GTX 750-760-770-780 Series GPU Graphics Card Repair

This page is to feature all the GTX 7XX series graphics cards that I have worked on.

Why like the 7 series?

  • The GTX 750 TI was a classic and still a viable desktop card with the option of light gaming. The main limiting point for modern gaming is the relatively low VRAM sizes. However, look out for the rare high-memory versions e.g. GTX 760/770 4Gb and GTX 780 6Gb!
  • As a card to repair, there are plenty on the market, they’re cheap and I find the PCB layout relatively easy to understand.
  • Not very power efficient by modern standards, but strangely I haven’t seen so many cards with PCB burns etc. A typical problem would be the VRAM, especially on the larger cards due to board flex e.g. 770 and above.
  • The 780 and 780 TI are still fairly able for HD gaming with lower memory-related settings.

Typical Issues

  • The 760 and above very often VRAM issues, typically the chip closest to the PCI slot on larger cards, but can be others too. Identify the failing chip with MATS and fix it by following Graphics Card VRAM Chip Replacement Procedure
  • Issues related to age and general wear and tear. Missing capacitors seem quite common, especially on versions without back plates. Often the missing capacitors will be around VRam areas as well as on the PCI lanes.
  • Relatively high running temperatures on the GTX 770 and above.

Less Common Issues

  • I have not seen many 7 series cards with shorts, PCB burns.

Repair Notes on 7 Series

Like 9 series, the 7 series have no 1.8V rail.

Voltage RailTypical Resistance
VCore~2-12Ω (Varies, 780 TI tends to be on the lower end)
VMem~80-120Ω (Samsung -Hynix)
PEX~170-320Ω (typically 200+, I have never seen any <100Ω)
5V~2-3KΩ
3.3V~600-900Ω
12V2KΩ+

GTX 710

I really need to just take some time to sort these cards out! I bought most of them cheap a while ago. Now my skills have moved forward, some of them might be fixable when revisited.

  • ASUS GT 710 2GB GDDR5 SILENT (Initially artefacts, but then ran fine, more testing required – possible bios read issue?)
  • MSI 710 2Gb – Card A (Seemingly OK, Furmark/Heaven/Roblox, but crashes when starting Kombuster, so must in fact have an underlying issue – memory perhaps?)
  • MSI 710 2Gb – Card C (WORKING – Seems fine, no problems observed)
  • MSI 710 1Gb – Card B (WORKING – Bad corrosion, not safe to test without careful cleaning, probably spare parts at best – update, missing a couple of capaitors behind the GPU, but seems to actually work! Needs more cleaning, back plate replaced and probably transfer the capacitors from the Card D which I suspect has a faulty GPU)
  • PALIT GEF GT 710 2GB SILENT DDR3 (resistances OK, voltages OK, seems to work correctly, although wise to test further)
  • ASUS GT 710 2GB SILENT DDR3 710-2-SL (resistances OK, voltages OK, got to windows on the first run, now won’t – blank screen – when GT 710 driver setup previously by another card, this card then seems to reach windows and work without artefacts)
  • ASUS GT 710 2GB GDDR5 (K7C0YZ04R493ZUA) (very similar, but slightly different to the other one) (Interesting, missing VMem & VCore, can hopefully use the other semi-working 710 to compare some voltages)

GTX 730

  • ASUS GT 730 2 GDDR5 Silent (Has a short on the 5V rail)
  • Palit GT730 2Gb (WAS WORKING, NOW FAULTY – DVI port replacement / resolder needed. For months I used this as a test card, so it had a tough time. Now it is not detected, perhaps the core failed, as I can see all the voltages)

GTX 750 ti

A classic, still a useful desktop and light gaming card.

  • Kfa2 GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB GDDR5 (missing VCore, VMem – Some issues resolved)
  • EVGA 2GB GTX 750 TI GDDR5
  • GTX 750ti 2GB FAKE
  • GIGABYTE Graphics Card GV-N75TOC-2GL (Seller “displays but with lines.” – Lines on screen, and a very low Vmem resistance, felt one very hot chip, also levered up! Never seen that before!!)
  • ASUS GTX 750 Ti OC 2GB (SCRAP grade B – Free card, core physically damaged, not detected, all voltages, resistances OK)

GTX 760

  • EVGA GTX 760 SC w/ ACX 4Gb (FIXED – Interesting 4Gb version, had 3 Ohms on the VMem rail due to a faulty VRAM chip. After fixing this the card basically works, some missing capacitors to fixed)

GTX 760 ti (rare)

GTX 770

Still OK for low-end HD gaming, although the rarer 4Gb versions have a definite edge.

GTX 780

The GTX 780 can still deliver decent HD gaming, these are my favourites that I have worked on:

Inno3D iChill GTX 780 HerculeZ X3 Ultra DHS Edition
PNY GTX 780 XLR8 3Gb

Reference Type

I am still trying to get a level view of what a good example of the reference GTX 780 should run like, the short answer seems to be hot and with regular thermal limiting under full load! I will not buy more reference types due cooler design having relatively poor thermal performance and how much hassle it is to work with (lots of screws and thermal pads need to be just right to avoid stressing the PCB and components). It is an OK choice for practice or spares though, as most of the layout and components are similar in other 780s.

GTX 780 TI

The ultimate 7 series cards! The Gigabyte GTX 780 TI 3Gb GHz Edition is my favourite version that I have worked on – Why?

  • Understated, but practical design and cooler (~typically low 70 deg C range)
  • Joint highest Core boost clock of 1150 MHz of all GTX 780 TI cards
  • Legendary score in 3D Time Spy using default settings!
  • The regular Windforce version also does almost as well.