Mouse chewed through watercooling. Beware.

[hackm0d]

It's been a while since I posted here because I was quite wistfully estranged from enthusiast gaming/computing a few years ago (finances lol) and purchased a comfortable little notebook to work on.

I post here now because I really couldn't think of anywhere else to say this.

I just stumbled across the vestiges of my old 775/DDR2/PCIE2 gaming rig — the last upgrade I'd purchased was a Corsair H60 v1 so that I could have a semi-silent computer, for once.

It was lying in a studio where it was used it for audio production, and I'd left the chassis open to help cool it down a bit in the stagnant air.

I later found out that there had been a mouse that snuck in through a hole drilled for an air-conditioning conduit and...I don't know. Panicked? It pissed and shit on everything it could find while the studio was unoperational, so when we found the (creative. evil.) disarray, I took the computer back.

After I'd salvaged it, I was unsurprised to see it refuse to boot — since desktops have been historically temperamental and infantile little shits when it comes to long-term reliability, in my experience, at least.

So, the usual: No RAM, no GPU, stripped down, power button... wouldn't beep.

I didn't expect this, though.

As it turns out, the thirsty little f***er (f***eress?) stumbled across it and decided to help itself to some coolant.

Spoiler: show

I've had — and heard of — other animal species attempting to use technology before; bumbling cockroaches sneaking into Mac Minis on inadvertent kamikaze missions, a*****e bedbugs that had to be extracted straight from the drivers of my headphones, a spider that tried to pit-stop in the passive cooling vents of my rMBP, but this was too much.

Not only was it motivated by self-interest, it could have had the decency to chew through the water bottle that was right next to the rig.

Is PET not your fancy, sir? Do you have to chew through FEP instead? A plastic polymer connoisseur? I can't let that go. F**k you.

Well. Anyone have a spare 775 cooler? Pretty sure I need a mobo too.

On a serious note, let me know if someone has one to sell, or donate.

/rant

 

[Dslayer]

I think ur system got burnt by the coolant leak u said no beep right? This happens u turn on a computer even with a drop.of water on the board u r screwed.

 

[hackm0d]

I'm pretty sure there isn't too much coolant volume there to drench the vitals completely, honestly. The PSU survived, GPU I'm not sure of, RAM should be fine, and y'know, no major water damage to the majority of the components.

That being said, the motherboard is borked, I'm sure. CPU maybe through thermal damage, since I powered it on for a few seconds quite a few times before I discovered there was no coolant. And the pump is gone too — shouldn't run a pump dry, although I did hear some water sloshing around before I inspected the piping out of suspicion.

 

[DivineTerra]

I don't mean to be an ass but it's pretty funny how you wrote it "Thirsty little fucker" xD "cockroaches on kamikaze missions" loved how you described that. But on a more serious note i think you should go for an air cooler this time because water coolers are too much of a hassle.

 

[hackm0d]

I don't mean to be an ass but it's pretty funny how you wrote it "Thirsty little fucker" xD "cockroaches on kamikaze missions" loved how you described that. But on a more serious note i think you should go for an air cooler this time because water coolers are too much of a hassle.

Haha, man. It's funny just as much as it is infuriating. I'm actually not too upset, since I've got a laptop computer to take care of now, and I'm not too attached to the rig, but I do need to get whatever is left (Q6600, HX620, 8GB DDR2) running because it's a shame to see it put to waste.

My main motivation for water-cooling was the (relative) silence. My PC could've moonlighted as a hovercraft with the kind of noise it made; I had dual GTX285s, 7x120mm fans and a Silent (liar) Knight II to annoy me at night or kill the suspense during a good gaming session.

Once I went with watercooling, I could remove almost all the fans on the system if the ambient temperature was controlled, and the system would hit 0dbA if it was a few feet away.

Air cooling is just as much of a hassle, though, because the heatsink usually weighs a ton and gets in the way (thereby being difficult to remove when you need to change thermal paste or RAM or reseat an ATX connector or what have you) and the fans have to be cleaned out once in a while. Watercooling (especially with a passive rad) is much lower maintenance, since the pump and circulation is self-contained.

 

[puppet]

where is your room in the house btw?
i mean why'd a mouse goto the place where it can find food? , i mean leaving kitchen and going to your room to taste the water pipes?

btw get this

Spoiler: show

btw mouses are where the places are dirty and stuff , clean your house and say your neighbours too , because in good areas i never saw rats , or may be karachi is full of rats?
anyways get a trap and u are good

 

[Jester]

Sounds like quite an endeavor. Hopefully you can salvage what's left and start fresh.

