The pic is shitty and I doubt you can see it properly, but I managed to scratch open some traces around that screw. Does that look fucked, or should it still work? Should I try to cover them with something non-conductive to minimize the risk of them shorting? What should I use?
I don't know about your issue but how the hell did this even happen and why is there thermal paste on parts of the board not the heatspreader?
Because I just took the cooler off.
I overtightened screws, the standoffs on the waterblock became loose and I had to hold them with a pair of pliers, scratched at the PCB in the process.
In short, I'm a complete and total moron.
*Traces.
Looks like you just scratched the solder mask layer. Having the traces exposed doesn't really matter as long as they did not get cut. You can put a drop of epoxy glue on top to prevent oxidation. That's what most solder masks are made of and they can normally withstand temperatures way over 100C.
I don't really have a better camera on me, but looking very closely it seems like none of them were cut. I'll try masking it with the glue and then just hoping for the best.
The next problem is that the second GPU block how doesn't make perfect contact with the memory. Seems like there's not enough tension on the whole thing now. Ugh, I guess building the loop and observing temps is the only way to find out.
Just make sure its non conductive.
Should be ok judging by the pic, they dont look too deep, but you cant tell until you test the gpu. Chuck the stock cooler back on and test it I suppose.
Hope its all good anyway.
Yeah, i forgot they had electrically conductive types available. Was thinking something like Poxipol's Clear 2-part stuff.
Nohrellas: the traces are pretty tiny to see if they're cut. You can test for continuity by probing the end-pads with a multimeter.
Alright, the whole loop is built. I'll just have to leak test it tomorrow and then I'll see if the GPU is damaged. Another problem is that the GPU block is now kinda fucked, a few of the screws just won't tighten down properly, so some of the VRAM is not making proper contact to the block (there is the tiniest bit of air inbetween them).
Thanks for all the responses, I put a thin layer of glue on top of the whole mess, which should hopefully work.
Worst case, one GPU is fucked, I drain the loop and just live with one 290 for the time. When I upgrade I can just get 2 GPUs again and incorporate them into the loop normally.
Water cooling may be "easy", but it's not idiot proof as I have demonstrated here.
Wouldent you just need to replace the screws? I don't see how the whole block is bad.
Thats just a flesh wound =)
Nope, the standoffs that are screwed in the copper became loose (that's where I had to use the pliers and maybe killed the GPU) and some even broke off completely. The waterblock is (more or less) "broken". I still screwed everything in and it's holding together, but it's just not as tight as it is supposed to be. Oh well, I've come to peace with the thought that I may have wasted 300 bucks at this point,
You can still get some screws, washers, and nuts and make it work.
The standoffs inside of the copper block have broken off, there's no way to fix that since they don't go all the way through. I appreciate the help but there's no way you can make that GPU block work exactly like it did before with a few screws and nuts. That said, it should hopefully still work, just a bit worse.
Also, so close yet so far: http://imgur.com/hv7Ofmu
This is it for today, my hands hurt and I don't know if the compression fittings are just too tight or if I'm just too tired at this point.
oi, i was assuming someone really has ... you know fcked it and left traces like .... you know...
:|
IT IS NOT LEAKING! At least for now anyway. My hands are quite literally bleeding and they're sore as fuck, one of the fittings and my connection between the GPUs is pretty sketchy as well, so I'm not too sure how I should feel about that.
Anyway, I can definitely test it today and see if the GPU works.
How long should I let it bleed before it is deemed "safe" to power on the system? Shaking the case results in minimal air bubbles right now.
IT LIVES!
It's playing valley right now without any issues, fuck yeah. Thanks to all of you, I'll report back once everything is 100% done.