Cleaning a modern VGA?

Z

ZzBloopzZ

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 18, 2004
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I just bought a used BFG 7600 GT PCI-E w/ Zalman cooler. However, it came in a bit dusty. I used canned air and that removed most of it. Then there was still a bit stuck between the copper fins on the Zalman cooler... so I used Q-tips with rubbing alcohol which cleaned it up nicely.

However, there is still a very thin lair of dust on the PCB board and on some of the chips. I used tons of compressed air but it would not remove it. Would it be safe to clean it with a Q-tip by it self or one with rubbing alcohol on it? Also, any recommendations on how to clean the golden contact part? There looks to be a very little piece of glue or something on it.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!
 
Qtips with alcohol is the exactly right measure that you should be using, just make sure you are grounded and that you don't have any static buildup anywhere before touching the card. PCBs are stronger than most people think, just be gentle and don't rush the cleaning and you should be fine.
 
Awesome! Thank's alot for the reassurance.

Would the pencil eraser trick still work for these newer PCI-E cards for cleaning the golden contacts?
 
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