Can you wash a graphics card?

[garyjpaterson]

Yes, wash, with water!?

 

Now i realise this might seem like a strange question, water and electronics tend not to go well together. But i just purchased a GTX260 216 Core from eBay to be used in the Q6600 PC i use when at home from Uni over Christmas holidays etc.

 

As soon as took it out the box, i was shocked at how dirty it was! Like full of dust, really black thick fluffy dust! It also has a really strong smell, not sure what of, but it sort of reminds me of a Christmas scent wall plug thing my mother has, but not pleasant!

 

You could shake it and this horrible fluff comes out the fan opening. I should have taken pictures. I removed the cooler, and removed the bulk of the dust and fluff, but there's still a lot stuck in the heatsink and fan fins. Still stinks.

 

I reapplied thermal paste and put everything back together, tested it in my PC, and it runs fine.

 

Now here come the question, if i were to wash it with water to clear the heatsink and fan out, leave it to dry for over a month, would it be safe to use? And if so, what precautions do i need to take?

[defunkt]

no. compressed air.

[TheRoss0411]

Don't troll

Use compressed air

[miyabwah]

Nooo0O0o0o0oo0O.

[garyjpaterson]

Really, not even with a £20 GPU? Bearing in mind this is not getting turned on for over a month, so im expecting it to be 100% dry.

Definately a no go?

[Raboo]

NO

[Tmh85]

This sounds extremely troll like

Never put water on any computer componet, its majorly conductive and if you actually washed the whole card with water you would ruin it..

[TechSage]

Compressed air, and don't blow it upside down because it freezes stuff when the bottle is used upside down. HAPPY BLOWING!

[Arshdeep]

A man once washed a motherboard in soaking sink (all the way)

 

did not work

 

dried a little more (just let it dry)

 

worked

 

I would rather not.

[TheArcheaon]

Yes, wash, with water!?

 

Now i realise this might seem like a strange question, water and electronics tend not to go well together. But i just purchased a GTX260 216 Core from eBay to be used in the Q6600 PC i use when at home from Uni over Christmas holidays etc.

 

As soon as took it out the box, i was shocked at how dirty it was! Like full of dust, really black thick fluffy dust! It also has a really strong smell, not sure what of, but it sort of reminds me of a Christmas scent wall plug thing my mother has, but not pleasant!

 

You could shake it and this horrible fluff comes out the fan opening. I should have taken pictures. I removed the cooler, and removed the bulk of the dust and fluff, but there's still a lot stuck in the heatsink and fan fins. Still stinks.

 

I reapplied thermal paste and put everything back together, tested it in my PC, and it runs fine.

 

Now here come the question, if i were to wash it with water to clear the heatsink and fan out, leave it to dry for over a month, would it be safe to use? And if so, what precautions do i need to take?

 

LOL! Dude, if you wash it (IT WOULDN'T BE USABLE!) the graphics card would shock in the water and shorten out.

You want to buy some of this : http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Canned%20air Its safe to use on your computer, and won't damage any of your parts.

[MikeTz]

Use compressed air but about your question you can actually do it with distilled water which isn't conductive.(I think,don't do it) 

[solomongrundy]

why not wash just the heatsink and fan after removing them? don't dip the entire videocard in water.

[TheArcheaon]

Really, not even with a £20 GPU? Bearing in mind this is not getting turned on for over a month, so im expecting it to be 100% dry.

Definately a no go?

Not even with a  £5 gpu.

[Arshdeep]

Costco has 5-7 cans of gas for 17 bucks. Not bad. 2x 10oz cans for 10$ on amazon.

I own some myself (amazon ones)...

[theNejCar]

Cleaning it with air is faster and simpler. And it doesn't destroy your graphics card.

[garyjpaterson]

Indeed!  Bath time!

 

^ Voodoo 2 getting clean

 

^ Drying

 

^ Mobo getting a scrub down

 

   Still have yet to find my SB live.. have some things to do around here for a couple hr's then i'll go look in the garage for it and some other spare parts.  pretty sure i have an old dell out there than can have some parts robbed off it.

 

Thanks for the comments guys, i'll post some more pics when they are dry, but they cleaned up fairly well... just need to let them set for a day or 2 to let them dry.

 

 

This guy did it. Its where i got the idea. And yeah if im not doing it ill wait till im home from christmas, we have a big comressor, ill use that.

[Excon]

You guys do realize hes talking just about the heatsink with the fans don't you? He doesn't just throwing the entire card in water......

[TheSLSAMG]

You guys do realize hes talking just about the heatsink with the fans don't you? He doesn't just throwing the entire card in water......

I think you a word.

[tobben]

LOL! Dude, if you wash it (IT WOULDN'T BE USABLE!) the graphics card would shock in the water and shorten out.

You want to buy some of this : http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Canned%20air Its safe to use on your computer, and won't damage any of your parts.

well actually it wouldn't .. it won't short out unless you power it on while it's still moist, he obviously wouldn't clean it WHILE IT IS  STILL RUNNING, still, wouldn't do it, bad idea.

[unknown566]

i wonder why so many people say things like short out the circuit. that only happens when you have something to conduct. the guy's not an idiot who would wash his graphic cards while there is a power source supplying it with electricity = =.

(edit: unless it has it's own power source, you would likely damage the power source than the circuit. Then you would have to change the power source, for example an internal battery in mouse, etc.)

(2nd edit: If you are going to wash it, I suggest buying distilled water (PURE water). Don't use tap water.)

[Glenwing]

Even if you throw the entire card in water it will be fine.  Water does not damage electronics, electricity damages electronics.  Impure water (i.e. tap water), being conductive, creates bridges and pathways so that the power going through the card can go places it isn't supposed to go, in unregulated amounts.  That's what damages electronics.  Of course this only applies as long as there is power.  If the graphics card is not connected to anything, it's just fiberglass and copper, throwing water on it won't make it spontaneously explode or anything.

 

The only thing you would need to watch out for is using liquids that will leave behind residue, which will leave conductive pathways behind when it dries.  If you wash it, don't use any soap or chemicals, just as pure water as you can manage.

 

And drip dry it for a few days before you use it.  Or hit it with a leafblower if you want.  Sticking it in a bag of rice is always a good way to dry it too.

[IdeaStormer]

Water could work but you have to take extreme care and be patient. But really, just blow some air and if you can't get that pesky dust off of it, just buy a short paint bush and bush it softly off, I'm talking a dry brush, not one dipped in water or paint! Again, brush softly as if it was your eye.

[Mines_Skyline]

You COULD potentially do it. But I would not try it.

 

You would first need to make sure ALLLLL of the capacitance in the card is drained out. I'm not sure how you would do this. I guess by leaving it unplugged for a long time. Then you could wash it with water. Dry it out normally, and then place it in a bag of rice. Rice soaks moisture. People drop their phones into the toilet all the time. Phones that have a live BATTERY. They take it out of the water, put it in a bag of rice for a few days and their phone works perfectly fine after. Why wouldnt it work with a GPU?

 

Once again, It could work, but I would not recommend it.

[garyjpaterson]

Yeah the idea was, wash it now, leave it till im home halfway through december then use it then, in hopes itl be fully dry.

 

Most of you seem against the idea, so i probably wont do it, just a thought!

[unknown566]

Yeah the idea was, wash it now, leave it till im home halfway through december then use it then, in hopes itl be fully dry.

 

Most of you seem against the idea, so i probably wont do it, just a thought!

leave it there for a month and in dry surroundings. also like mentioned by others, use pure water, you can buy distilled water. (reason: no electrolytes.)