tiny drop of silicon/glue on that hole, try to force it in the hole a bit. then use some fine grit sand paper to remove the excess silicon/glue, reapply TIM and try again.
Click to expand...

That's a terrible idea. Anything in the vapor chamber has surely evaporated out by now. Plus, now it's no longer under pressure. The hole would have caused it to equalize with the rest of the environment. Now you're trying to cool a GPU with an air pocket? You're gonna have a bad time...
 
Finally after 3 months I have a answer to my quest: RMA DENIED. :)

A card that worked for a couple of months/ has a hole in the cooler and probably had the corrosion on it when they refurbished it.

off to the landfill it goes along with my brand loyalty, just now listed by 2 290x's think I am going to get something non reference powercolor or gigabyte.

For anyone interested here is what someone told me that wanted the card for parts:

There is corrosion not just on the pcb but on the gpu and memory too. It can carry a current and that probably killed it. GG quality control xfx..
 
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