Unusual buildup on GPU block

[Haakon18]

I just took apart my rig for the first time in a year in prep for an upgrade.

When inspecting the GPU block of a GTX 1080 Gigabyte Waterforce I noticed these unusual cracks/buildup.

Any ideas what it might be and if I should be worried? 

[For Science!]

Just now, Haakon18 said:

I just took apart my rig for the first time in a year in prep for an upgrade.

When inspecting the GPU block of a GTX 1080 Gigabyte Waterforce I noticed these unusual cracks/buildup.

Any ideas what it might be and if I should be worried? 

What coolant were you using and did you ever wipe the blocks with alcohol?

[Haakon18]

 

16 hours ago, For Science! said:

What coolant were you using and did you ever wipe the blocks with alcohol?

I was using EKWB Premium Liquid Cooling Premix Coolant, Blue, 1000mL, UV Reactive.

I had topped it up with purified water of <1ppm contaminants every now and then to keep the level healthy.

This is GPU comes with the block preinstalled from the factory and I have never taken it off or applied any alcohol.

The fluid still moves fine, and I haven't noticed any increase in temps.

[W-L]

4 hours ago, Haakon18 said:

 

I was using EKWB Premium Liquid Cooling Premix Coolant, Blue, 1000mL, UV Reactive.

I had topped it up with purified water of <1ppm contaminants every now and then to keep the level healthy.

This is GPU comes with the block preinstalled from the factory and I have never taken it off or applied any alcohol.

The fluid still moves fine, and I haven't noticed any increase in temps.

Your block is spidering, the acrylic looks like it has been chemically damaged or reacted with something from that crack pattering. Odd why it's isolated to one specific area. 

[Haakon18]

4 hours ago, W-L said:

Your block is spidering, the acrylic looks like it has been chemically damaged or reacted with something from that crack pattering. Odd why it's isolated to one specific area. 

There is light cracking around most of the perimeters I can see.

And it only occurs at the edges of the acrylic where two pieces meet.

This is the worst section, and there is one other small area (1/10th the size) similar to it.

I'm switching to just using water now, but my question is still should I be worried? 

 

I think I remember seeing very light cracking like the cracks on the left when I first put it in but didn't think it would get any worse. 

[W-L]

7 hours ago, Haakon18 said:

There is light cracking around most of the perimeters I can see.

And it only occurs at the edges of the acrylic where two pieces meet.

This is the worst section, and there is one other small area (1/10th the size) similar to it.

I'm switching to just using water now, but my question is still should I be worried? 

 

I think I remember seeing very light cracking like the cracks on the left when I first put it in but didn't think it would get any worse. 

The main issue that may occur is weeping where the fluid can wick through the cracks and leak out the side of the block. For any cracking you need to take it apart and inspect it to see how far the damage has gone, but for severe spidering like this I personally would not trust it anymore even if a repair attempt was made since each one of the crack lines has the potential for leaking.

 

The fluid is probably not the issue as you still require a premix to prevent corrosion and built up in your loop, my best guess is that the acrylic cover was not flat and due to the mounting pressure cracked or during manufacturing there was a defect in the material itself and it got chemically damaged. 

[Haakon18]

Looks like this is a common problem on acrylic used in yachts and aquariums. It is known as Crazed Acrylic and appears to be mostly a surface defect that doesn't affect functionality, just aesthetics.

There are methods for removing it however in this case accessing the mounting hardware is too hard.

[Guest]

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