How to get rid of ciggy/nicotine smell on PC compnent?

Nope; and certainly I hate 2nd-hand smoke as much as anybody! Just surprised that a single PC card contained within a PC (albeit with fan) would stink a whole room out; and personally would think it worth trying out before going any further...

But the IPA solution does sound a good bet (hope the card still works afterwards :) !-- David

I have an occasional visitor who is a smoker, and even if he doesn't smoke in the house, I can smell the tobacco residue for a good couple of hours after he leaves.

Tobacco residue has a very persistent odour. If someone has smoked in a hotel room, the smell persists for days, unless the hotel use the specialist products (whatever they are) to clear the whiff.

En el artículo , Lobster escribió:

It did :)

• took it out of PC
• removed heatsink (tricky, it had glued itself to the chip)
• washed board with IPA from spray can & put on rad to dry
• removed fan from heatsink
• washed heatsink in sink with washing up liquid - turned water brown
• cleaned fan with baby wipes
• oiled fan
• refitted fan to heatsink
• refitted heatsink with fresh thermal compound
• returned to PC, tested OK. Using it now as I type.
• smell from PC exhaust gone!

Thanks all for the help.

En el artículo , Nick Odell escribió:

Isn't that just replacing one bad smell with another? :)

Is this one for the FAQ?

I've done that twice! Both collect in person.

First time was a wirless access point that went for 99p. It was practically new in box and I gave him a fiver.

Second time was a PC PSU, can't remember how much but it was very cheap. I gave him a bag of surplus goodies from my boot. 6 way power strip and a few USB cables IIRC.

I'm a soft touch!

Brake Cleaner Aerosol. Non-flammable, solvent OK for electronics, fast evaporation.

You will of course put new heat transfer compound between the chip and the sink...

This stuff is good. You only need a drop.

Andy

Return it. Remaining residue from the smoke will attack the materials used in the manufacture of the video card and cause early failure. Dave

En el artículo , Andy Champ escribió:

from my last post...

"* refitted heatsink with fresh thermal compound"

:-)

Yes, I had some in. A small tube goes a very long way.

Is it possible to use too much?

I changed a CPU fan and used the whole tube.

Owain

Yes, the ideal is the thinnest possible continuous layer between the item to be cooled and the heatsink. More reduces the rate of heat transfer.

Apart from the mess, a thick layer is less effective at transferring the heat.The idea is to just fill the (normally invisible to the naked eye) roughness in both surfaces for best heat transfer.

If it's properly clamped, any excess should just squirt out the sides.

In message , Mike Tomlinson writes

Stick a dead rat in the case, it'll soon mask the smell

En el artículo , Owain escribió:

Yes!

!!!

That's *far* too much.

You only need a tiny blob about half the size of a grain of rice in the middle of the cpu, no more. It'll spread out by itself under the pressure of the heatsink retaining clip as the cpu warms and cools with successive power on/off cycles.

I'll start a new thread asking for advice on how to get the excess back into the tube ;-)

Owain

Read the instructions in reverse?

Too much Haynes?

If it had come with instructions I wouldn't have used the whole tube.

Owain