• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

R.I.P. XFX 4870X2 :(

CK61938

CK61938

CK61938

Soldato
Joined
31 Jan 2009
Posts
3,219
Location
Newcastle Upon Tyne
As the title says.

A few weeks ago, I noticed my card was displaying an array of colours on screen during POST. Once it got into Windows though, it was fine and I could play games but at times they would crash.

Initially I thought it was the fact I updated the drivers from 10.4 to 10.6. This wasnt the case as the same thing happened after going back to 10.4 and even going back to 10.1.

As it is liquid cooled, I thought maybe it needed a clean out (it was due one anyway). So I cleaned the block and (after buying new thermal paste from OcUK this week), put it back together.

It began working fine yesterday and I was gaming for a fair bit. Until today...in the middle of playing Batman Arkham Asylum GOTYE for a good 30min when the machine just halted and my screen went blank.

Rebooted and it kept on blanking before entering Windows. I could tell it was artifacting cos when I went into the BIOS, I could clearly see the dots.

Cue reinstalling of Windows (7 HP) and thinking this will solve the issue. It didn't. One last throw of the dice was update the BIOS on my mobo (ASUS P6T Deluxe V2) again no joy.

I've since put an older card in (ATI Sapphire HD2600XT :() and it works fine.

I can't RMA it cos I've taken the stock cooler off and have also misplaced the screws for it. Not to mention I don't have the right thermal pads to put on for the VRAM.

So I can sadly say my 4870X2 has now had it's fun, it's an absolute shame cos I loved the card. I guess I could sell it elsewhere as faulty.

Unless someone can tell me if it can be RMA'd? lol.

Thanks guys.
 
yeah how does that work exactly? and I just realised I cannot RMA it cos there are no 4870X2's available lol...crackers.
 
momo56 said:
What waterblock did you use? My EK block bent the card over time. This meant occasionaly the screen would go blank. Im assuming the bending meant poor heat contact and overheating. I used a plastic rod to keep it up and the problem seems to be solved.

In my opinion 4870 x2's are quite resiliant. Had mine for over 2 years now and its been dropped, spilt fluid over, short circuited. Cleaning off the fluid the card still works.
Click to expand...

Mine is an XSPC block. The card is still straight, but then again when it's in the case it could be a different matter altogether. Thank you :)
 
hlennie said:
lol buy some screws that fit from local hard ware shop, or look on line google m1.6 screws and u will find some

stick on some heat pads dont have to be the same ones and fit old cooler dont mention watercooling and send it for rma

it will get sent to manufacturer they will just test it not take it apart they will send u a replacment 4870 x2 and if u lucky u will get a nice new 5870 like i did

and if not some idiot on the bay will buy it
Click to expand...

Well to be honest I have bags of screws, it'll just be a case of finding the ones that fit. As for heat pads, I've tried looking but everywhere is sold out lol. But I will try other methods first. Bearing in mind I bought said card from OcUK so if they're reading this, the jigs up lol :p
 
REAPERUK said:
what is with the 4870X2 had a mate that had this card fail .. if you search there is loads failing :confused: i no they run dam hot though, but the odd few are still here , unless it is down to tim used on certain cards.. as i no one that is still going strong ..odd
Click to expand...

You think this is bad, someone's 5970 has died on them. They tried the oven trick and it didn't save it. Nor did it save my 4870X2.

I'm going to try again tonight this time at 200 for 10min. If that don't do it, then it's getting sold.

I guess that's what you get for buying an expensive card lol :p
 
Just an update, I've decided not to bake it again. Instead I've sent a trouble ticket to XFX and I am awaiting their reply. Haven't mentioned the fact it's been watercooled, baked and other stuff lol. So let's see what happens. :)
 
Well so much for trying via XFX. They've told me to go to the reseller which are of course OcUK. Fingers crossed eh.
 
Right the RMA has been accepted. I'm going to send the card back over the weekend with the stock cooler back on and let's see what happens.

I doubt anything will happen to be honest but it's worth a shot, right?
 
lay-z-boy said:
Indeed it is. Let's hope it all works out.

On a side note, I've noticed a large number of 'dead 4870x2' threads, I'm getting pretty worried about mine now. :(

What do they give you through rma now? 5870? Apart from the new 5 series fetures they are very similar. Or do they attempt to be cheeky and send a pair of 5770's?
Click to expand...

I've yet to see what people have gotten back from RMA. But my guess is, they will go on price rather than spec. So seeing as the 4870X2 would be worth around £170, I'm guessing 5770 is the best bet. But who knows we could be lucky and get a 5870 lol.
 
So things have taken a turn....for the best I think lol.

I was getting the card ready for RMA. So after I put the stock cooler back on, I thought I'd give it a test to see if the problem still exists.

Lo and behold the damn thing boots into Windows. So I installed a couple of games (COD4 and Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY) and they both played fine for a good 30min each way.

I'm going to test it with Crysis tomorrow and see how it holds up. I have to admit, it does run excessively hot but then it has been a year since I used the stock cooler with it being liquid cooled til now. So I've set the fans to 70%. So if anyone knows where to get 3rd party air coolers for a 4870X2, I'm all ears as long as it doesn't take up 3 slots...2 at maximum please lol.

Oh and one more thing, does anyone know of anywhere that sells thermal pads? I've looked everywhere and they've either sold out or don't sell any at all. But who has used these collaboratory thermal pads and are they good? I need a set of either 0.5mm or 1mm thick pads in sizes of 20mm x 100mm or thereabouts. Think once I get these in (currently using thermal paste on one side of the VRAM) then I can hopefully get the card to not feel too hot to touch.

But other than that, fingers crossed I can get 6mths use out of this card before getting either a 5870 or wait for the 6xxx series lot. :D

Goodnight

PS. I'm going to dismantle my water cooling gear for the GPU. It's clear now that the XSPC block was the issue. But I dare not buy a block of a different make in case the problem happens again. This way I can leave it with stock cooler and still enjoy getting use out of it :)
 
Last edited:
REAPERUK said:
For coolers look for the Accelero Xtreme 4870 i no someone who had this and it made a big difference.

pads look for this http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?...s&type_sub=Thermal Interface&model=AK-TT12-80

never tried the above pads though , they use todo the Shin-Etsu type pads which was used by all Gpu manufactures at one point.
Click to expand...

Thanks but that cooler I've seen already but it takes up two slots, meaning with the card it'll take up 3 slots therefore covering my only exposed PCI slot for my soundcard.

I'll look into those thermal pads though. I did also notice those Shin-Etsu ones too so will have another look. Thanks

In fact how will these fair with the 4870X2? http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=136 Cos I think they could be ideal for the VRAM under the card
 
REAPERUK said:
never stripped one, but the heatsinks you posted are for when the ram is exposed, if your covering the whole card with the cooler and the heatsink id touching ram, they will be no good.
Click to expand...

Fair point. I'll stick with the stock cooler and get some thermal pads. Thanks.
 
Well I've tested out COD, Batman Arkham Asylum and Crysis. The card is still going strong with the stock cooler. It seems the baking process worked but only for the stock cooler. So I'm not going back to liquid cool for this card.

Going to give Need For Speed Shift a try and then I will keep the card for as long as it can hold out. hopefully another 6mths should do the trick :)
 
Ah well I ended up sending the card off for RMA as it eventually stopped working over the weekend. But it's been inspected and they found it had the stock cooler removed, therefore voiding the warranty.

Well never mind. It was worth a shot in the end. I might sell it, or I might get thermal pads (still out of stock everywhere!!) and see if those work.

But thanks for everyone who has helped. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom