Hey, I'm looking for some help because my gaming computer got wet from a leak. What should I do next?
Hey, I'm looking for some help because my gaming computer got wet from a leak. What should I do next?
Hey everyone, I'm really scared now because of a bad accident with my gaming setup. I have a wooden desk that has cracks in it, and my computer is right under one of the holes. I was so careless that I let a glass of water sit on the desk while the PC was turned on. My cats knocked the glass over, and all the water poured straight into the top of the case. It looks like most of the water stayed on the RAM area, but it probably missed the CPU, SSD, and power supply unit (PSU). However, it definitely ended up in my RTX 4090 graphics card, where it pooled right on the circuit board. Here is what I did right away: I turned off the PC and unplugged the power cord. (The PC seemed to be working well until this moment). In a panic, I poured almost all of the isopropyl alcohol on the affected side of the motherboard and the GPU to push the water out. (Oops! I forgot to take out the small battery or disconnect every single cable from the power supply first). Since that happened, here is what I have done: I took out the graphics card, memory, and the small battery, then unplugged all the cables from the motherboard. I put a fan blowing air into the open case on both sides and turned on a heater in my room to make things less humid. I also cleaned the motherboard and GPU with alcohol without taking them apart. I plan to leave the fan and heater running until Saturday before trying to plug the system back in. My questions are: How likely is it that the water has already caused serious or bad damage? How likely is corrosion forming, and what steps can I take to stop it from happening again? Did I probably hurt anything by using alcohol before removing the battery or power cables? Will the alcohol have dissolved the thermal paste on my RTX 4090? Do you think it will be necessary to take apart the GPU to clean and reapply the thermal paste so we don't get more problems in the future? I'm really hesitant to do this because I've never done anything like that before, and I am worried about breaking something expensive. I am super scared because this is my dream PC, which I just built myself, and I can't afford to throw it away. Any advice or tips you could give would be so much appreciated! Thanks in advance.
Do you have a home contents insurance policy? This might include accidental damage. With some policies you get "replacement as new", even for items several years old. Check your policy and keep yourfingers crossed they don't increase the premium next year. Any contaminants present in the water (picked up from the desk surface) would increase its ability to conduct electricity and potentially cause damage. No way to know. I've seen pictures of corrosion ("fur") on CPU and DIMM gold plated contacts (bizarre) in sub tropical countries with over 90% RH, but you've taken drastic steps to reduce it. There's still no guarantee that metal frames around CPU/GPU chips will survive without rusting. Depends on the quality of the steel. No more so than the initial drenching in water, but I've no idea about the conductive properties of IPA when mixed with water and other contaminants. At least the CMOS battery powers only a few components, but nonetheless... I suspect the thermal paste will have survived. You'll know if the GPU starts to throttle due to lack of TIM when you switch on. I'd be inclined to disassemble the GPU to aid the drying out process, but stop short of removing the heatsink. Water droplets can stay hidden in nooks and crannies for ages. If you damage the thermal pads on the RAM and VRMs during this process, you may need to replace the pads. You might consider putting the GPU in an oven at a (sensible) low temperature (below 100C) for a few hours. Any sign of tampering with the screw heads on the GPU might invalidate the warranty.. I'm not sure. Many people repaste their GPUs. I haven't. Similarly, remove the CPU to dry out the socket. Remove the mobo from the case. In future, seal the gaps in your desk and put the cats on leads. It won't stop you knocking over the glass yourself. Good luck.
I get used to tech things better than anyone else around me, and I haven't ever hit a snag like that before.
Thanks a bunch! I'm really stuck because I don't know how much thermal paste or pad to put on my graphics card. I have a Gigabyte Gaming OC 4090, but there isn't much info online about the right thickness or amount. I want to use Thermal Grizzly's Phase3 for the chip itself, but I can't find PTM7950 Honeywell pads, so I'm unsure which one to get (I'm a little skeptical of generic Amazon stuff and maybe Gelid Extreme?). I'm also not sure about the exact size I need.
One of the used computer repair places I shop at routinely runs motherboards and cards used by smokers through a dedicated dishwasher before resale, as nothing works better for nicotine stains or smells. Apparently this is a common practice and Der8auer even has a video on it. The trick is they must be completely unpowered when this is done and until completely dry, or ions in the water will conduct electricity to places that it shouldn't go to. Mineral water can be far more conductive than tap water + the only completely insulating water is distilled. And dish detergent contains lots of salt primarily to help soften hard water so is very conductive, but the dishwasher rinses very well.
Thanks for all your answers. A quick update: I took apart the GPU and most of the motherboard. Using a tiny bit of distilled water on a soft toothbrush, I brushed both sides of each board to wash away any dirt from spilled water or wood. Then I sprayed 99.9% isopropyl alcohol across both PCBs to clean them better and help dry faster. I used compressed air while doing this too to speed up the drying process. There was very little distilled water used, just a few drops on the toothbrush and a small spray over the motherboard, so everything should be completely dried by tomorrow afternoon. I will also use more compressed air to make sure there is no liquid left behind. After pasting the GPU with Kryosheet glue and putting all parts back together, I'll test them in stages to see if they work. I noticed two small piles of grayish dust on the die side of the GPU. The water didn't reach that side at all, but it looked like rust or corrosion (even though it wasn't next to specific metal things). I'm not sure what else it could be. It was weird for regular dust to pile up exactly there. I easily cleaned those piles away, so maybe it's not a big deal. Aside from those little heaps, everything seemed fine: no signs of physical damage, corrosion, or other issues on either board—none that look like they are water-damaged, as far as I can tell. Any extra tips before reassembling and testing? Thanks again!
I ran the test for about an hour and it looks okay at first glance. But the GPU is getting super hot after just 5 minutes playing Cyberpunk (reaching 92°C). It's possible this is from water damage, but I think it might be because of thermal pads that were too thick instead of thin enough. They looked like they fit right on top of the memory, but maybe that was wrong. I don't even know exactly where those pads went since I need to figure out the layout myself. If you have a plan for how the 4090 is set up, I would love your thoughts. On another note, if I just swap out those thick pads with thinner ones (1mm instead of 1.5mm), things might get better? Everything else seems fine so far, it's just about fixing this one problem right now if I can do it. Anyone else has any tips or suggestions?