Condensation on GPU? Help

[BH393]

Today I wanted to clean my pc that I built in late 2018 because my GPU boost clock dropped by 150 MHz and found something on my GPU backplate and wanted confirmation if it is condensation or not please help.

 

Specs:

CPU: i9 9900k OC 4.9GHz

COOLER: Be quite dark rock pro 4.

GPU: Evga RTX 2080 XC Ultra

RAM:  Corsair vengeance 16x2 3200MHz

MOTHERBOARD: MSI MPG Z390 GAMING EDGE AC?

PSU: Evga supernova 650G+ 80plus gold.

 

[camieabz]

Rub it with your finger. Is it greasy / oily?

 

 

[Luigi04]

Found a similar post on the Forum:

 

[jaslion]

Has happened before. Most often its just some oils from your hand that have been on the card for a while. A simple cleaning will normally get rid of them (with a soap so be careful as isopropyl alcohol is good for disinfecting but not degreasing which is what these most likely are related to). Can also be some flux or other substance used during manufacturing that creeped around a bit.

[camieabz]

1 minute ago, Luigi04 said:

Found a similar post on the Forum:

 

Yep. Given the location of the spots, I assumed screw lube or similar.

[DoctorNick]

Just wipe it lightly with isopropyl alcohol with a microfiber cloth.

[BH393]

3 minutes ago, Luigi04 said:

Found a similar post on the Forum:

 

Just looked at it and it seems to be right but I am still not sure why my boost clock dropped by 150MHz since there is no dust or anything.

[BH393]

2 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

Just wipe it lightly with isopropyl alcohol with a microfiber cloth.

Yeah thanks I am about to do that but still wondering why my core clock dropped by 150Mhz since there isn’t any dust buildup?

[Luigi04]

1 minute ago, BH393 said:

Just looked at it and it seems to be right but I am still not sure why my boost clock dropped by 150MHz since there is no dust or anything.

If it is 150MHz idle you shouldnt worry about it but if its while gaming there is certainly a problem.

[BH393]

6 minutes ago, camieabz said:

Yep. Given the location of the spots, I assumed screw lube or similar.

Yeah most likely but I still don’t know why my GPU core clock dropped by 150Mhz.

[BH393]

Just now, Luigi04 said:

If it is 150MHz idle you shouldnt worry about it but if its while gaming there is certainly a problem.

It was in furmark and temperatures seemed to get super high more then before.

[CommanderAlex]

Are you sure its not thermal pad oil?? I've seen this on the back side of my graphics card and on my motherboard and its nothing to be worried about, unless your PC is operating at temperatures that can cause condensation. 

[BH393]

1 minute ago, SpiderMan said:

Are you sure its not thermal pad oil?? I've seen this on the back side of my graphics card and on my motherboard and its nothing to be worried about, unless your PC is operating at temperatures that can cause condensation. 

I think it’s thermal pad oil and screw lube because it’s greasy I figured that out but now I don’t know why my GPU core clock Dropped by 150MHz I thought it was because dust but there isn’t any in it and it’s pretty much clean.

I was worried it was condensation at first because I live in the Middle East so it’s super humid most of the year.

[CommanderAlex]

1 hour ago, BH393 said:

I think it’s thermal pad oil and screw lube because it’s greasy I figured that out but now I don’t know why my GPU core clock Dropped by 150MHz I thought it was because dust but there isn’t any in it and it’s pretty much clean.

I was worried it was condensation at first because I live in the Middle East so it’s super humid most of the year.

Ah ok, tough environmental conditions which I can see the reason for your concern. The core clock decrease is odd though. Are your temperatures high? How are your utilizations in game for both CPU and GPU? When did you notice this happening, i.e. after updating the graphics drivers??? 

[Letgomyleghoe]

1 hour ago, jaslion said:

Has happened before. Most often its just some oils from your hand that have been on the card for a while. A simple cleaning will normally get rid of them (with a soap so be careful as isopropyl alcohol is good for disinfecting but not degreasing which is what these most likely are related to). Can also be some flux or other substance used during manufacturing that creeped around a bit.

isopropyl alcohol is great for getting rid of oil and grease stains, especially in this sense a high percentage isopropyl alcohol would be perfect, sure it's not a degreaser spray, but you don't wanna be spraying that or wiping it on an $800 gpu. 

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

isopropyl alcohol is great for getting rid of oil and grease stains, especially in this sense a high percentage isopropyl alcohol would be perfect, sure it's not a degreaser spray, but you don't wanna be spraying that or wiping it on an $800 gpu. 

Not on the card just the metal around it and of course you don't spray it on the card you spray it on the cloth and then carefully clean it. Ya know basic house cleaning way :p.

[Letgomyleghoe]

Just now, jaslion said:

Not on the card just the metal around it and of course you don't spray it on the card you spray it on the cloth and then carefully clean it. Ya know basic house cleaning way :p.

still gonna leak through and on to the PCB, and speaking that there is grease on the PCB too...

[jaslion]

2 minutes ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

still gonna leak through and on to the PCB, and speaking that there is grease on the PCB too...

How is a damp soapy cloth with some dish soap going to leak through metal?

[Letgomyleghoe]

10 minutes ago, jaslion said:

How is a damp soapy cloth with some dish soap going to leak through metal?

look at the backplate, please, for the sake of my sanity, there is holes in the backplate. literal 2 inch gaps. 

[jaslion]

2 minutes ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

look at the backplate, please, for the sake of my sanity, there is holes in the backplate. literal 2 inch gaps. 

Yes? So again how is a damp soapy cloth and issue if you just clean the metal? You know a cloth is not a solid shape right and you can just use a small piece or a corner?