Corroding 1060

[Tuckinator]

Hi, my graphics card is corroding. It still works, should I remove and clean the corrosion? This is my only computer and I can't risk it not working any advice is appreciated.

 

[dorsetknob]

Hi, my graphics card is corroding. It still works, should I remove and clean the corrosion?

whats more important is the Source of the Corrosion
To my eyes it looks like water/coolent damage from your Corsair AIW
and yes dismantle and clean asap

 

[thesmokingman]

Get that leaking AIO out of there asap.

 

[newtekie1]

To my eyes it looks like water/coolent damage from your Corsair AIW

It looks to me like something was spilled on the computer. It's all over the top of the pump/block too.

 

[Komshija]

Corsair is leaking for sure...

 

[thesmokingman]

It looks to me like something was spilled on the computer. It's all over the top of the pump/block too.

That's coolant. If it were something other water based, his rig would have fried.

 

[Grog6]

I would take it completely apart, run it thru the dishwasher, and carefully blow it dry with an air hose.

That's going to get worse over time; humidity in the air will react with it to corrode worse over time.

I'm amazed it works at all, personally.

 

[newtekie1]

That's coolant. If it were something other water based, his rig would have fried.

That's not true at all, and coolant is conductive. Hell, I've seen cards running with puddles of water on top of them...

Either way, the source of the corrosion needs to be found, and the corrosion needs to be cleaned up.

 

[phanbuey]

I mean the source of the corrosion is clearly the leaking AIO block above the card.

 

[natr0n]

I call this one "Beautiful Disaster".

 

[lexluthermiester]

Hi, my graphics card is corroding. It still works, should I remove and clean the corrosion? This is my only computer and I can't risk it not working any advice is appreciated.

That picture is horrifying! I'm shocked it is working. YES, clean it! Get a new AIO water cooler, that is extremely likely to be the source of the problem.

Items you will need for this clean up;
Toothbrush you don't care about
32oz 90% Isopropyl Alcohol(99% if you can find it)
1 gallon Distilled water
8oz White vinegar
2 or 3 towels to place under the parts being cleaned
3 spray bottles, one for IPA, one for pure water and one for water vinegar mix

First fully disassemble your PC and isolate the affected parts.
Next, use the toothbrush dipped in IPA to gently brush away the debris and much of the corrosion in the affected areas. Rinse with the distilled water.
Then use the vinegar diluted in the distilled water 1/10(1 part vinegar, 10 parts water) and brush over the same areas to remove the remaining corrosion. Do this step as many times as needed to remove the corrosion.
Next generously rinse again with IPA, then rinse with water, then one last time with the IPA, in that order.
Repeat as needed until no corrosion is visible and with each part that has corrosion.

Remember to be careful and gentle. In this situation time is your friend, take as much time as you need to clean the parts well. Make sure to get into the PCIe slot, again very carefully.

You will need to let each part dry for at least 2 full days or a full day if you keep the parts in a room that has an ambient temp above 80F and good ventilation.

 

[Vya Domus]

A leaking AIO is one thing, but how the corrosion grew to that extent is beyond me. It certainly looks like there was more than just water there.

From what I gather it still works ? That's pretty amazing but the clock is ticking, I'd take it apart submerge the board into vinegar for a couple of hours and then scrub it with a toothbrush if you don't have any specific anti-corrosion solution. Then rinse it with water and let it dry for a day or two.

However the PCIe slot appears to be corroded as well, this means eventually it will still kill something probably.

I can't risk it not working any advice is appreciated.

You don't have the luxury to choose I'm afraid, you can let it be but it will still die sooner or later.

 

[Chloe Price]

I put my bet also to a leaking AIO. What's amazing is that nothing's broken

Hell, I had few drops on my X99 motherboard about an year ago and it broke. Of course I didn't realize those drops when turning the system on.

 

[Assimilator]

If you don't remove and clean it, it's going to stop working anyway.

 

[ShrimpBrime]

Wow.
That's worse than a dust clogged air cooler.
Better fix it...fast.

 

[trparky]

That picture is definitely cringe-worthy, that's for sure. It's also a poster child for how bad things can get when an AIO leaks.

Now excuse me while I check my own build for any such leaks.

 

[newtekie1]

I mean the source of the corrosion is clearly the leaking AIO block above the card.

Then how do you explain all the water/fluid droplets on top of the block?

Plus, AIO coolers tend to be loaded with anti-corrosion chemicals to stop the copper block from corroding with the aluminum radiator.

I put my bet also to a leaking AIO.

I'd put my bet on something spilled on the PC. Hell, judging by the color, I'd almost guess soda or coffee. I've never seen leaking coolant turn brown before. It's always got a tint of green to it, IME.

