My Samsung 305T is dying...

[RedFang300]

So I got a Samsung 305T back when I was in Japan, and it's been my major gaming monitor ever since. Yes I game at 2560 x 1600, don't you? However a few days ago I noticed something, the color blending is all messed up, not exactly the colors during gaming but when the colors transition to shadows, then I started to actually see the pixel columns like you would on a old TV is you got close to it.

Then these bands of flicking shadows moved up and down the screen. I first thought my GTX 295s were going bad, so I hooked up my 40" TV, and the colors were vibrant and clean. So I swapped out my 24 Gateway Monitor from my non-gaming computer and tested it out, perfect no color problems.

This leaves me with a sad state, I spent about $1200 on the monitor 1-2 years ago. Its currently on my non gaming computer so I can "live" with the colors, but gaming on 1920x1080 just isn't the same as 2560x1600

I can afford a new 30inch monitor if I saved up for a few months, but I'm at this point in my life where I'm trying to save up for a new truck and spending that much on a monitor when I can get a 27" for $430ish is really hard to justify.

I can only hope that this 30" monitor gets better on its own, or at least goes out quietly in the night.

[Salamndar]

Get a Multi monitor solution !

[antiacid]

can you confirm that you didn't swap drivers when this color issue started happening? It could be caused by a change in the icc color profile that the video card uses to output to the monitor...

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

I know that some of the samsung monitors, including the 305T have bad caps.

http://www.badcaps.net/

I don't know if that is causing your problem as I don't know how to diagnose monitors, but if there's no clear reason, its possible if you want to break the monitor open and check.

Multimonitor is hard to go to with lower res because of the real estate of the 30". I have a 30" and a 25.5" AND I cannot go back to even 3 1920x1200 set ups. The 1600p monitor buys me a lot of space with huge pictures.

[Expat GriZ]

yup, My 305T is experiencing the same symtoms...opened it up and found leaking caps......fixing now...man....I miss 30".

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

yup, My 305T is experiencing the same symtoms...opened it up and found leaking caps......fixing now...man....I miss 30".

How easy was this to fix? Finding a cheap (under $1000) 30" would be nice if all I had to do was resolder some caps. It can't be THAT hard, right?

[Expat GriZ]

It isn't...went down to my local electronics store, found much better rated caps, soldered them in and whaaaaaalaaaaaaa, 30 " back up and running....7 euro 42 cents!!!! Phoned Samsung repair center....45 euros an hour to take a look.........me win!!!

[Ao1]

^^ I also had the same problem. After 18 months or so the screen started to flicker intermittently. Samsung repaired it and now ~12 months later it seems that the first signs of a problem are re-emerging.

Looking over the web the caps seem to be a wide spread problem.

Not sure if I should change them now or wait for it to get worse to be sure the problem is redeveloping.

Good news in one sense if it is only a matter of swapping over the caps.

Was it the caps on the main logic DVI video board as below?

[Ao1]

I found a link to get the service manual.
http://www.givemefile.net/smanuals/m...ile/37241.html

EDIT:
Hmm, looks like it could also the Altera chip, which is not so easy to fix. This chip is also used in the Gateway XHD3000 30" and it seems to be a overheat problem combined with poor solder.

http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10164
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1035859515

[Ao1]

Meh, my 305T has clapped out for the second time. (Started off with a flicker and ended up with a green screen). Nothing visibly wrong with the caps, but it seems the problem is much more likely to be Altera chip on the logic board.

There is a guy selling an upgraded version of the board from Samsung, which is, by all accounts, a new revision that has used a more robust solder - 2011 Revision 1.2.

I've written to Samsumg to see if I can buy the 1.2 board from them direct.

If not there is a web site in China selling them for next to nothing, although I don't know which version it is. (Could always order a few and have some spares)

[Ao1]

Samsung suck 100% when it comes to product support. The problem I experienced is quiet common and lies in the way that the Altera chip is soldered onto the logic board. The Gateway XHD3000 30" uses exactly the same board, with exactly the same problem. Replacing the board fixes the problem and it’s quite easy to do. (It takes around 20 minutes if you haven't done it before and 5 minutes if you know exactly what you are doing).

It took me 3 months to track the correct product number (no thanks to Samsung). The board is marked as LTM300M1C8LV3.2
but it's correct part number is: BN81-02450A (Samsung AS-T CON BOARD)

I ended up getting the board from here: (No thanks to Samsung)

I would strongly recommend not touching a new or refurbished card from eBay as you will most likely be scammed. (Thanks to Samsung's poor support there are plenty of people out there that will take advantage and try to rip you off).

I would be very reluctant to touch anything from Samsung in the future due to the way they handle support issues.