Out of curiosity, did the mouse make it? I can only imagine if it had the stomach to survive that.

 

[Dark Sith]

mostly likely the mouse was on a mission of rampage - revenge of some kind , i wont be surprised if the critter is still luriking around in that room

 

[hackm0d]

where is your room in the house btw?
i mean why'd a mouse goto the place where it can find food? , i mean leaving kitchen and going to your room to taste the water pipes?

btw get this

Spoiler: show

btw mouses are where the places are dirty and stuff , clean your house and say your neighbours too , because in good areas i never saw rats , or may be karachi is full of rats?
anyways get a trap and u are good

The computer was in a studio, where there was a hole in the wall for AC piping that I'm sure it used to enter the room.
I'm fortunate enough to not have creatures much bigger than a fist — or hostile mammals (most of the time) — hanging around in my bedroom.

Dark days will have come when I can't use a computer without the comfort of a mousetrap beside it.

Sounds like quite an endeavor. Hopefully you can salvage what's left and start fresh.

Out of curiosity, did the mouse make it? I can only imagine if it had the stomach to survive that.

All I need is a mobo, yes. And a chassis that isn't piss-stained. But I really don't want to build the whole thing again, computers are a pain to (re)build. I used to enjoy it, though.

As for the mouse, yeah, maybe it did make it. We had a brief encounter when I found it lurking amongst some supplies in a dark corner the last time I visited. Although I'm not sure if it's especially resistant to coolant additives or just another mouse, in which case, the studio owners have more to worry about.

mostly likely the mouse was on a mission of rampage - revenge of some kind , i wont be surprised if the critter is still luriking around in that room

It was! What the hell would I have done to it, though?

 

[hackm0d]

Some very dusty entrails. This is where, presumably, the coolant leaked onto the PCB and killed the GPU.

Meh, GT210. Not a major loss. But ugh.

Spoiler: show

Thanks for marking your territory, mouse. open at own risk; piss-stained PSU

Spoiler: show

I hope this serves some educational purpose. Don't leave your PC chassis open in areas of particular risk.

 

[DivineTerra]

Haha, man. It's funny just as much as it is infuriating. I'm actually not too upset, since I've got a laptop computer to take care of now, and I'm not too attached to the rig, but I do need to get whatever is left (Q6600, HX620, 8GB DDR2) running because it's a shame to see it put to waste.

My main motivation for water-cooling was the (relative) silence. My PC could've moonlighted as a hovercraft with the kind of noise it made; I had dual GTX285s, 7x120mm fans and a Silent (liar) Knight II to annoy me at night or kill the suspense during a good gaming session.

Once I went with watercooling, I could remove almost all the fans on the system if the ambient temperature was controlled, and the system would hit 0dbA if it was a few feet away.

Air cooling is just as much of a hassle, though, because the heatsink usually weighs a ton and gets in the way (thereby being difficult to remove when you need to change thermal paste or RAM or reseat an ATX connector or what have you) and the fans have to be cleaned out once in a while. Watercooling (especially with a passive rad) is much lower maintenance, since the pump and circulation is self-contained.

Do you know whats working and whats not? If the processor and motherboard arent working i would say upgrade but if you don't have the time to game on a desktop i would say sell the remaining parts and your current laptop and buy a proper gaming laptop if it fits your gaming/working needs.

 

[manigamer]

so many insect incidents with you man, u need a pesticide or some pest killer to exterminate them buggers in your house

 

[hackm0d]

so many insect incidents with you man, u need a pesticide or some pest killer to exterminate them buggers in your house

manigamer, haha, how've you been?

And oh no dude, thankfully, they're not in my house. I know fair well that bugs are a menace to tech. I mentioned earlier; this mouse snuck into *another* location (a recording studio) where my PC was residing temporarily.

 

[Yasir Nadeem]

Don't Leave Side Door Of Your Chassis And Aswell As Back Plates :crazy:

 

[manigamer]

manigamer, haha, how've you been?

And oh no dude, thankfully, they're not in my house. I know fair well that bugs are a menace to tech. I mentioned earlier; this mouse snuck into *another* location (a recording studio) where my PC was residing temporarily.

fine thank you ohh ok.