[SOLVED] Can you help me identify this mystery liquid?

objecttothis

Reputable
Jan 17, 2020
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Context: I picked up a Zotac 1080 Ti Arcticstorm (which is a water cooled card) on eBay. When I received the card, I noticed a little moisture on the water block near where one of the mounting allen screws connects the plexiglass to the block housing. Out of an abundance of caution I took the water block off the card and found a bunch of moisture near several of the memory ICs and mosfets.

Using Isopropyl alcohol, Q-Tips an air compressor and a lot of time, I was able to mop up most of the liquid, but this stuff DID NOT behave like water. It was oily and stained the PCB a darker shade. Eventually I re-pasted the die with Liquid Metal and slapped everything back together. The results are that the card is working perfectly and I've doubled my GTX 980 benchmarks while not breaking 36C on my custom loop.

My question is what is the liquid? My theory is that its leftover flux from manufacturing... the only thing is there was A LOT of liquid. Thoughts?

https://ibb.co/5F54J6q
https://ibb.co/jG4NBbR