Brownish stains on motherboard PCB

[Dimes74]

Hi there!
26 months ago, I bought this Gigabyte z87x- ud5h motherboard.
6 months ago, doing some cleaning and maintenance, I noticed these brown stains in the left lower end of the PCB.
I asked a few mates that are somewhat competent in computer technology but no one could determine the cause for these stains.
Is there someone among you who has experienced such an issue? What is the cause for that? Could these stains lead to some serious malfunction?

 

[_Blink]

Heya

Looks to me like your graphics card is causing the damage. Do you have a thick graphics card?
Because it looks like your GPU is overheating, and causing these burn marks to your motherboard.

Might be a good idea to download a temperature gauge app for your pc, to monitor the heat.

Otherwise, you can check underneath the motherboard, there might be some loose screw that got caught there causing damage from beneath.

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If the stains are from heat, they definitely can lead to a malfunction. If you can also just put your hand near your GPU while you're playing games, to just see if it's really hot.

 

[Dimes74]

I haven't thought about that but I doubt that's the case.
I have a Gigabyte gtx680/a reference model/ and I use frequently HWMonitor Pro in order to observe temperatures. Currently, my GPU goes up to around 84 degrees C at heavy load, and in summer, it could hit 89 C. I asked Nvidia support and they said that this rate of heat is normal for a gtx 680.
My previous motherboard was a GA-x58a-ud3r 2.0. At that time, I ran my system with a gtx480 which was a lot hotter but I did not see any brown stains around the PCIX 1_1 slot.
I've checked the screws that hold the motherboard. They are stable as they should be.

 

[_Blink]

That's very strange, because you're right, that isn't too hot.
But those marks are definitely from heat. Maybe something nearby to your pc?

I don't really know what could be causing it. It's possible it was a once off thing, and shouldn't be a concern in that case.

I googled 'motherboard burn' and some of the less serious burns looked like yours. (without the black)
http://www.dansdata.com/images/a7vl/reverse440.jpg

Maybe see how it goes, if your computer doesn't give off excessive heat then maybe it'll be fine.
Might be worth taking it to an IT store to double check, but it's up to you

 

[Dimes74]

_Blink, thanks for your efforts to help me!
However, any other suggestion from other persons would be appreciated.

 

[jay_rogers]

I think there is some error or damage with your graphic card.

 

[Dimes74]

Graphics card is fine. Its PCB looks fine...No stains or marks of overheating or anything else.
I submitted the motherboard for examination. The stains have been cleaned and everything works fine.
Thank you for your opinions.

 

[jay_rogers]

Great. Then what was the actual problem? Or still you are facing with some problem?