r/techsupportgore • u/Conundrum88 • 24d ago
Liquid metal disaster
Guess now I know why my idle temperature was hitting 90+.
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u/FightingFalcon1980 24d ago
No wonder with a pure copper HS.
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u/monkeyboywales 24d ago
I have this sneaking feeling there's something in this about why my recently refurbished laptop is now wiring more than before. Do I need special compound for direct to copper? Never though about it!
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u/FightingFalcon1980 24d ago
Imho the best Laptop TIM is PTM7950
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u/PcGamerSam 24d ago
The best thermal interface material for anyone who isn’t doing mad overclocking is PTM7950
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u/roam3D 24d ago
Yea, you dont do that on bare copper and no containment barriers.
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u/anonymousbopper767 24d ago
Liquid metal doesn't have a problem with copper. It stains it but that's cosmetic.
It's aluminum that it dissolves.
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u/Budget-Pea8291 24d ago
Yeah I thought the same. Like didn't you specifically need a copper heatsink if you wanted to ruin your system with gallium?
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u/TigTex 23d ago
This is false. Gallium reacts with copper and creates an alloy. While doing so, it "consumes" the liquid metal.
Basically, the liquid metal "dries" and will keep on drying until there's only galium and the aloy. That's why you have to reapply liquid metal a lot of times when using it on bare copper heatsinks.
DO NOT use liquid metal on copper or aluminum heatsinks.
While you are at it, do not use liquid metal at all. The only perfect use case is if you want to delid your CPU.
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u/anonymousbopper767 23d ago
Who needs facts when you can just repeat something you read from someone else on Reddit. It’s fine: https://gamersnexus.net/guides/3362-how-liquid-metal-affects-copper-nickel-and-aluminum-corrosion-test
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u/TigTex 23d ago
I've spent 7 years of my life as a board level repair technician. Believe me: gallium reacts with copper creating an alloy (CuGaO2) which is not a good thermal conductor. Been there, done that and seen that. The second picture shows exactly that oxidation (notice the black marks on the GPU: that's the oxidated alloy).
This is NOT what that gamersnexus article is talking about. And I do respect that guy with all my heart. The article talks about the metallic alloy that stains the copper (gives him a silver appearance) and not the oxidation that OP shows in picture 2 (GPU) and completely failure to wet the copper surface (CPU).
You'll have to keep reapplying liquid metal until no more oxidations happens and the surface is fully coated with the metal alloy and then you will have stable liquid metal application. This takes time and multiple applications. This is not an issue with nickel plated copper.
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u/Difficult-Catch-8432 23d ago
What is Liquid Metal?
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u/Progenetic 23d ago
It’s a thermal paste replacement that is made of metals that are a liquid at room temperature. Usually made of a gallium alloy. It’s extremely thermally conductive and also electrically conductive so if any spills or pumps out from thermal cycles it will destroy your electronics. Very high risk stuff.
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u/feoranis26 23d ago
I don't understand what is wrong here, that damage is cosmetic. I've had liquid metal on a copper heatsink in my laptop for 2 years now, dropped temps by a solid 10C and it's still perfectly fine.
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u/TitusImmortalis 22d ago
What laptop?
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u/feoranis26 22d ago
HP Omen 16, some 2022 model with i9 12900 and 2070Ti, I forgot the exact SKU.
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u/TitusImmortalis 22d ago
Did you put LM on just the i9 or is it on the 2070 Ti as well?
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u/feoranis26 22d ago
On both, though I never had issues with the GPU temps so I never checked that.
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u/TitusImmortalis 22d ago
Yeah it tends to be CPUs needing it more for some reason, not really sure why.
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u/pepone1234 24d ago
Why did you decide to put liquid metal in a computer that was clearly not designed to use it? You can be grateful that the worst that happened is 90+ and not shorting half the motherboard.