Help i spilled beer on my gpu

[makemetwiiz]

I have an issue. After this happend 2 weeks ago, i thought nothing of it and continued to use the computer and it worked absolutely fine. Bought ryzen 5 3600x and mobo on black Friday. And when I was opening the side door I noticed the spill on the PCB on the card. I haven't put the card in my new computer as I am afraid it will break my new components. Pls help. I mean it worked for 2 weeks without an issue. I don't have the money for a new GPU atm but I want to use my computer...

[minibois]

If I were you, I would clean it with some alcohol (the irony!) and let it fully dry.

Then check if there is no visible damage.. Especially near the power circuitry.

 

I do think I see some corrosion on the first picture on the left, so I'm hoping it didn't go any further...

Any chance the beer went between the cooler and PCB?

[Alex Atkin UK]

Cleaning it off carefully with isopropyl alcohol and Q tips is about all you can do.  Be very very gentle around any components and don't be afraid of using too much, it will evaporate quickly.

The best option is probably to get it stripped down and properly sonic cleaned, but I have no idea where or how much that would cost.

[nick name]

Bahahahahahahaha seems like something I would have done.  I tend to work on my PC the most after drinking beer.

 

But like others have mentioned -- some rubbing alcohol will clean that right off and it should be fine.  

[DoctorNick]

So it's working, because you used it after the spill? Clean it with isopropyl alcohol and let it dry. I recommend using a microfiber cloth and not paper towel

[Turbof1]

You were better off spilling wodka on it; beer is largely water. I normally don't advice heavier alcohol, but I'd say limit yourself to drinking shots at your PC.

 

Like others said, clean it off. I believe the backplate of a GPU gets a protective coating. so whatever electrical components on that side will probably be fine. However, it might have spilled on the inside as well and that might require cleaning as well. So I  would advice to dissassemble it and see if it needs cleaning on the other side.

[Ramrod126]

I can feel the pain, I am on my 4th Corsair K70 RGB.

[Mark Kaine]

Use isopropyl and a soft toothbrush! 

 

Way better than qtips.  And be really carefully to not break off any parts... I mean you don't really need to use a lot of force at all,  just gently brush / wipe it off... 

 

 

Should be good to go then honestly but cleaning it is certainly the way to go cause that ain't healthy for the card in any way! 

[makemetwiiz]

Thanks guys!

[Whiro]

If you have beer on the gpu just add salted peanuts just joking, do what guys suggested and it should be good

[Otto_iii]

best thread ive read all month, thank you all for this, hope it works after cleaning.  You likely just need to get all the sugars etc off the pcb,

if possible take it apart and clean both sides of PCB as it looks like you had some spillage over the side,


at the very least try to get sufficient alch on other side if you don't wish to take it apart, if it doesn't work and you can still return it as "DOA" that way so long as its clean enough nobody notices. There is no amount of iso-alch that will hurt the card just make sure the PCB is perfectly clean and dry before firing it up, since its never been powered on its extremely unlikely anything is currently effected, also if you did power it on and it broke its very unlikely it would take other components with it, it would probably just fry itself in worst case scenario. 

12 hours ago, Turbof1 said:

You were better off spilling wodka on it; beer is largely water.

its the sugars and salts my dude, not the water. 

probably unrelated but if it makes you feel any better, i rarely drink guinness, but when i do i always spill it into my unprotected mechanic keyboard, happened like 5 times by now, certain keys short out but then start working again simply by using them repeatedly (cleaning them essentially, i suppose), point being you have very high chance that simply cleaning it with lots of alch, especially if you clean both sides in effected area of spillage, will get it working no problem.  

[amdorintel]

get a horse hair bristle brush and use alcohol to clean it, no not vodka, not rum, isopropyl alcohol and 99%

 

i would clean it every hour, or as often as you can

 

and try to get the bristles under any ic chips.

 

i even cut the horse hair bristles short to get more "action" on the bristles, but be careful not to dig the metal handle into anything.

 

i would dig the bristles into any holes for mounting

and look on the other side of the mobo for beer residue and clean likewise

[xg32]

2 hours ago, makemetwiiz said:

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i would also consider the cost of the card and the cost of the new build, if it's a cheaper gpu i wouldnt bother.

 

Edit: i see it's a 1060-6gb, tough call.

[Turbof1]

On 12/12/2019 at 3:10 AM, xg32 said:

i would also consider the cost of the card and the cost of the new build, if it's a cheaper gpu i wouldnt bother.

 

Edit: i see it's a 1060-6gb, tough call.

They still go for 100-130 dollars/euro's. Cleaning would take a hour. I'd say certainly worth it.

 

Besides, I have the same Asus Dual OC card. Absolutely stunning card, without RGB shenanigans and a sleak white cover. The card is definitely worth the cleanup job.

[Turbof1]

On 12/12/2019 at 3:00 AM, Otto_iii said:

its the sugars and salts my dude, not the water. 

No, it's the combination of both; salt and/or sugar alone is not going to cause oxidation, but in combination with water it is. Less so with alcohol. This is because alcohol molecules hold less charge.

 

I'm not saying spilling higher percentage alcohol drinks on your gpu is a good thing, it can still damage the gpu if done excessively, but it will be less damaging.

[makemetwiiz]

Cleaned it up with 99% alcohol, work great. Again thanks