So, even if liquid metal offers better thermal conductivity, it’s still a product to be handled with care. Unlike thermal paste, which is largely non-conductive, liquid metal is inherently conductive. An RTX 3090 owner experienced this on his graphics card. During application, a small quantity of the paste slipped between the GPU and the PCB. The result was a dead card.
Northwest Repair brings this RTX 3090 back to life!
Nevertheless, it’s a good thing NorthWest Repair exists. Indeed, the videographer and electronics technician managed to bring the card back to life… But clearly, it was no mean feat.
First of all, there’s a lot of inspection work to be done, including voltmeter measurements to make sure the card isn’t totally dead. Then, after visual inspection, he was able to determine where the liquid metal had crept in, and now we get down to the nitty-gritty: disassembly.
To remove any residual liquid metal, the GPU and two memory chips had to be desoldered. Next, the tracks and components had to be thoroughly cleaned. However, when you consider the size of the GA102 package, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this must have taken some time, especially as the video is accelerated.
After reassembling the components, another crash during a stress test… Clearly, a memory chip is causing problems. A few manipulations later, the card is perfectly repaired and works again.
Proof that it’s better to use good quality thermal paste than liquid metal.
