I accidentally spilled coffee on my PC, and it's leaked through the vents at the top, affecting my GPU and CPU cooler. I cleaned up the visible spills on the motherboard and cooler, but I've noticed some coffee inside the grate of my GPU (it's an EVGA GTX 1080). Any advice on how to clean it out, or is my GPU doomed?
3 Answers
I'd recommend using rubbing alcohol and ensuring that the pieces are arranged for proper cleaning. Disassemble your PC and clean each part carefully with rubbing alcohol and a paintbrush—just don’t use metal brushes! For example, hold the motherboard up while you clean it so that the alcohol drips down instead of pooling on it.
At least it's just your personal machine. I once had a situation where someone spilled a whole cup of coffee on a portable x-ray system. My coworker had to take it apart completely to clean it and replace some parts. Honestly, you should prepare yourself for the possibility that something might need replacing. It’s quite likely that it doesn’t make it out of this unscathed, and it’ll take quite a bit of time to fix.
You might want to try rinsing it with 90% isopropyl alcohol. The best approach is to disassemble the GPU completely to make sure there's no coffee under the heatsink or backplate. After that, use alcohol and a toothbrush to scrub off the coffee residue. Just keep in mind, if your PC was on during the spill, you could already have some damage.
Exactly! Just do your best and hope it survives.
The screen went black and the fan started going crazy. Does that mean it's already shorted out?