 

[Solaris17]

What am I even reading. Please disassemble everything and clean it.

 

[biffzinker]

Could it be cat/dog pee? I see white long animal hair on the back of the graphics card.

 

[newtekie1]

Could it be cat/dog pee?

Yep, definitely a possibility. That stuff can be pretty nasty, especially cat pee, it's pretty corrosive and drys to a nasty brown color.

 

[robot zombie]

To me the only thing you could do to really knock THAT much corrosion off is to give it an ultrasonic bath. Seriously, man I would not try to remove that manually in that state. Structurally the PCB is no doubt compromised and the traces probably don't hold in place like they used to. Just pulling the card out might be too much for it. Safest bet would be to rip all of the heatsinks/pads off of the mobo, break down the card WITH it installed (remove the shroud, fans, pads... only the still-slotted bare PCB remains,) and toss the whole thing in one. That way whatever might be fused will at least separate before you muck with it. Even that might knock off too much. If the corrosion goes too far through, everything will come off with it, no matter what you do... ultrasonic or not.

Sadly I'm betting what I'm talking about is no less crazy than the idea of pulling it out in that condition. That just sounds like a nightmare situation.... if you're gonna do it, may be wise to spray some contact cleaner in and hopefully loosen stuff up. Could do the same thing soaking the board in water/vinegar. I've even heard of people putting their parts in the dishwasher. You can get it as wet as you need to, so long as you don't put power to it before it is COMPLETELY dry. As in, remove the battery, too.

Whatever you do, it's probably going to be best to get as much of that crud off and especially OUT from there before attempting to remove it.

I dunno... I'm just really worried that it's game-over the moment you try to yank that card out, which you're going to have to do to clean that disaster area. And it is probably gonna be a YANK with the amount of gunk in there. Not to mention those slots are stiff when the fit is unobstructed. I'd frankly be surprised if that action didn't leave behind or take something it wasn't supposed to... it's either that or it will be very loose with important things crumbling out... :/


If you DO somehow manage to get the card out and cleaned, I'd probably never, ever use that PCIe slot again. The x8 slot below it is fine for a 1060... and far less likely to short and fry things. IF you're lucky, your mobo will initialize it that way. The only issue I see is that some mobos really don't like having a solo card in anything other than the main x16 one. Some will pick it up automatically. Others, you have to set it. Others still are just like "nope!"

I know it sucks, but I would probably write the mobo and card off as dead. Failure is inevitable. Any time you have left is bonus time. At least you have that time to gather funds to replace it and maybe not be out a machine at all, if it holds up. And I know... that REALLY sucks. You're on an older platform, so sure you could swap the mobo and GPU out... no need for a whole new build, but nobody likes dead-end upgrades.

Truly, the safest advice I can give you is don't try to save it. Run it till it's done. Anything you could do to try to fix that is likelyu to break it. And I'm not calling you dumb... it's more like, even people skilled in PCB repair probably wouldn't touch that situation. Because at the end of the day, the traces on the card are likely damaged beyond any recovery (and you can't replace those - namely the contacts themselves,) all of those corroded joints need to be redone and components replaced... and then the slot definitely needs to be replaced. The amount of work it would take to ensure that all of that stuff will work for any reasonable amount of time is just not worth it, and maybe won't work anyway. Unless those things are addressed, the whole thing is just waiting to die.

I would at least look at replacing that card and again running it in the second slot, if possible with that board and your situation. Like I said, it's half-speed, but still fast enough that most cards will run within margin-of-error differences. You could put a 1080 in that 8x slot and it would still cruise right along, with you never noticing a difference. So that's a real option. Not the one you probably want to hear, I understand completely... but realistically the most likely endgame if you're trying to save the build.

 

[Hardcore Games]

I am still using my old trusty Cooler Master HAF 932 which eliminates any need for water cooling. I use MX-4 on the CPU and it does its job well.

I cringed at the sight of that much cancer on a PC to reinforce the belief that air cooling is the only way to go.

 

[PooPipeBoy]

GET THAT WATER COOLER OUTTA THERE, BOI

 

[biffzinker]

GET THAT WATER COOLER OUTTA THERE, BOI

Pretty sure a AIO isn't filled with a yellow colored fluid (look again at the top of the block with Corsair.) Either it's urine from a pet peeing on top of the case or beer was spilled inside.

 

[thesmokingman]

Pretty sure a AIO isn't filled with a yellow colored fluid (look again at the top of the block with Corsair.) Either it's urine from a pet peeing on top of the case or beer was spilled inside.

Lmao, I wonder what the OP is thinking? How'd I not smell that dog/cat piss?

Btw... piss is conductive.