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GPU Repair Darwin
Chip-level repair · Winnellie, Darwin
Artifacting, no signal, fans spinning with nothing on screen, or dead after a driver update. Most repairers say buy a new card. We find the failed part and tell you whether it’s worth fixing.
VRAM chips, VRM phases, cracked solder under the GPU, bricked vBIOS, cooked thermal pads. Proper preheat, profile and inspection, not a hot-air gun and hope. Postal jobs from anywhere in Australia.
What we do to a graphics card.
Artifacting and crashes under load
Checkerboards, lines, driver crashes when a game starts. Usually a memory chip or a power phase. We test each and replace what failed.
No signal, not detected
Card powers up but nothing comes out, or the system doesn’t see it. We trace the power-up sequence and the display outputs on the board.
VRM and power repair
Blown MOSFETs, drivers and capacitors in the power stages replaced, and the cause found so it doesn’t blow the new ones.
VRAM replacement and upgrades
Failed GDDR5, GDDR6 and GDDR6X chips replaced where parts are sourceable. Memory upgrades on the few cards whose board and vBIOS support it, with an honest no when they don’t.
BGA reflow and reball
Cracked solder balls under the GPU package reworked with controlled preheat, profile and inspection. Done once, properly.
vBIOS recovery
Cards bricked by a bad flash recovered through the SPI chip and reflashed with the right image.
Fan and thermal service
Full strip-down, fresh paste, thermal pads at the correct thickness, fan or bearing replacement, and a heatsink that actually makes contact. Stress-tested before it leaves.
Ex-mining and AI rig cards
Batch diagnosis (which two of twelve are dropping, and why), refurbishment for resale or reuse, and repaste with compound that survives 24/7 load.
What we won’t pretend to do
A cracked die is end of life. Unsourceable chips are unsourceable. A card already cooked with a heat gun gets honest triage.
Diagnose first. Quote second. Repair third.
- Drop it in or post it
Bring the card, or the whole PC, to Winnellie. Interstate customers post the card with a note describing the fault.
- Bench test
Free. We test the card, scope the fault, and quote parts, labour and stress-testing in writing. For BGA and VRAM work we tell you the odds too.
- Repair and stress test
Repaired, thermally tested under sustained load, and returned with a note of what was done.
What it costs
If the repair costs more than a replacement card is worth, we say so.
Common questions
My card is artifacting. Is it dead?
Not necessarily. Artifacting is usually one failed memory chip or a power phase, both of which can be replaced. We test it free and tell you.
Can you upgrade the VRAM on my card?
Only on the short list of cards whose board and vBIOS support larger chips. Tell us the exact model and we’ll say yes or no up front.
Is reflow a permanent fix?
A heat-gun reflow isn’t. A proper reball with new solder balls, controlled preheat and a measured profile is, and that’s what we do.
Do you take postal jobs?
Yes, from anywhere in Australia. Pack the card in its box or an anti-static bag with padding, and include your contact details and the fault.
My card runs hot and throttles.
Dried paste and crushed pads are the usual cause on cards more than a couple of years old. A full thermal service usually brings temperatures down 15 to 25 degrees.
Darwin workshop, cards from all over Australia.
Drop-off at Winnellie, or post it. Chip-level GPU work is hard to find outside the capital cities, so we take postal jobs from interstate.
Before you send it
Don’t keep reflowing it. Repeated heat-gun attempts are the most common way a recoverable card becomes a paperweight.
Diagnosis is free. You get the quote, and the odds, in writing before any chargeable work starts.
Narrow it down
Also
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Find us
We’re the end unit of the 143 Coonawarra Rd complex, on the Mataram St corner — the same block as Top End Car Rentals and Campervan Hire.
Come around to the Mataram St side and park on the hardstand out the front.
Campers and caravans: under 12 m only, and by booking — book a time and wait for the confirmation before you drive over, so the bay is clear when you arrive.
Searching the street address in Google drops you at the wrong building on Coonawarra Rd. Use the map link below — it is pinned on our door.
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