Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News , or add us as a preferred source , to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Jowi Morales Social Links Navigation Contributing Writer Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.
TechieTwo Maybe the pic of the uncleaned GPU shows what the owner's lungs look like? 🙁 Reply
Nolandc Couldn't have been that bad for the PC if the card lasted 17 years… Reply
Nolandc TechieTwo said: Maybe the pic of the uncleaned GPU shows what the owner's lungs look like? 🙁 Lungs clean themselves somewhat, GPUs do not Reply
Madness727 Hey! Thanks for sharing my adventure with the 9800GT MATRIX! To answer your question "where the refurbished Asus ROG Matrix 9800 GT will end up", it's in my hardware collection and it will stay in my collection. I'm happy to own it again and even happier that I could restore it back to it's former glory. Here it is sitting alongside Some of my collection. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1312185600601886810/1437134124149248151/IMG_20251109_183712668.jpg?ex=691222f3&is=6910d173&hm=9b7146adbe90b9e515e635c55a0b6ead3347f71ed687ef21a53666b002a9ae31& Reply
NickyB You know what else is bad for your health? Carrying schizophrenia for 50 years. Reply
ezst036 Admin said: The final result is quite impressive, given the age of the graphics card. During the cleaning process, Madness727 said, "It looks brand new; no scratches, nothing —which is crazy, by the way. It’s in perfect physical shape; there’s sic] no dents or scratches, or missing MLCCs or resistors on the PCB. Everything is perfect." So a fresh layer of tar from 17 years of cancer sticks is the optimal way to preserve that daily-driven computer hardware under the gunk. 🤔 ………… provided the fan keeps moving. Reply
dakino A lot of this info about how to do this is bad advise.. Do not use a standard degreaser on circuit boards . I have done similar cleaning on circuit boards before, including motherboards. A better cleaner to use would be something like simple green or mean green. These cleaners will almost melt away the cigarette buildup without any scrubbing, but are environmentally friendly and less harsh to the boards themselves. Use a hair dryer is fine, but heat guns can get hot enough to melt solder causing damage.. Too much heat can also damage capacitors too.. If in doubt, blow the areas out, like in ram slots, under chipsets, etc with compressed air. I got an air compressor to do just this.. One reason air is a better choice to use first.. Whatever cleaner you use on the board, you don't want to leave on there. Compressed air will blow it out of cracks and small places.. Using just a heat gun will only dry that cleaner that may not have been rinsed off in the water to dry and stay in place on the board.. This could, depending on the cleaner cause future damage to the board itself over time. And using a compressor will save you money vs canned air over time too. Then, if you don't want to heat it up, you could air dry it for multiple days to let it dry.. If it's winter, you could also put it over a heater duct vent to let that warm it up to help dry it.. Either way, heat guns you have to be very careful with using them around circuitry. Reply
Xajel Nolandc said: Lungs clean themselves somewhat, GPUs do not True, but some smoking damage on the lungs are permanent. My dad passed away when I was 30, I never ever saw him smoking, when he was sick a year before he passed away they did some testing and asked him you smoked before? he told them yes but more than 35 years ago, the doctor said I can see it has been a long time but it's still visible in your lungs, it's already permanent. Reply
Amdlova I know a guy never drink, never smoke. Just church and work… Died with cancer. When you time comes don't matter if your MTFB is 1.000.000 hours Be Happy and be nice. Reply
artk2219 Amdlova said: I know a guy never drink, never smoke. Just church and work… Died with cancer. When you time comes don't matter if your MTFB is 1.000.000 hours Be Happy and be nice. Sorry for your loss, its good advice though. Similarly, aneurysms don't tend to book appointments, they just kind of show up. Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/computer-technician-refurbs-gpu-clogged-with-tar-and-nicotine-from-years-of-use-by-a-smoker-i-am-not-blowing-on-that-im-getting-cancer-from-this-says-repair-tech#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- Seasonic G12 GC-750 750W power supply review
- Japanese PC shops limit SSD, HDD, and RAM purchases to prevent hoarding as storage and memory shortage takes hold — buying a full PC unlocks higher purchase lim
- How NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs Power Modern Creative Workflows
- Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q5P 27-inch 500 Hz QD-OLED gaming monitor review: Superb in every respect
- AI-Powered Mobile Clinics Deliver Breast Cancer Screening to India’s Rural Communities
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.