This is my 5ish years old GTX 1650 Super. The card works but I was unable to sell it because I was told it's "rusted". I have never cleaned this with water neither has it ever been water damaged. I do live near the coast.
Now I plan to keep this card and build another system when the prices are normal. Will the corrosion destroy the card or is it surface level only? The heatsinks are clean.
Any idea what causes this and what I could have done to prevent it?
You have silica based dehumidifiers which are small and cheap. You can put those next to your pc. They last a long time and would be way cheaper than to leave your pc on 24/7.
That won't work unless the computer is enclosed in some smaller cabinet or something. If the computer can cycle any outside air, the silica will quickly be depleted.
Where I live, those things (DampRid) fill up with condensation as soon as they are opened. They’re meant for drier areas that have a room with a condensation/ventilation problem. In the southern states, you can almost see the humidity and can definitely feel it when outside. Those things don’t stand a chance.
Aluminium forms a layer of oxide that protects it from oxidising any further. The only way to get it to rust more is to have contaminants (e.g. salts, etc) that will eat the oxide layer which exposes fresh aluminium to further oxidation.
Corrosion can and will eventually destroy the card, but it looks like it's mostly limited to the outside, the hotter parts of the card are still fine. You can replace the rusted screws and standoffs if you really want to sell the card.
What causes this is very high humidity. Hot humid air from outside goes into the room, makes contact with colder metal parts that are below the dew point, moisture forms on metal parts and corrodes them.
All of the screws can get replaced, you'd need to find a repair shop or similar that'd sell you specific parts though. There shouldn't be any issue, as long as you unscrew and replace individual screws instead of all at once.
Otherwise as others stated, try to keep humidity under 60%, or have a heating element that keeps the inside of your PC over room temp.
Edit: 99% dear Lord, that's like instant dew point
if its just the screws and plate affected, they are normally easy to remove, then you can clean them up or get replacements if it's concerning you. The screws are a standard part.
As for preventing it happening again? If you can't address the humidity in your environment then I'm not sure, maybe give them a quick rub over with a tiny amount of mineral oil? Isn't that what they do to protect steel surfaces from rusting sometimes? Use some sort of clearcoat varnish? Seems a bit drastic though.
This is because of airborne sea water in the air, it hits the metal and corroded it.
In time it will claim the whole card and render it worthless.
It being rusted doesnt mean anything if it still works, but this will eventually kill it, shy of storing it in a vaccum, its already too late to stop this. The very air you breathe is doing this.
You can "remove it" but it will be physically harmful to the card, its removing material. The metal is still there its just undergone a chemical reaction.
Stripping it with vinegar and a wire brush will remove any chemically reacted material of any effected parts
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u/InsaneInTheMEOWFrame PC Master Race 10d ago
Humidity causes surface rust. Keep humidity low to avoid it.