Liquid metal stains on cpu and gpu die

[WarDaddy]

So, the other day my notebook started freezing and buzzing so I had to take it apart only to discover that it was the hdd. Before taking apart my temps were just great 73c max on cpu and 66c max for gpu with lm, cleaning up the old lm with 90% alcohol and applying new lm raised the temps by 7c! Worse than thermal paste, so I tried to add more but still no luck and at the end I removed the lm again and applied thermal paste. The thing that I noticed that the surface of the die of the gpu and cpu is scratched up and has stains on it which doesn't come off with the alcohol, any ideas if it can be removed? Also is this much staining normal in 2 weeks?

 

[Vario]

I had this issue with liquid metal and a copper h100i, the only way I fixed it was by lapping it. The gallium formed some kind of alloy with the copper heatsink. I don't know what to say about the GPU you will need to find a way to clean that off without scratching it. Try using 91% isopropyl alcohol and a soft paper towel.

The scratching is because the corroded surface is rough.

You should only use the liquid metal between a nickel plated surface (like a CPU lid) and the die under it. For those corroded metal heatsinks you could use a very fine grit sandpaper such as 2000 and see if that removes it. Kind of hard to do a proper lapping on those laptop heatsinks.

 

[WarDaddy]

I had this issue with liquid metal and a copper h100i, the only way I fixed it was by lapping it. The gallium formed some kind of alloy with the copper heatsink. I don't know what to say about the GPU you will need to find a way to clean that off without scratching it. Try using 91% isopropyl alcohol and a soft paper towel.

The scratching is because the corroded surface is rough.

You should only use the liquid metal between a nickel plated surface (like a CPU lid) and the die under it. For those corroded metal heatsinks you could use a very fine grit sandpaper such as 2000 and see if that removes it. Kind of hard to do a proper lapping on those laptop heatsinks.

Used paper towel and cotton sticks but it feels like that the surface has bumps, like the lm dried up and hardened somehow. Atm normal thermal paste is giving me better results than lm, so I'm guessing that the heatsink didn't make proper contact and the lm hardened and with the later application the surface wasn't even because of the bumps and therfore gave me crap temps. I rly don't feel like washing the cpu and gpu die off with hydrochloric acid, but I'm guessing that is the only way to remove the shit stains from there :^)

 

[MrGenius]

It's not corrosion. And it's perfectly normal for copper surfaces to react like that. Scrape the chunks off until it's smooth again an reapply. It probably won't happen again. But if it does you just need to keep reapplying until the copper stops soaking it up. Don't get crazy on the dies. That staining is not removable. And is inconsequential. Just wipe them off with alcohol and stop worrying about it.

Welcome to the world of liquid metal TIM users.

 

[Solaris17]

It probably won't happen again.

He gets it. Once the first few layers are bled into it doesnt react as aggressively. This is common with all liquid metal.

 

[WarDaddy]

It's not corrosion. And it's perfectly normal for copper surfaces to react like that. Scrape the chunks off until it's smooth again an reapply. It probably won't happen again. But if it does you just need to keep reapplying until the copper stops soaking it up. Don't get crazy on the dies. That staining is not removable. And is inconsequential. Just wipe them off with alcohol and stop worrying about it.

Welcome to the world of liquid metal TIM users.

I got that, but why is my temps worse now?

 

[Vario]

Because the surface of the heatsink is rough due to the reaction of the gallium and the copper, there are a lot of bumps where there is not a good contact with between the heatsink and the die.

 

[WarDaddy]

Because the surface of the heatsink is rough due to the reaction of the gallium and the copper, there are a lot of bumps where there is not a good contact with between the heatsink and the die.

So, I have to sandpaper the stains off the heatsink, but the die has that crap dried on it too.

 

[peche]

I got that, but why is my temps worse now?

cuz the TIM he used have lower heat transfer qualities compared the previous one,

any ideas if it can be removed? Also is this much staining normal in 2 weeks?

you cul try lapping coolers, for CPU and GPU die, try arctic clean and soft towels, coffee filters are almost lint free, are you going to use liquid metal on those surfaces again ?

Regards

 

[WarDaddy]

cuz the TIM he used have lower heat transfer qualities compared the previous one,

you cul try lapping coolers, for CPU and GPU die, try arctic clean and soft towels, coffee filters are almost lint free, are you going to use liquid metal on those surfaces again ?

