Gigabyte Aurora and soot

[gamerguy1]

Hello.

Today I was cleaning my PC case. While cleaning I noticed what looked like hand prints on the inside of the MB tray side panel of my Gigabyte 3D Aurora case. First, I tried Windex to remove the "handprints". I noticed that the handprints did not come off. So I tried Comet. After 3 full rags of black grease/soot, I finally had the panel clean.

So I cleaned the case thoroughly. But the grease/soot was mostly on the - Inside of the MB side panel of the Gigabyte case-. A little of the grease/soot was on the inside of the case as well.

Does anyone have any idea what the grease/soot might be? Has anyone had a similar experience with a Gigabyte 3D Aurora case or any other kind of case?

 

[jhurst747]

Hello.

Today I was cleaning my PC case. While cleaning I noticed what looked like hand prints on the inside of the MB tray side panel of my Gigabyte 3D Aurora case. First, I tried Windex to remove the "handprints". I noticed that the handprints did not come off. So I tried Comet. After 3 full rags of black grease/soot, I finally had the panel clean.

So I cleaned the case thoroughly. But the grease/soot was mostly on the - Inside of the MB side panel of the Gigabyte case-. A little of the grease/soot was on the inside of the case as well.

Does anyone have any idea what the grease/soot might be? Has anyone had a similar experience with a Gigabyte 3D Aurora case or any other kind of case?

I've seen this a few times in the homes of smokers. Seems to be a combination of body oils and nicotine. I've also had a few cases of my own that seemed to do what you're describing but I don't smoke. I've always wondered if it was a combination of dust, hand oils and heat.

 

[gamerguy1]

Interesting.

I do smoke. But the issues I have with what you said are,

1) Windex would have dented the "grease/soot"
2) It was 98% on the inside panel of the MB side of the Case (a tiny bit on the inside by the cross "bars" of the case and MB tray).

But you think it is a natural buildup inside the case?

Also, the PC inside crashed. The Video Card and the MB PCIExpress lane are gone. The Video Card is under warranty, but the MB is no longer under warranty. All other parts are tested and fine. Is there a way to prevent this in the future? I do smoke a lot when I am playing PC games alone online.

And are any of he substances like nicotine toxic to a pc? I keep my apartment very neat and mostly dust free.
Is the PC case after cleaning a possible danger still to a replaced MB and PC system?

 

[jhurst747]

It's always a possibility. Sometimes it's hard to tell. If you regularly clean your case (which face it, most of us don't have time to spend doing often) then you're bound to find issues before they occur. At this point, it's almost impossible to tell without being able to physically see it. Mark one in the "unexplained" section and call it a day. lol

 

[gamerguy1]

If you think of any other possibilities please let me know. I do not want a repeat of this. And would like to take action to prevent this from happening again. I have 3 pc systems and this was an "unexplained" pisser to have one go down before the Holiday. the MB was over 2 years old, but I was pretty attached to it lol

Ill try redirecting the fans . It seems like the buildup inside the case might be because the fans push all the substances against the back of the PC case.