graphics cardWhen it breaks, most people would send it for repair, go to a store for testing, or simply replace it with a new one. After all, the circuit board of the graphics card has a large number of precision soldering points and chips. It is not something you can repair by yourself. The more you repair, the worse it will be. But recently foreign forums Reddit A piece of sharing appeared on the Internet that many people thought was exaggerated. One netizen said that he made a picture of himself that could not be turned on at all. AMD A Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics card was thrown into a home oven for 12 minutes, and the card came back to life.
Image source:VideoCardz
A broken graphics card revived after being baked in the oven for 12 minutes? Foreign netizens threw RX 6700 XT into the oven and it was actually repaired
A Reddit netizen shared his repair experience on the PC Master Race a few days ago. He had an AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics card that was completely unusable. He had tried various methods but could not repair it. It was basically declared dead.
At this time, he decided to try a folk remedy that has been circulated in foreign DIY communities for a long time: “Put the circuit board of the graphics card in the oven to heat it.”
He set the oven temperature at 370°F (about 188°C), then removed the radiator and placed the circuit board inside for 12 minutes:
Image source: Reddit
Unexpectedly, the RX 6700 XT, which had been deemed scrapped, was successfully turned on and returned to normal operation:
Image source: Reddit
He also conducted a running pressure test:
Image source: Reddit
Of course, baking at such a high temperature still has side effects. He mentioned that the thermally conductive silicone on the back of the memory module expanded, causing a slight bulge after reassembly. Although it does not affect use at present, it is not yet known whether it is stable for long-term use.
Many people may think it’s a bit ridiculous when they hear about roasting graphics cards. Is there such a trick? There is actually a technical logic behind this approach, and its core concept is called “reflow soldering.”
Simply put, there are thousands of tiny solder points on the graphics card circuit board that connect the GPU die, memory chips, and other electronic components. After long-term use, especially repeated thermal expansion and contraction in high-temperature environments, these solder joints may develop micro-cracks that are invisible to the naked eye, leading to poor contact and eventually causing graphics card failure, such as noise on the screen, black screen, or even the inability to boot at all.
Putting the circuit board in the oven to heat it can theoretically remelt the problematic solder and reconnect it, just like the reflow process during factory production.
However, it should be noted that the temperature control of a household oven is far less precise than that of a professional reflow oven, and the temperature of 188°C is actually not enough to completely melt lead-free solder (the melting point is usually above 217°C). Therefore, some people believe that the reason why this method really works may be that the heating process removes moisture from the epoxy resin at the bottom of the chip package, allowing the material to shrink and improve the contact.
In any case, even if this approach is successful, the effect is usually only temporary, and it may fail again after a few weeks to months.
Using baking methods to repair electronic products is actually nothing new. It has been circulating in foreign DIY communities for more than ten years.
One of the most well-known cases is the “three red light” problem of the Xbox 360. At that time, a large number of Xbox 360 consoles had three red light failures due to poor GPU welding quality. Some players tried to use an oven to heat the circuit board to repair it. Some even wrapped the console in a towel and forced it to overheat for 30 minutes to reconnect the solder joints. This was also the famous “towel repair method” at the time.
There are also related teaching articles on the iFixit website, and the well-known technology YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips has also tried this method:
Although there are many successful cases, I still don’t recommend everyone to try it.
The first is the issue of temperature control. The temperature distribution of home ovens is uneven, and some areas may be overheated, which can easily cause the main board to bend and deform, and even cause direct damage to other electronic components on the board, including the GPU core itself, which may be cracked.
Then there are the health risks. The solder and various chemical materials on the circuit board will release harmful gases containing fluorine and chlorine when heated. Baking food in an oven is equivalent to leaving these toxic substances on the inner wall of the oven. Using it to bake food later will cause health concerns.
Even if it ultimately succeeds, the effects are usually temporary. The micro-cracks in the solder joints are not actually repaired, they are merely temporarily re-contacted at high temperatures, and will break again with subsequent use.
If your graphics card is really broken, the more correct approach is to send it to a professional repair shop. Although the cost is not cheap, at least the probability and stability of repair are far better than throwing it into the oven and trying your luck.
Source: KOCPC Chinese