My AMD RX 6900 XT suddenly began showing severe artifacts across the right half of the display after startup. It worked normally the day before. The full image appears during boot, but once the operating system reaches the login screen, half the picture becomes corrupted. The display also occasionally goes black and loses signal while I'm using the remaining visible area.
Changing resolution and trying different video outputs made no difference. I also tested older graphics drivers, but the problem remained. For now, I'm using an old R9 380 as a temporary replacement.
A local repair service charges about €80 for diagnosis. That fee is deducted from the repair price if the card can be fixed, but I still pay it if the card is considered beyond repair. I understand that a failed GPU die generally cannot be repaired, so I'm unsure whether there is a realistic chance of fixing this card or whether I should put the €80 toward buying a newer GPU. Is professional diagnosis worthwhile in this situation?
2 Answers
Artifacts that appear only after the operating system and drivers load can sometimes be software-related, so a clean driver removal with a tool such as DDU and a fresh stable driver install is worth trying. However, if older drivers produce exactly the same corruption, this is much more likely to be a hardware fault. Before paying, confirm that the shop actually repairs graphics cards at the component level rather than simply testing them and charging you to confirm the failure.
A specialist GPU repair shop may be able to fix a power-delivery fault, damaged memory, or another board-level problem, but a defective GPU die is generally not economically repairable. The final cost could still reach several hundred euros, depending on the fault and labor involved. Compare the shop’s repair estimate with the price of a newer card and its warranty; for an older 6900 XT, spending the diagnostic fee only makes sense if the shop has a strong track record and the potential repair cost is reasonable.
I already tested older drivers and the behavior did not change. It really looks like part of the graphics output is no longer being processed correctly. The repair service is legitimate but charges the €80 diagnostic fee if the card turns out to be unrepairable, so I’m weighing that against putting the money toward a replacement.