Saving the Card:

Could I clean the card and remove the "baked on" residue from it and PCIe slot? In choosing what to clean the card and slot with I did think of using Arctic Silver Arcticlean, however; I decided plain ole 92% isopropyl alcohol would be my best bet. I crossed my fingers and began by dipping Q-Tips and dabbing/wiping away the dried residue. The results...

BEFORE


AFTER


BEFORE


AFTER


The difference is immediate and perhaps even miraculous if you’re looking at this from my perspective. I'm most impressed especially on the lead from the SMD to the card's PCB where I thought oxidation had just about corroded the away the contact. I was under the impression these lead were tin coated copper and the copper had not only been exposed, but had potentially been damaged so that cleaning it would incur further damage. The leads look good as new and I'm indebted to Danger Den and Midwest Cooling technologies.

Finally let’s look at the PCIe slot which I thought would be almost as difficult to clean given the slot depth and number of pins or leads.

BEFORE


AFTER


I wouldn't have given much thought to this product until this disaster occurred. Except for a few particles the residue which remained was easily removed with 92% isopropyl alcohol. The very next day an email went out to Danger Den who made contact with MCT. Danger Den immediately returned my email and asked if someone from Midwest Cooling Technologies could call me at home. I was contacted that afternoon. To be clear about this I never indicated I intended to write about this experience good or bad, although I had sent photos with my original they merely pointed out what occurred and I did say the card was working at that point. When MCT contacted me they stated they'd been working on a cleaning solution although I can't say much about it (NDA). A sample was sent, and provided they remain with the current formula I'll be writing an article on this new product.



When I first began using MCT I hadn't given much thought beyond its being pre-mixed and idle temps being slightly higher compared to distilled H20. After all to truly appreciate this you would have to have daily spills, which is of course inane. What did surprise me was during my conversation with MCT they had made me aware MCT actually becomes more effective at conducting heat then H20 at higher temp? I thought this wasn't possible until I re-examined my results with those at techniz.co.uk as well as Bleeding Edge. At elevated temps MCT seems to out-perform distilled H20, at least under LOAD or elevated temps.




Conclusion:

The fact my ATI card wasn't damaged indicates MCT performs as advertised. The fluid has been in my system for almost a year now and seemingly improves with time. Unfortunately I cannot present empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis since I wasn't aware of the possibility and therefore hadn't designed to test for it. I'm sure those more knowledgeable in the area of H20 cooling or even chemistry will have a difficult time digesting the claim anything can conduct heat better then distilled H20 in a PC-cooling system. At this point the evidence form several independent reviews seems to support this claim. Of course the standard for testing varies from site to site. Would I recommend MCT? Absolutely, if not for the fact attempting to mix your own concoction can be almost as expensive, then at the very least the companies that stand behind it. MCT can be found at Tiger Direct 18.95USD or at Danger Den.

Question/Comments: forum thread