What happened to my EVGA RTX 3080Ti FTW3 ULTRA?

[Squarepoint15]

Hi all, thank you for checking the post, I'm really confused as to what happened to my PC and the GPU in particular. Any help welcome.

 

I had to leave home for 20 days and when I came back I noticed my case had been opened (the back side-panel had Philips screws instead of the usual modern thumbscrews, front panel wasn't properly closed and with only one incorrectly set thumbscrew), the m2 ssd cover is dirty and/or was hit and most importantly, a screw is undone on the GPU leaf spring and the SMD components look like they're corroded.

 

Also, It looks like something orange leaked from under the graphics card and stuck to the PSU with some white crystal or polystyrene, and it smells funky too. Could that be heat-pipe liquid, as it seems to have leaked from the graphics card?

 

Has anybody seen such damage before? I have not started the PC yet. Can the screw just pop while the pc is at rest, or should I assume somebody did damage to the PC/GPU either intentionally or carelessly during an attempt at harvesting data from the PC while I was away? (I have reasons to believe that another adult in the household is interested in the data on the PC.)

[Levent]

Clearly something leaked ON top of your graphics card. I assume you have some sort of AIO watercooling unit cooling your CPU?

[Squarepoint15]

8 minutes ago, Levent said:

Clearly something leaked ON top of your graphics card. I assume you have some sort of AIO watercooling unit cooling your CPU?

I do have an overhead AIO, but I don't see any sign of leak from it. The system is not even a year old and was working fine when I left it. I need to stress again that I know someone tampered with the PC as the panels were not put back correctly.

[Votivee]

Is the top of the case mesh? 

 

Honestly looks to me like someone put a glass of soda or something on top of the pc, spilled it, and then attempted to clean it up.

[Bingus_Bongus]

I would say first hand that they were probably skulking around with an improper fitting screwdriver and had it slip and punctured a liquid line somewhere.

 

What data do you think they could be trying to get out of a graphics card?

[Squarepoint15]

7 minutes ago, Votivee said:

Is the top of the case mesh? 

 

Honestly looks to me like someone put a glass of soda or something on top of the pc, spilled it, and then attempted to clean it up.

Yes, the case is a Corsair 5000D. I like your opinion and it would have provided a good explanation for the damages, but the top of the case and the AIO radiator show no sign of liquid or cleaning, just a little of bit dust spread evenly across the whole surface.

[Squarepoint15]

2 minutes ago, Bingus_Bongus said:

I would say first hand that they were probably skulking around with an improper fitting screwdriver and had it slip and punctured a liquid line somewhere.

 

What data do you think they could be trying to get out of a graphics card?

I meant data from the M2 SSDs. It contains data related to a legal case.

[BobVonBob]

Well first things first I guess you should be glad whoever was trying to get the data off of your computer didn't know what M.2 drives are and is hilariously incompetent at surreptitious entry. Who unscrews something and uses different screws to put it back?

 

Anyway, the stuff on the front of the GPU looks like someone took a hair dryer to it and the adhesive holding on the logo plate melted and squeezed out. That last picture is of the top of the PSU right under the GPU right? That would be a drip from the adhesive.

 

As for the GPU screw, that could cause some serious damage left as is. Definitely put it back in before starting the computer, but you probably can't just screw it straight back in because of the angle it's at. At the least you'll probably need to partially undo the other screws on the bracket to release the tension on that one, then you might be able to get it back in. The problem comes with the thermal paste on the GPU die. It will probably be fine, but it's possible that you'll need to totally take the card apart and repaste it. Keep a close eye on the GPU temperatures, especially hot spot temperatures, if you don't opt to repaste the card.

[Votivee]

5 minutes ago, Squarepoint15 said:

It contains data related to a legal case.

If this is sensitive data please encrypt your drive immediately if it isn't already. I would also strongly suggest making a backup and storing it in a different location not in that building.

[Bingus_Bongus]

11 minutes ago, Votivee said:

If this is sensitive data please encrypt your drive immediately if it isn't already. I would also strongly suggest making a backup and storing it in a different location not in that building.

This right here. Use BitLocker on the drive or put the data on a USB, encrypt it then hide it.

[Vishera]

1 hour ago, Squarepoint15 said:

someone tampered with the PC

That's the source of your issue,

Whatever they did is criminal,that's vandalism.

 

Report it to the police,maybe they will be able to find the person who did it,

And you will get damages..

 

[DoctorNick]

Damn that sucks! Do you live with anyone? Roomates or something like that? Isn't it unlikely that some random amateur should force entry to get data off the PC?

[Vishera]

18 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

Damn that sucks! Do you live with anyone? Roomates or something like that? Isn't it unlikely that some random amateur should force entry to get data off the PC?

For some reason i didn't notice it the first time i read the post:

2 hours ago, Squarepoint15 said:

(I have reasons to believe that another adult in the household is interested in the data on the PC.)

So OP has someone to suspect for doing it,after all that person has a motive.

I would still recommend reporting what happened to the police,what happened to you is criminal.

Don't confront that person,leave that to the police.

Also bring pictures of the PC,tell them that there are no leaks there,tell them everything you told us here.

  

1 hour ago, Squarepoint15 said:

I meant data from the M2 SSDs. It contains data related to a legal case.

It's possible that the act of vandalism was committed so that you wouldn't be able to access that data anymore.

[Moonzy]

if u still have your GPU receipt or box, check the serial number to see if it's swapped

 

i wouldnt feel comfortable booting with that GPU at this rate

 

missing SMD caps, possibly from a slipped screwdriver

 

this GPU have been tampered with, possibly by a child by the looks of things

[Squarepoint15]

First, thank you all for your replies. My data is backed-up twice, so no worry there. Apparently, that was caused by a fruit juice falling through the top of the case, which to me is still extremely suspicious because while I found lots of liquid evidence from the GPU down, there was no liquid trace at all above. The person who dropped the juice, by accident, said to have intervened by opening the case to remove as much moisture as possible. That person (adult) is not tech savvy at all, and just used anything it could find to close the case, hoping that I wouldn't notice 

After discussing the matter with my lawyer and given the current circumstances which I can't share, going to the police wouldn't be the right decision, and I should create an insurance claim instead to at least keep a trace of the event.

 

I'll just have to fix the PC on my own, but it doesn't POST at all now (I did try once with the gfx card, but afraid I might have fried the mobo in the process), will probably start with replacing the motherboard. Will also check the M2 SSDs on my previous computer that I fortunately still have lying around.

[Vishera]

37 minutes ago, Squarepoint15 said:

After discussing the matter with my lawyer and given the current circumstances which I can't share, going to the police wouldn't be the right decision, and I should create an insurance claim instead to at least keep a trace of the event.

Asking professionals for advice is a lot better than some random dude on the internet 

I should have taught about talking to a lawyer.

 

I wish you good luck with whatever you are dealing with

[freeagent]

OMG.. I would lose my shit. Thousands of dollars.. wow..