A PC technician buys second-hand graphics cards for his collection. During their restoration, he encounters dirt from the last 17 years. Besides dust and soot, he comes across another surprise.
Which YouTuber is it about? The tech-focused YouTuber Madness727 bought an ASUS 9800GT Matrix on the second-hand market. While cleaning it, he found soot and smoke deposits from 17 years of use. He explained that the dirt was so bad that he didn’t even dare to blow on it without getting sick. Madness727 himself assumes that the graphics card has been exposed to smoke for 17 years.
Which graphics card is it? The Nvidia graphics card released in September 2008 is no longer suitable for modern systems due to its performance. In comparison, the 9800GT Matrix is outdated today and not suitable for modern games: In games like GTA V, the graphics card barely manages up to 30 FPS in low resolution (via YouTube.com). In comparison, a modern RTX 4080 easily achieves 200 FPS or more. (via YouTube.com)
Furthermore, the lack of driver updates makes them a security risk. Malicious software like viruses continues to evolve and can find gaps in your system through a lack of security updates. What happens to your Windows 10 devices since the official end of support, you can read on MeinMMO.
Soot, smoke, and dust from the last 17 years
What is the condition of the card? On the outside, the card looked dirty, but only when opened did its full condition show. All fans, the entire board (short: PCB), and most capacitors were covered with a thick layer of smoke and soot deposits.
The deposits were so stubborn according to YouTuber Madness727, that even the fan didn’t spin. He had to clean the card thoroughly before he could even test it
How did the technician clean the card? The cleaning started by disassembling the card into its individual parts. After that, it went under the faucet and he used a toothbrush combined with grease-cutting dish soap to remove the years of dirt.
However, he noted that the procedure was not without danger and that with a wrong movement or too much pressure, he could have damaged important parts of the card. How to recognize early whether your graphics card is dying, you can find out on MeinMMO.
How Twitch served as a platform for a seconds-long company collapse, you can see here:
Smoking is a curse for both hardware and health
Why is years of smoking a problem? Smoking is unhealthy, and hardly anyone would question that. Less known is that constant smoking near your PC can leave lasting damage.
Burning tobacco produces tar, among other things, which is attracted by the air flow. This dirt can then settle on your hardware. It acts like a dirt magnet for dust, sand, pet hair, and more, which can clog and damage fans, filters, and other components.
Likewise, parts of the components can start to corrode. This means that the affected sections change color and are slowly eaten away by chemical reactions and subsequently break down.
But even without soot and tar, dust and other deposits can become dangerous. Dust is highly flammable, and a spark may be enough to ignite it. Even worse is if you lose an expensive graphics card like an RTX 4090 because of it. Its power connector is prone to heat and tends to burn out: Buyers fear that their new graphics card for €2,000 could set their gaming PC on fire – This is what Nvidia says
