Question Aluminum corrosion or calcium deposits on a recently cleaned 5700 XT ?

[Louie08213]

So I got a 5700xt red devil today; the previous owner was one dirty person. I spent a good hour cleaning the fans and another 2 hours cleaning everything else. The heatsink was not caked but it had some weird oil on it as well as some sticky residue so I took the GPU apart and dipped the heatsink into some tap water and dish soap since I wasn't about to take 7 hours getting the residue off with just alcohol. These spots weren't there when I first took it apart but they started to appear once I washed it and dried it with a hair dryer and an electric air duster. The white spots come off with a toothpick. Is it aluminum corrosion reacting to the warm tap water and dish soap? Or calcium deposit from the tap water? I've since looked up posts online about aluminum oxide but I'm not sure this is exactly that since it started to appear just seconds after drying it completely with an electric air duster and hair dryer. Insight from other people would be very helpful, thanks.

https://imgur.com/a/Wfl4IVZ

View: https://imgur.com/a/Wfl4IVZ

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

The fins ae made from Aluminium and the white residue you picked off with a toothpick would be Aluminium Oxide. They won't impeded your temps on the GPU. Just make sure you're reassembling the card the right way, using high quality thermal paste and thermal pads and you should see good temps overall after that deep cleaning job you've done on the heatsink.

 

[Louie08213]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

The fins ae made from Aluminium and the white residue you picked off with a toothpick would be Aluminium Oxide. They won't impeded your temps on the GPU. Just make sure you're reassembling the card the right way, using high quality thermal paste and thermal pads and you should see good temps overall after that deep cleaning job you've done on the heatsink.

Appreciate the warm welcome. How long will the heatsink last before the corrosion completely takes over? I plan to keep this card for a while. And what can I do next time when cleaning aluminum heatsinks to prevent something like this again?

 

[kanewolf]

How long will the heatsink last before the corrosion completely takes over? I plan to keep this card for a while. And what can I do next time when cleaning aluminum heatsinks to prevent something like this again?

This is why deionized water is used for tasks like this. Distilled would have been better than tap.

 

[Louie08213]

This is why deionized water is used for tasks like this. Distilled would have been better than tap.

Ah. That makes sense. So I would use distilled water for projects like these to prevent corrosion. Will the corrosion continue to spread while using the card? And how long until the heatsink becomes completely unusable?

 

[kanewolf]

Ah. That makes sense. So I would use distilled water for projects like these to prevent corrosion. Will the corrosion continue to spread while using the card? And how long until the heatsink becomes completely unusable?

Unknown, since I have no way of knowing what minerals are contained in, or PH the water you used was.
I might try a hot diluted white vinegar and distilled water solution to clean that off. Rinse completely with distilled or deionized water. Google "aluminum cleaner" for other options.