Moldy GPU?

[EVA3863]

Hey guys, well this is a new one for me.

 

I bought a brand new RTX 4000 SFF from NVidia and was surprised to find that the packaging foam around the card was spotted with white mold!! 

 

This included the foam above and beneath the card. I did not think this would be acceptable, especially with how much these cards cost these days and being brand new on top of that. My guess is that it was stored in a damp environment or exposed to moisture somewhere - the box didn't have any plastic wrap around it either. So I reached out to NVIIDIA customer support and they essentially told me that I could RMA it only if the card itself had a problem. Which makes sense, most packaging is tossed out anyways, however I do like to keep them for storage. I have been using the card for about 5 days now and have not noticed any issues with it - no overheating, no crashing, etc. It does run great.

 

My question is - would there be any chance that the mold would have gotten into the card itself and eat away at the thermal pads or paste? Would there be a risk to long term reliability, and should I push for an RMA? Having said that, any mold present would probably be killed from running at 60C a couple hours each day.

 

 

I guess you could say its biodegradable packaging?

 

[Blasty Blosty]

Get in touch with support and see what they advise, might send you a replacement

[Blue4130]

57 minutes ago, Blasty Blosty said:

Get in touch with support and see what they advise, might send you a replacement

You miss the point where he said that he did that?

 

1 hour ago, EVA3863 said:

So I reached out to NVIIDIA customer support and they essentially told me that I could RMA it only if the card itself had a problem.

@EVA3863 THe irrational part of me would push for a refund or replace with a new card. They should be sealed, shouldn't they? I've never bought a card directly from Nvidia, but all of the third party cards have been sealed in plastic.

[Alex Atkin UK]

1 hour ago, EVA3863 said:

Hey guys, well this is a new one for me.

 

I bought a brand new RTX 4000 SFF from NVidia and was surprised to find that the packaging foam around the card was spotted with white mold!! 

 

This included the foam above and beneath the card. I did not think this would be acceptable, especially with how much these cards cost these days and being brand new on top of that. My guess is that it was stored in a damp environment or exposed to moisture somewhere - the box didn't have any plastic wrap around it either. So I reached out to NVIIDIA customer support and they essentially told me that I could RMA it only if the card itself had a problem. Which makes sense, most packaging is tossed out anyways, however I do like to keep them for storage. I have been using the card for about 5 days now and have not noticed any issues with it - no overheating, no crashing, etc. It does run great.

 

My question is - would there be any chance that the mold would have gotten into the card itself and eat away at the thermal pads or paste? Would there be a risk to long term reliability, and should I push for an RMA? Having said that, any mold present would probably be killed from running at 60C a couple hours each day.

 

 

I guess you could say its biodegradable packaging?

 

This is insane, did the factory forget to put a desiccant sachet in the box?

[DoctorNick]

19 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

This is insane, did the factory forget to put a desiccant sachet in the box?

@EVA3863Desiccant only helps so much. If it wasn't even wrapped. It doesn't seem from unboxings on youtube that's actually wrapped. Still I think it's unacceptable. Most likely the card is fine. Still would have liked Nvidia to offer a replacement without going through RMA.

 

[Alex Atkin UK]

28 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

@EVA3863Desiccant only helps so much. If it wasn't even wrapped. It doesn't seem from unboxings on youtube that's actually wrapped. Still I think it's unacceptable. Most likely the card is fine. Still would have liked Nvidia to offer a replacement without going through RMA.

 

I would think the opposite, if the box is mouldy then how would the PCB avoid getting damp?

 

I'd be tempted to at least take the back plate off and look at the PCB.

[jaslion]

11 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

I would think the opposite, if the box is mouldy then how would the PCB avoid getting damp?

 

I'd be tempted to at least take the back plate off and look at the PCB.

There should be silica in the box and then also in the antistatic bag which is usually sealed more. So most likely its fine however id still push for a refund or replacement regardless as mold is a nasty killer of electronics.

 

Then also there has to be something for the mold to eat to grow this much and since foam tends to not have anything really for mold the use it may be one of the newer (last couple decades) ones that affect petrolium based synthetics which isnt great for other things

[DoctorNick]

55 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

I would think the opposite, if the box is mouldy then how would the PCB avoid getting damp?

 

I'd be tempted to at least take the back plate off and look at the PCB.

