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Namco N2 MT3DX video card dead?

nismopunch

nismopunch

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So I received a Namco N2 with MT3DX+ that was supposed to be working (haha). Plugged it in and it displayed some booting sequence very briefly
on the screen weirdly and then shut down. After turning it off it only turns back on to a black screen. So I first reseated the RAM and Video Card..nothing different. Pulled the video card out and looks like (to me) one capacitor has started to leak. Normally I thought when these start to die they still display garbage on the screen, but since it boots to a black screen or sometimes no VGA output I am guessing this video card is totally dead...or there is another problem.

Do you guys think a capacitor replacement might cure this? I really don't know enough about video cards or the N2 to know if this is the only problem. It doesn't seem like it continues to boot and no sound plays (could be attract sound off).

I thought there might be a way of getting a new video card and flashing the firmware like the type x2 but I have not seen anything available or completely missed it.
 

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nismopunch said:
So I received a Namco N2 with MT3DX+ that was supposed to be working (haha). Plugged it in and it displayed some booting sequence very briefly
on the screen weirdly and then shut down. After turning it off it only turns back on to a black screen. So I first reseated the RAM and Video Card..nothing different. Pulled the video card out and looks like (to me) one capacitor has started to leak. Normally I thought when these start to die they still display garbage on the screen, but since it boots to a black screen or sometimes no VGA output I am guessing this video card is totally dead...or there is another problem.

Do you guys think a capacitor replacement might cure this? I really don't know enough about video cards or the N2 to know if this is the only problem. It doesn't seem like it continues to boot and no sound plays (could be attract sound off).

I thought there might be a way of getting a new video card and flashing the firmware like the type x2 but I have not seen anything available or completely missed it.
Click to expand...
Correct me if I'm wrong but are you sure you bought 3DX+?

Here is what I know:

MT3 uses the Nvidia 7600 GS:
7600 GS.jpg

MT3DX+ uses Nvidia 7800 GS:
7800 GS.jpg

MT3DX uses ??? (should be a 7800 GS but can't confirm this):

If you use an Nvidia 7800 GS on a MT3 drive/dongle, you will get a message 'Failed to mount prod.img' on startup.
If you use an Nvidia 7600 GS on a MT3DX+ drive/dongle, you will get a message 'Failed to mount prod.img' on startup.

The card in your images looks to be a Nvidia 7600 GS which shouldn't work on MT3DX+ without a modified BIOS on the card.
 
Yup the listing shows 3DX+ and it came with two dongles. The short green dongle and the HDD show W3P on the stickers. The longer black dongle doesn't show any model number. Either way I cannot see anything since all it shows is a black screen constantly, and sometimes the monitor won't even pickup any signal over VGA.

I thought it was a matching card because arcade spare parts shows a pic of the video card for 3/DX/+ that looks pretty much identical to the one I posted. Granted could just be a stock image.
 
Does it have the same black screen when the monitor is plugged in to the VGA port?
 
Yeah the monitor can tell when the PC is on and pickups a signal but just displays a black screen. If you unplug the VGA cable the monitor can tell it's been disconnected.
 
that vga type is for old version of mt3dx. later version (/revision?) use 7800. just replace the caps, maybe you get lucky and got it working.
 
i won't lie I am tempted to keep it as everything else looks to be in good condition. Just not sure if I'll end up paying more money than needed for one that may have more issues...Ughh lol.

Also since this may not even be the right video card for 3DX+ I am not sure fixing it will completely solve the problem.
 
Mitsu you bad influence haha. I guess I can't really compare cost fairly since I've only ever see two for sale. Given what others have said of this not being the right video card to begin with and the seller accepting return for full refund has me leaning towards giving it back and resuming the endless search ;(
 
The hobbyist inside you wants to fix that cap.
The collector inside you wants it working.

It's not a problem, it's a challenge
 
lol yeah internal dilemma. If I knew it was busted and paid less I would be down to start tinkering. Since I feel I paid more for working and it isn't blah blah blah lol.
 
Did you get the one listed on eBay recently? I saw that one and had every impression from the listing that it was working. It seemed like a steep price for not working, but I agree there's nothing to compare it to.
 
nismopunch said:
lol yeah internal dilemma. If I knew it was busted and paid less I would be down to start tinkering. Since I feel I paid more for working and it isn't blah blah blah lol.
Click to expand...
Ask the seller for a partial refund. See if the seller is willing to just give you a cheaper price so you can still keep it at a discounted amount.
 
freddiefiasco said:
nismopunch said:
lol yeah internal dilemma. If I knew it was busted and paid less I would be down to start tinkering. Since I feel I paid more for working and it isn't blah blah blah lol.
Click to expand...
Ask the seller for a partial refund. See if the seller is willing to just give you a cheaper price so you can still keep it at a discounted amount.
Click to expand...
I thought about that as well, and decided to just return it since we already agreed on that. I did however take a ton of pics that may be useful to someone that I will post later. As you mentioned the vid card was used in MT3, and the case curiously has WM3 on the serials instead of WM3P like the HDD and hasp key. Most likely was upgraded at some point, but unfortunately unable to tell if the 7600 would work on WM3P.
 
Sounds good.
The more I learn about this console, the more I understand that anything works with anything (with the right knowledge). Also, this is just speculation but I think that second dongle is what makes it the DX/DX+. Since they're essentially add-ons to the base game, in this case MT3. Of course they have to also be the same region to work but you get my point.

So if it was upgrade, it was probably upgraded from MT3 and the 7600 was used. And as @Dion mentions, the 7800 is for the newer revision.
The weird part is that you were able to get to the boot screen but then shuts down. Although the shut down is the screen going out, there is a high possibility it is just the video card losing its power to display.

Either way, glad you returned it. I'm sure another one will pop up given the patience.
 
Yup yup, maybe someone on this awesome forum will sell me a working one or reasonably priced broken one.
 
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