Oxidized heatsink recovery

[pomkon]

i have seen white spots on gpu heatsink that are sold cheaply. They are oxidized aluminium ? Are mining cards prone to this damage, and what other visible wear? all cpu heatsink are made of alu ?

Can they be cleaned and recovered?

 

ie. rx570 under $20usd 

gtx1060 6gb under $90

gtx 1070 (pictures, showing the worst parts) under $170

assume all with 1 year warranty left

[W-L]

Just now, pomkon said:

i have seen white spots on gpu heatsink that are sold cheaply. They are oxidized aluminium ? Are mining cards prone to this damage, and what other visible wear? all cpu heatsink are made of alu ?

Can they be cleaned and recovered?

 

ie. rx570 under $20usd 

gtx1060 6gb under $90

gtx 1070 (pictures, showing the worst parts) under $170

assume all with 1 year warranty left

 

 

I would be more worried about the GPU itself cause that is definitely water damage, something must have gotten spilled on the card or gotten wet in storage. 

[Srijan Verma]

19 minutes ago, pomkon said:

i have seen white spots on gpu heatsink that are sold cheaply. They are oxidized aluminium ? Are mining cards prone to this damage, and what other visible wear? all cpu heatsink are made of alu ?

Can they be cleaned and recovered?

 

ie. rx570 under $20usd 

gtx1060 6gb under $90

gtx 1070 (pictures, showing the worst parts) under $170

assume all with 1 year warranty left

pretty sure thats not a common thing, its probably some water damage which lead to oxidisation

[KhakiHat]

It is being operated in a really humid environment?

[Tristerin]

If you are buying a known not working GPU and are looking to get them back in working order then take the risk if the pay in, is worth the potential pay out.

 

That's water damage, and Im not sure about that white stuff - oxidization is usually uniform and not "thick" in spots like that.

[pomkon]

1 hour ago, Tristerin said:

If you are buying a known not working GPU and are looking to get them back in working order then take the risk if the pay in, is worth the potential pay out.

 

That's water damage, and Im not sure about that white stuff - oxidization is usually uniform and not "thick" in spots like that.

the prices i listed are for functional cards. Im more concerned if the heatsink can be made normal again.

[Tristerin]

1 hour ago, pomkon said:

the prices i listed are for functional cards. Im more concerned if the heatsink can be made normal again.

Is this ebay?  If functional...Im not sure why you haven't already bought them under buyers protection lol at this price!  Great find if so!

 

The real answer - yes'ish.  Depending on how thin the fins are will depend on if you can light sandblast.  The only real problem I can see is that if the water was bad enough to corrode the heat sink area that covers the GPU becomes pitted etc you will need some hefty thermal pads to bridge the gap.

 

Me, Im lazy, Id dunk them in CLR for an hour and call it a day, because if it is indeed oxidization, that will clean it up clear as a whistle.  I think you could even cheap out and use coca cola.

 

Or a crumbled up piece of aluminum foil dipped in coca cola and scrub the area...great results.

 

That's a few of the things I would try.

[vjizzle2384]

Liquid cooler leaked on it now they are selling it lol 

[pomkon]

10 hours ago, Tristerin said:

Is this ebay?  If functional...Im not sure why you haven't already bought them under buyers protection lol at this price!  Great find if so!

 

The real answer - yes'ish.  Depending on how thin the fins are will depend on if you can light sandblast.  The only real problem I can see is that if the water was bad enough to corrode the heat sink area that covers the GPU becomes pitted etc you will need some hefty thermal pads to bridge the gap.

 

Me, Im lazy, Id dunk them in CLR for an hour and call it a day, because if it is indeed oxidization, that will clean it up clear as a whistle.  I think you could even cheap out and use coca cola.

 

Or a crumbled up piece of aluminum foil dipped in coca cola and scrub the area...great results.

 

That's a few of the things I would try.

what is the active ingredient that cleans metal oxidization? coca cola acid does the same job?

[Tristerin]

9 hours ago, pomkon said:

what is the active ingredient that cleans metal oxidization? coca cola acid does the same job?

Im not into the science portion, but in the "this is what Ive done to clean rust on tools made of aluminum or other metals", the corrosion is the same just the thickness of the metal matters because it could be thinned out very badly by the corrosion...or not and its just surface ox and it just needs "wiped off"

 

Google that same question and it probably has the science about it

[W-L]

10 hours ago, pomkon said:

what is the active ingredient that cleans metal oxidization? coca cola acid does the same job?

Small wire brush will do the job however for the potential of a water damaged card I personally would not touch it. If you don’t mind having to go through the possibility of getting a return on a dead card then that is for you to decide. 

[Growth]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I wanted to let people know this is a common occurrence when cards are being used in an open air rig (such as mining), and when someone is living within close proximity to the coast (within a couple of hundred metres) If they open the door or window and the wind/air comes in, it carries a high amount of salt and over several months will accumulate throughout the heat sink. To avoid this, face the GPU fans away from the incoming air source (window or door), and if you can, limit the amount of outside air coming into the room altogether.