True

45 minutes ago, jaslion said:

There should be silica in the box and then also in the antistatic bag which is usually sealed more. So most likely its fine however id still push for a refund or replacement regardless as mold is a nasty killer of electronics.

 

Then also there has to be something for the mold to eat to grow this much and since foam tends to not have anything really for mold the use it may be one of the newer (last couple decades) ones that affect petrolium based synthetics which isnt great for other things

But it seems there isn't. I found this unboxing video, its just the card in the box. 

PNY knows whats up though.

 

[Blue4130]

1 hour ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

I would think the opposite, if the box is mouldy then how would the PCB avoid getting damp?

 

I'd be tempted to at least take the back plate off and look at the PCB.

I would NOT be pulling the backplate off if I was trying to get an replacement.

[jaslion]

1 hour ago, DoctorNick said:

But it seems there isn't. I found this unboxing video, its just the card in the box.

What the shit. Thats just stupid.

 

However now that I think about it in the reference design 3090's Indont think I ever saw any silica too. Hell any direct nvidia from the last cpuple years I cant really remember adding onto my do not eat pile

[DoctorNick]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

What the shit. Thats just stupid.

 

However now that I think about it in the reference design 3090's Indont think I ever saw any silica too. Hell any direct nvidia from the last cpuple years I cant really remember adding onto my do not eat pile

Yes it doesn't make any sense.. Not even plastic wrapped box. What are they thinking? Meanwhile the PNY is both wrapped and inside a antistatic bag 

[jaslion]

6 minutes ago, DoctorNick said:

Yes it doesn't make any sense.. Not even plastic wrapped box. What are they thinking? Meanwhile the PNY is both wrapped and inside a antistatic bag 

Now that I think about it the nvidia boxes are usually those slide open fancy feeling things amd sometimes too whilst 3rd party nvidia/amd stuff is just a fancy wrapper around a regular opening box with a good bit of padding and protection.

 

Feels like they skimp for show here

 

Ngl it does feel more "wow" unboxing that stuff however that only lasts for so long

[Salted Spinach]

It does suck but I doubt the mold will survive the heat in a running card or cause any deterioration to the thermal paste

[Alex Atkin UK]

10 hours ago, jaslion said:

What the shit. Thats just stupid.

 

However now that I think about it in the reference design 3090's Indont think I ever saw any silica too. Hell any direct nvidia from the last cpuple years I cant really remember adding onto my do not eat pile

Just checked my 4090 FE box and unless they embedded it in the box somehow, no silica either.

8 hours ago, Salted Spinach said:

It does suck but I doubt the mold will survive the heat in a running card or cause any deterioration to the thermal paste

This isn't about the mould, its about mould only grows if there is damp and damp could have compromised the electronics so it will fail early.

[EVA3863]

21 hours ago, Blue4130 said:

You miss the point where he said that he did that?

 

@EVA3863 THe irrational part of me would push for a refund or replace with a new card. They should be sealed, shouldn't they? I've never bought a card directly from Nvidia, but all of the third party cards have been sealed in plastic.

Nope, no plastic at all. No silica gel either. I was upgrading my A2000 SFF which came from PNY in a bubble wrap inside the box, no silica gel either but also no foam.

 

The 4000 shipped from Middletown Pennsylvania according to the packaging, not a hot and dry state like where I'm from,

[EVA3863]

21 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

I would think the opposite, if the box is mouldy then how would the PCB avoid getting damp?

 

I'd be tempted to at least take the back plate off and look at the PCB.

What's weird is that the mold on the bottom side of the card seemed to grow around where the backplate screws were sitting, and it kind of looked like the screws over the mold had a small residue or stickiness to it. I cleaned it off. Don't really want to remove the backplate and risk voiding the warranty...

[EVA3863]

Doing a quick stress test Im seeing the temps level off at 73 degrees, not bad for a SFF system with not much breathing room. Its probably a good thing that the PCB itself is so encapsulated by the shrouds but moisture exposure is still a concern. Would it have been that much worse than being installed in a PC in someone's damp midwestern basement? And being a relatively new card, the exposure couldn't have been too long I hope. Just a word to the wise for anyone ordering from NVidia's online store I guess.

 

I do use this PC everyday so I will know if something starts acting up - hopefully that doesn't happen until my next upgrade in a few years