a213m
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I have a delidded Core i9 10980XE with a custom copper IHS. Liquid metal was used between the die and the IHS, as well as between the IHS and the waterblock. This is what happened to its surface after 6 months of use after removing the waterblock for loop maintenance and cleaning LM off. The waterblock was nickel plated and after cleaning LM off, its surface is still smooth. ![](https://i.imgur.com/Rft95K8.jpg) Anyone ever experienced copper deterioration after liquid metal application?
post edited by a213m - 2021/05/24 19:40:12
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ty_ger07
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Re: Liquid metal etching away copper IHS
2021/05/24 18:50:13
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Yes, liquid metal is not good on copper or aluminum. The stock nickel plated IHS won't do that, but a plain copper (or a stock IHS lapped down to copper) IHS will react like that in the presence of liquid metal (gallium). If the other side of the IHS is also bare copper, it will be similarly pitted and that IHS should be removed and replaced. You could lap the top smooth again and use something other than liquid metal, but if the bottom side is messed up, it's probably not worth your time trying to level that side out. I hate to link to LinusTechTips, but whatever. Warning about using Liquid metal from Thermal Grizzly - Custom Loop and Exotic Cooling - Linus Tech Tips The thing is they told u that the Liquid metal is not safe to use on Aluminum but it's actually more than that.U shouldn't use it on bare copper too because it makes a reaction with the cooper and the copper absorbs it.. When the gallium contacts pure copper, the metals irreversibly alloy.This reaction proceeds until there is no more copper or all the gallium is consumed.. The reaction is: Ga + Cu → CuGa2 [67%] + Cu3Ga [11%]. ( + Ga2O3 [12%]) That means liquid metal will literally eat into the copper until the gallium is gone, and the resulting copper-gallium alloy is a silver-ish color. Yes, - in case you are wondering - the gallium in liquid metal reacts this way despite the fact that there are other metal stabilizers present in Liquid Metal.
As stated in the quote above, liquid metal is basically useless on copper, because not only does the copper get messed up, but it also absorbs the gallium which makes the liquid metal stop working properly as well. Do you still have the stock IHS somewhere? If so, put that back on instead. Or, buy a IHS which is nickel plated.
post edited by ty_ger07 - 2021/05/24 19:08:00
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bob16314
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Re: Liquid metal etching away copper IHS
2021/05/26 11:46:23
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Yikes!..That's junk now for sure..I never had a problem with a nickel plated IHS and a copper cold plate using Thermal Grizzly except for the cold plate getting kinda stuck to the IHS..Liquid metal will typically leave some staining on copper..I never tried a copper-to-copper interface though..You should contact the liquid metal and/or the IHS manufacturer and see what they say about it. I just replaced my AIO yesterday and it looked fine..The nickel plated IHS and copper cold plate always cleaned up good with a little sanding..Been using Conductonaut since November 2018. How Liquid Metal Affects Copper, Nickel, and Aluminum (Corrosion Test) - Gamers Nexus
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a213m
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Re: Liquid metal etching away copper IHS
2021/05/26 15:27:39
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Surprisingly the inner surface is still smooth, it's discolored, but it's still uniform. Though I pretreated it with LM for 20-30 minutes letting the copper to absorb some of the LM before securing it to the CPU. I don't have the original IHS, but if I did, the gap between the die and the inner IHS is too big, it would require more than LM alone to create perfect heat transfer. By default Intel uses a relatively thick layer of indium to close the gap, LM would spill out as no surface tension would keep it in place.
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EVGATech_GabrielT
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Re: Liquid metal etching away copper IHS
2021/05/26 15:59:09
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I have seen this occur once before on a GPU copper heatsink, definitely recommend staying away from anything with gallium. On a side note, I would bust out the lapping compound.
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bob16314
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Re: Liquid metal etching away copper IHS
2021/05/27 11:44:27
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austin86 It would not amaze me if there was something other then just copper in the ISH IHS, something like aluminum.
What I was thinking too.
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frankcro
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Re: Liquid metal etching away copper IHS
2021/06/02 23:41:11
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Surprised the etching was so establish after a such a short time
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cris78
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Re: Liquid metal etching away copper IHS
2021/06/03 12:42:39
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strange....maybe not 100% copper
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