[DashTrash]

I just joined the club with the Altera chip. My Gateway XHD3000 was working fine Thurs night, and when I turned it on Friday morning, it had the green lines. So, that board you linked is EXACTLY the same in the gateway and the samsung? I've heard of people adding cooling to the older revision and it working just fine. But I think I'd rather just replace it with a fixed version, deal with it once, and be done with it. Thanks for posting this stuff. Super useful! Is the replacement still working fine for you?

[Ao1]

That is my understanding, although maybe they have different part numbers. Mine has been working fine since I replaced the board. I didn’t bother with a fan. I’m not sure if the newer boards fixed the solder problem. Guess I will find out at some stage if not.

[DashTrash]

Well, I decided to shelf this project through the holiday season. Finally got to it today. I removed the pcb that has the Alterra chip on it, and baked it in the oven. I baked it form 8 mins at 385F. Didn't work. I went from the green lines/shading to no picture. I can see the backlighting coming on, and the menu buttons seem to still be working, but the screen remains blank. I'm pretty tired tonight, but I think I will try again tomorrow. It might just be a connector I didn't bet back together correctly, but I suspect my reflow method is not working. Any suggestions on how long/hot to bake it? Also, I wrapped the board in tin foil with only the Alterra chip exposed. Should I do it with no tin foil?

[DashTrash]

Update: I tried again today. As I was disassembling the monitor again, I realized I forgot to plug in one of the connections . I tried a baking profile I found in a post over at Hardocp's forum. Reassembled it, and glad to say it is working as new! Super happy to have it back! Seems huge after using a 23" monitor for the last 2 months. I can provide more details if anyone is interested.

[miahallen]

Update: I tried again today. As I was disassembling the monitor again, I realized I forgot to plug in one of the connections . I tried a baking profile I found in a post over at Hardocp's forum. Reassembled it, and glad to say it is working as new! Super happy to have it back! Seems huge after using a 23" monitor for the last 2 months. I can provide more details if anyone is interested.

Thanks for posting this....give me hope in case I ever have issues with my 305T

[Ao1]

My monitor has just failed again. Same symptoms. I’m loathed to spend more money on it by replaced the T-Con board yet again. Samsung should recall this product.

Edit: LOL I heated up the Alter chip with a lighter until I could smell burning, connected it all back up and now the monitor works. No doubt it won’t last long.

[Ao1]

So the lighter trick worked for 2 days. I bite the bullet and got another T-Con board but this time I have cut a hole in the case and fixed a fan to it to stop it overheating. I wasn’t sure how well the fan would work, but the top of the monitor is now completely cool so hopefully the Altera chip is running cooler as well.

Here’s a shot of the fan mod



Here is the Altera chip on the T Con board



Here is the underside of the chip



Let's see how long this one lasts

[aleicgrant]

Ao1 where did you buy your board from?

[masterg]

What is making it flicker and how can i fix it? i found one in my local recycle shop for 100$

[DashTrash]

Well, my fix failed. It held for several months, but its back. I think I will try the oven trick again when I have time in the next couple weeks. I've been thinking about getting a replacement board, but it doesn't appear they do much better. I will likely do the heatsink/fan thing to keep it cool, assuming I can get it going again. Couple of questions Ao1. For the last several weeks, I noticed flickering (seemed like backlight flickering) before it failed. Is that likely due the the Alterra chip? If not and something else is wrong, I think I'll just end up replacing this thing. Also, would it be possible to get more pictures of your heatsink/fan install?

[trn]

My 305T went out a bit over a year ago. I got purple blotches all over the monitor.

I went with an HP ZR30w which I have been much happier with. I'm trying out a 24" 120hz BenQ on my gaming PC now which i'm not sure if I like better than the 30".

[DashTrash]

So far my fix has worked. I didn't think to take pictures while I had it apart, but I did glue a heatsink onto the Alterra chip, and wired in a fan. I just wired it into the monitor's power thinking it would turn off when the monitor went to sleep. It doesn't. The heatsink doesn't seem to get hot so I'm thinking about taking the fan off. There is pretty good airflow so it should be ok.

I have thought about trying out a 120hz monitor, but I really like my big display. With all the advances in small screens (tablets, phones, etc) I'm disappointed we don't see more happening with large screens. When you say you don't know if you like it better than your 30, what are the trade offs you are looking at? Does gaming at 120 feel smoother?

[BringerOdeath]

Hey guys, I have a few of these monitors I have repaired(Reballed the chips, with help from a friend . I was given a 305T plus that is missing the logic board in it as it was bad and the original owner broke it..... I tried the logic board from one of the other 305t's I have and it works fine. So I was wondering if any of you have any extra logic boards that have the flashing image artifact issues? I can repair it if it still displays an image at least. I can't seem to find anyone selling the boards anymore either........THX!