Regards

Sorry for the confusion, I removed the heatsink because the ram was under the heatpipe, lm was applied. Adjusted the lm with the qtip as I did the previous 5 times and closed it. Temps were about +7c so I opened ot again and added more lm, same result. Cleaned it off with 90% alcohol and took the pictures, tried lm again same bad temps, applied normal thermal paste more or less temps were as when the lm was working. Yes I know that the lm soaks up in the copper heatsink, but idk why left those dots and scrathes on the die, looks and feels like dried resedue. I think the bad temps are because of it, so sandpaper grit 2/3k or hydrochloric acid to fix it right?

 

[Vario]

Sorry for the confusion, I removed the heatsink because the ram was under the heatpipe, lm was applied. Adjusted the lm with the qtip as I did the previous 5 times and closed it. Temps were about +7c so I opened ot again and added more lm, same result. Cleaned it off with 90% alcohol and took the pictures, tried lm again same bad temps, applied normal thermal paste more or less temps were as when the lm was working. Yes I know that the lm soaks up in the copper heatsink, but idk why left those dots and scrathes on the die, looks and feels like dried resedue. I think the bad temps are because of it, so sandpaper grit 2/3k or hydrochloric acid to fix it right?

You would need sandpaper to level that stuff off on the copper, that is the alloy from gallium reacting to the copper. That is why its bumpy. Obviously do not sandpaper the die, I am refering to the copper heatsink.

The die you need to clean with alcohol and a soft cloth. It should come off eventually.

 

[peche]

but idk why left those dots and scrathes on the die, looks and feels like dried resedue. I think the bad temps are because of it, so sandpaper grit 2/3k or hydrochloric acid to fix it right?

those residues might be hard to take out, can you try to take them out with a plastic piece maybe or so? sandpaper on die is not the best idea,

Regards,

 

[phanbuey]

you will need to lap the coolers a bit, but it shouldnt be hard - that alone should lower the temps substantially. Not sure you can really do anything about the dies... maybe try cleaning it with acetone instead of alcohol, but if they're clean temps should go back to normal ranges.

If i have to take apart an LM build i usually don't clean the original LM off at all, just leave it and add a teeny bit of new lm to redo the seal. It's basically impossible to clean off without a tremendous amount of effort.

 

[Vario]

those residues might be hard to take out, can you try to take them out with a plastic piece maybe or so? sandpaper on die is not the best idea,

Regards,

sandpaper on die would mean throwing the laptop out.

 

[Bones]

Yes, it's not a good idea to sand the die itself.
However some types of sandpaper aren't actually paper, instead they are on a roll as a strip with a tough cloth-like backing that could be used. Not really abrasive like the sanding part of it is but still enough it could help smooth those spots out without damaging the die itself.

I'd try that with acetone but certainly do not let the sanding part of it touch the die. If you do try it with the cloth backing, go lightly and see but if you think it's not a good idea then just don't.

 

[phanbuey]

you could always try water and baking soda on the die - that just mildly abrasive enough to get LM off.

just mix it so it's like a paste and then use a small amount on the tip of a cloth and buff out the lm.

 

[jsfitz54]

>>>NOT FOR THE BARE DIE<<<

You could try a metal polish, various blends, some for musical instruments, jewelers rouge, buffing paste:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=metal+polish

https://www.amazon.com/Enkay-Jewelers-Rouge-Polishing-Compound/dp/B0009SOB9O

https://www.google.com/search?q=met...hNzfAhUNCTQIHd1yD4EQ_AUIDygC&biw=1344&bih=726

 

[MrGenius]

The GPU/CPU dies are made of extremely hard material. der8auer uses a razor blade to scrape off the indium solder that's still stuck to the die when he delids soldered CPUs. So that's what I would use without hesitation.

See 4:36

 

[Vario]

Could probably just use those over the top nails she has.

4:36 "this is the critical part right now for both the cpu and the fingers so when you slip down while removing the solder you can damage the cpu quite easily ... when you go over the edges... it can happen very fast that you damage the edge or corner of the CPU".

 

[Space Lynx]

Could probably just use those over the top nails she has.

4:36 "this is the critical part right now for both the cpu and the fingers so when you slip down while removing the solder you can damage the cpu quite easily ... when you go over the edges... it can happen very fast that you damage the edge or corner of the CPU".

I read the 4:36 and then was like, why in the heck is the Bible being quoted on this thread... and then I realized its a youtube time stamp... ah what a wonderful life we lead!