White Residue

Logla · Apr 3, 2004, 02:58 PM

I removed my motherboard this morning to fit water cooling

I noticed on the back of the board there was a sort of white film that has formed over certain parts of the board. These parts being mosfets and caps - all the things that generate heat.

Its not totally covered just a very thin film and it doesn't rub off. The mobo is an Abit ic7 Max3

I had been heavily overclocking the board last night and am worried that I may damage the board.

Anyone else seen this before?

Dom · Apr 3, 2004, 03:28 PM

Perhaps it's moisture build-up from humidity?

Judas · Apr 3, 2004, 05:07 PM

i encounter this on a new ...NEW ATI 9600 np i had bought... brought it home.. opened it up... and saw this kind of weird residue on it... like it had been dipped in water... and left out to dry....but no water spots... just this white "mineral" buildup like look... i took it back and they replaced it...

Necrosis · Apr 4, 2004, 11:57 PM

What region do you live in & are you water cooling?

Logla · Apr 5, 2004, 12:08 AM

I live in the north east of england and at the time, I wasnt water cooling. I am now and I wished I never started although thats another tale altogether

swimtech · Apr 5, 2004, 06:19 PM

Judas had it, it's minerals from condensation or leakage (horrors!!!). It won't come off easily either, alchohol should do the trick however - with a cloth or cotton swab. It generally isn't conductive (much) or capacitive, but over time could be corrosive.

Logla · Apr 5, 2004, 07:24 PM

I'm puzzled by this. The board is only a couple of days old (or at least thats what I thought when I bought it.) I'll give the booze cleaning method a go over the weekend. If that doesn't work I've got some excelent foam cleaner for pcbs from work.

Judas · Apr 6, 2004, 03:22 AM

before i took it back... however.. i did whip out the pure Alchol i had.. and a few q-tips.... the stuff just doesn't want to come off.....

The_Neon_Cowboy · Apr 6, 2004, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Judas
before i took it back... however.. i did whip out the pure Alchol i had.. and a few q-tips.... the stuff just doesn't want to come off.....

sounds like a leaky capistor

better off getting it replaced/rma it what ever

Judas · Apr 6, 2004, 05:07 PM

i did run it without any troubles....i just didn't want to chance it getting wrecked later on.... the thing is.... it was all over the board..... i thought first... maybe something in transit.... but it had plastic around it ..so i don't know...

Logla · Apr 6, 2004, 07:56 PM

Yeah mine seems to be the same all over the board although i've been told by a mate who makes PCBs for Phones, TVs etc that it is probably harmless and is just a biproduct of the manufacturing process and nothing to worry - it will be going back though.

Judas · Apr 7, 2004, 02:42 AM

ahaha... i was thinking when i FIRST pulled the card out... after the initial "water?" ... then i thought. hhmmmm... must have not BAKED long enough....

swimtech · Apr 7, 2004, 12:52 PM

Yeah,
If crusty, then water or condensation, if smooth or even streaky (stringy?) then manufactured that way. Either way, not immediately harmful (not at all harmful if manufactured that way and smooth to the touch). I've almost never seen a board with the white discoloration from the "factory" though, maybe three times over twenty years...

Didn't mean to alarm unnecessarily Logla...

bluestar88 · Apr 14, 2004, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by The_Neon_Cowboy
sounds like a leaky capistor better off getting it replaced/rma it what ever

I think so too. Just take a capacitor from an electronic device you don't need and pop it open (careful) see if it's the same stuff. I'm pretty sure it's the capacitor's liquid. RMA time...

IamLakota · Apr 19, 2004, 10:48 AM

I did radiographics engineering ( x-ray equipment installs and calibrations) yep sounds just like a leaky cap to me, I would deffinately take it back and exchange it or get an rma, capacitors are like bullets with out the lead, one about .22 size sounds like a .22 when it blows and as a comparison correspond each cap size to bullet sizes.
When in engineering school they had a x-ray system that was run off caps 24 600 volt caps all tied together,...lol,..to show us what would happen if they blew they blew a bank of them in a controled test ever seen a liquid plasma ball man was it awesome.

**dj_stick** · Apr 19, 2004, 11:41 AM

looks like something to try…

Apr 3, 2004, 02:58 PM	#1
Logla HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3,311 Rep Power: 0	White Residue I removed my motherboard this morning to fit water cooling I noticed on the back of the board there was a sort of white film that has formed over certain parts of the board. These parts being mosfets and caps - all the things that generate heat. Its not totally covered just a very thin film and it doesn't rub off. The mobo is an Abit ic7 Max3 I had been heavily overclocking the board last night and am worried that I may damage the board. Anyone else seen this before?

Apr 5, 2004, 06:19 PM	#6
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	Judas had it, it's minerals from condensation or leakage (horrors!!!). It won't come off easily either, alchohol should do the trick however - with a cloth or cotton swab. It generally isn't conductive (much) or capacitive, but over time could be corrosive. __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Apr 7, 2004, 12:52 PM	#13
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	Yeah, If crusty, then water or condensation, if smooth or even streaky (stringy?) then manufactured that way. Either way, not immediately harmful (not at all harmful if manufactured that way and smooth to the touch). I've almost never seen a board with the white discoloration from the "factory" though, maybe three times over twenty years... Didn't mean to alarm unnecessarily Logla... __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Apr 19, 2004, 10:48 AM	#15
IamLakota HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Viriginia Posts: 552 Rep Power: 0	I did radiographics engineering ( x-ray equipment installs and calibrations) yep sounds just like a leaky cap to me, I would deffinately take it back and exchange it or get an rma, capacitors are like bullets with out the lead, one about .22 size sounds like a .22 when it blows and as a comparison correspond each cap size to bullet sizes. When in engineering school they had a x-ray system that was run off caps 24 600 volt caps all tied together,...lol,..to show us what would happen if they blew they blew a bank of them in a controled test ever seen a liquid plasma ball man was it awesome. __________________ Harley Davidson: If You Have To Ask You Wouldn't Understand!!! System Specs: Mobo:Asus P6T Deluxe V2,intel i7 920,2x BFG GTX 250 oc in SLI,Corsair 6gigs tri channel pc12800CL8 2xWD Velociraptor's 2x74gig WD Raptor , X-Fi Fatal1ty Titainium,HANNS-G HG281HD 1080p 28" monitor,Coolermaster HAF/922,PC-PWR&Cooling Sliencer 750,CoolerMaster V8 HSF

Apr 3, 2004, 03:28 PM	#2
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	Perhaps it's moisture build-up from humidity?

Apr 4, 2004, 11:57 PM	#4
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	What region do you live in & are you water cooling?

Apr 5, 2004, 12:08 AM	Thread Starter #5
Logla HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3,311 Rep Power: 0	I live in the north east of england and at the time, I wasnt water cooling. I am now and I wished I never started although thats another tale altogether

Apr 5, 2004, 07:24 PM	Thread Starter #7
Logla HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3,311 Rep Power: 0	I'm puzzled by this. The board is only a couple of days old (or at least thats what I thought when I bought it.) I'll give the booze cleaning method a go over the weekend. If that doesn't work I've got some excelent foam cleaner for pcbs from work.

Apr 6, 2004, 07:56 PM	Thread Starter #11
Logla HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 3,311 Rep Power: 0	Yeah mine seems to be the same all over the board although i've been told by a mate who makes PCBs for Phones, TVs etc that it is probably harmless and is just a biproduct of the manufacturing process and nothing to worry - it will be going back though.