Any pros out there know how to find a short circuit within the 8800 GTS pcb?

Trace it would be the only way (Take a Multi meter, and probe across all conections and components until you find one that does not behave correctly). There would be some hundreds of thousnads of places it could have gone... you will need schematics, or it will take you months.

If the short is in an inner layer of the PCB it woul not be repairable. Chances are no matter where the problem is it would not be repairable unless it is a surface solder somewhere. (assuming you have replacement components for it in the case something broke).

Of course it may not even be a short, it could be an open circuit too (broken component)..

Thanks for sharing your experience. That is more helpful information that I didn't have since this is the first time I've encountered this and I have no clue as to what I'm facing if ut's worth it to try and save this card. It's just a bummer. The card was awesome while it lasted, easy to overclock and didn't run hot. In the end, I guess it's a case of you get what you pay for. Looking back, for $30 dollars more I should have purchased a new XFX 9800 GTX+ with a lifetime warranty.

Thaks for your help.

Yeah, that is a bummer. I had similar luck with my first 4850, but I had just bought it so I just sent it back. I think it is probably way too complex and dangerous (for you and your computer) to actually measure and test the components. You could look for something obvious like a busted capacitor, but chances are you issue is small and hard/impossible to see or has fried other parts since. I'm afraid you are probably out of luck and need a new one.

Id be checking the bumps......

Thanks again guys for the inputs. I got out the slide loop and magnifying glass looking for any scorch marks, bubbling on any surface, etc... I'll probably sell it on ebay for $5, as is, with the statement of what happened to it and maybe some kid will look up the schematics, troubleshoot it, find spare parts in a videocard junkyard and have a free 8800 GTS.

I'm gonna stick to XFX videocard products with the lifetime warranty.

Update:

The last email from EVGA Support said they don't do out of warranty repairs. Here's a link from a similar problem. Basically, the lesson is find longer warranties, ie XFX videocards with "double lifetime" warranty. BTW, I just ordered an XFX GTS 250 yesterday. I complained to Newegg about EVGA and Newegg said they can;t control how EVGA treats their customers but Newegg surprised me with a $15 discount towards a replacement videocard! Way to go Newegg!

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-258787_15_0.ht...