We knew Markie (of geektechnique.org) had a wild streak at times. Now we have the proof that's beyond a streak. What's really crazy is that it worked.
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I posted a story to /. on it. I know Markie has been posted before. That ought to up the chances of another story on his work getting through.
That's truly amazing.
AWESOME!!!!
HOLY {censored]!!!! I cant believe that worked! Amazing!
at least it wasn't in warranty when he did that, apple would wonder about scorch marks if it went wrong. The coolest thing is that it shows that it can be done an alternative way to the hair dryer and block method (where you take a block of something and put it between the GPU and the case)
I gotta admit, he did a pretty job in figuring out something that might just work...
Jeez, what a ham-fisted way of repairing a component. I'd be willing to bet he significantly reduced the life of the GPU.
euhm, you really need to explain to me how I can have reduced the lifespan of something that was (part of something) broken in the first place, how else should this GPU have life in it left?... ^_^
Next to that, for reflowing this BGA, you really need to put a certain amount of heat to the chip, one way or the other. My guess is that a lot of these boards got a reflow-job in apple's repair-program. Chances are the reflowing wasn't done as spectacular as I did, but still...
btw, I'm typing this on the fixed iBook, it really works well and without a hickup since the repair-job... now let's see how long it'll hold.
The chip wasn't designed to take that amount of heat. The fact it doesn't need a heatsink is proof enough that it doesn't get all that hot in normal operation. When they install BGA chips, they don't heat the chip to flow the solder; the solder is robotically applied to the pads and the chip is pressed in place before the solder cools.
I'm sure that BGA chips aren't really meant to be reflowed. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple's motherboard repair process was to simply remove the GPU, clean the board contacts, and install a brand new GPU with fresh solder.
Don't get me wrong, if you're reflowing process is reliable (as in, flexing the iBook the wrong way doesn't break the reflowed solder pads), more power to you. I just would have used a more controlled method (e.g. with a heat gun and temporary heat spreader on the chip).
oh sure, I don't think BGA chips are designed to be reflowed in the first place. But when they fail and there's no warranty whatsoever, it's the only option left for you and me next to making the whole thing a dust-collector.
But, somehow I guess (and sure, that's what it looks like too) everybody thinks I put an excessive amount of heat to the chip but I'm quite sure that the heat *under* the cup isn't all that excessive. If it would've been, I wouldn't have needed several runs with this, with more fuel than I expected etcetera. So, even though as primitive as it might seem, I guess it's quite controlled. The board/chips don't look one bit as if they have taken any amount of (excessive) heat, no reflowing of solder near the GPU or such. Next to that, this iBook really is working fine now.
No offence though and don't get me wrong too, I just fixed something that was broken and these were the only tools I had during the holidays for doing it.
Any way, happy new year to you all!