5870M works on external display only [M17x R2]

I've seen a lot of this problem lately, and i am looking for a solution since i have one of the defective cards too.

The card works wihout problem on external display.
But it only works on Built-in display from time to time (when it's over 50°C on GPU, and it decides to work)
Otherwise the screen is gray, or flashing RED,GREEN,BLUE,BLACK,WHITE colour.

Bear in mind that the LCD itself is not faulty, i've confirmed that by putting the GPU into a different laptop and it did similar on that one too.

OC pretty good 850/1150 (Haven't really pushed to the point where it would artifact)
And there are completly no problems on external Display.

I would like to know if anyone with the same problem has actually managed to fix it.

(I would really not like to reflow if possible)


EDIT 17/3/2013: Possibile fix

I don't know if it will work with every card that has this problem, but it worked with mine.
(worth a shot if it's just sittin on a shelf)

1. Stripped the card of heatsink, and all the plastic, removed the X-Bracket and cleaned of the thermal paste.
2. I put it in oven @ 190°C for 9/10 minutes, GPU die facing UP, and 4 aluminium balls on each corner of the GPU.
3. After that i shut it off and opened the oven a little bit, alowing it to cool for 15min.
4. Took it out of the oven and cooled it for another 20 minutes.
5. Reapplied thermal paste and heatsink.
6. Slammed it into the laptop, and no more gray screen, running 3DMark Vantage, wihout problems

Looks like i'll save 100€ on a new card

Update:
After 1 year the card is still running fine...
(runs at around 37-69°C idle/load)

Comment if it worked for you too

 

I have the same problem

 

Sounds like the GPU is going bad...why not replace it? Are you under warranty?

 

I agree with tsunade, if you're in warranty send me a PM and I'll set up a repair if necessary.

 

No, i dont have a warranty anymore, and i'm not the original owner either.

I'd like to see if somebody has actually fixed this issue,
because i know there a a lot of cards out there that do exactly the same thing

 

Have you flashed the vBIOS?

Make sure you're on BIOS A10 | M17x R2

Remove your current video driver and install Dell | AMD Mobility Radeon HD5870 driver.

Flash the vBIOS

AMD Mobility Radeon HD5870 | vBIOS

 

I have tried REV0, REV1 and REV2, all of them have the same problem.
I'm running on A10 Unlocked, but the card is acting up on M15x too. (White screen in that case)
It's not driver related, because i cant even see the AW logo on boot (gray from the moment i turn it on)

Thanks for the suggestions, i hope they help someone.

Interesting is that gpu only starts showing image on builtin display when it heats up. (over 50°C or so)
Otherwise it's a no go.

Some say that they have the exact opposite problem, it works fine till it heats up.
After that it must cool down, or run on external.

 

So if you've tried the card on another machine, why not just simply replace the card? It's quite obvious your card is bad/failing. Unless you know how to perform board level repair, it is usually easier just to replace the card rather than try to fix it yourself. Dell 5870's should only go like 100-150 used, of course new is going to cost an arm and a leg. The over baking technique only really works on cards that exhibit artifacts due the bad/defective solder to the board aka a company that starts with an N and ends with vidia back in the Napa/Santa Rosa platforms.

 

Well, i know i can just go ahead and replace it, but i was hoping that it's possible to fix it :/

I've actually reflowed an X800 (no image at all), and a 3870x2 (Internal CF was faulty somehow), both succesfully.
But i just wanted to know if it's possibile to fix it at home, oh well...

... i'll try some other things, and then i'll just probably replace it if i cant find a fix for it.

 

Reflowing only fixes solder issues, if there is a short on the card or a VRM/board component is bad, reflowing won't do anything.

 

Looks like it is a solder issue, because it worked
i had nothing to loose except a semi-working GPU xD
so i went ahead and it did it (more info in first post)