I purchased a used 980 Ti from eBay and it has an unpleasant odor. What should I do to clean it?
I purchased a used 980 Ti from eBay and it has an unpleasant odor. What should I do to clean it?
The $75 price includes shipping for an EVGA superclocked unit with the ACX 2.0 cooler. It's unclear if it will function properly yet. I also purchased replacement fans from a Chinese seller for $13 with free shipping. My intention was to swap the ACX 2.0 cooler and backplate onto my current EVGA superclocked reference cooler card, but I'm uncertain if this will work. There might be a different BIOS involved. Thanks for the suggestions! I returned the smelly 980 ti after discovering a PCB crack with severed traces; a new one is on its way. Given the issues, I thought it wasn't worth the trouble.
Electronics/contact cleaner is usually just isopropyl with some gas propulsion such as butane. It evaporates quickly. Be mindful that liquids may seep under memory chips, GPU, and other surface mount parts. Just because it looks dry doesn't mean it's completely dry. Let it sit for a day or two before reassembly. Regarding the odor, I think it might be vape juice residue on it.
Smart decision, aside from that - don't bother with all this cleaning at all.
Even with thermal pads, nobody confirms they're actually the right thickness, which matters a lot. Too thick and the GPU won't properly connect to the cooler, too thin and it's pointless.
Overall, these old GPUs for a low price that look too clean from some shops are red flags. A bad smell is a clear sign. Good to see you spotted the PCB crack, and I think there might be more when it comes from.
The updated card is in far better shape than the original, yet I still wish to remove every trace of the previous owner. After some more thinking, I opted not to invest in an ultrasonic or handheld steam cleaner. Instead, I decided to boil the aluminum heat sink in distilled water and clean the backplate and fan shroud with mild soap.
Here’s what the setup turned out to be:
https://imgur.com/EGcAx39
View: https://imgur.com/EGcAx39
I used a hiking pole across two cereal containers and a picture hanging wire to suspend the heat sink in the water, ensuring it didn’t touch the pan. Once the water started boiling, I let it simmer for 10 minutes.
https://imgur.com/raUnU4S
View: https://imgur.com/raUnU4S
Right after, I dried it using my air compressor. The back plate, front plate, and fan shroud were cleaned with a cotton cloth and a new inexpensive toothbrush, using distilled water and my car wash shampoo.
https://imgur.com/lODS9jb
View: https://imgur.com/lODS9jb
The same method was applied to the heat sink; I dried them immediately after washing. For the fans, I purchased a brand-new set from eBay for $13, which coincided with buying the card.
https://imgur.com/5lG4mRw
View: https://imgur.com/5lG4mRw
https://imgur.com/GR7jXcZ
View: https://imgur.com/GR7jXcZ
https://imgur.com/DrNoK3k
View: https://imgur.com/DrNoK3k
https://imgur.com/XoQ5zrB
View: https://imgur.com/XoQ5zrB
https://imgur.com/VeV4eOH
View: https://imgur.com/VeV4eOH
https://imgur.com/Y80YZ9d
Result: It looked and functioned like new! I’m still using my old PCB, but I’ve replaced the reference cooler with the ACX 2.0.