Dust, dirt, or old thermal paste. These are the most common reasons for overheating of computer components. The case of Thejus Parol, who shared an interesting experience, is curious in Income (via Tom’s Hardware). When he was solving why his graphics suddenly overheated, he found a lot of ants after opening the cabinet.
Although they are small, they carry out actions in large numbers, and thus they can do a lot of damage. They were apparently attracted to the computer by the generated heat. Specifically, it was the “fire ants” Solenopsis invicta, an extremely invasive species native to South America.
Parol noticed that the paths of the ants lead to the cooler. After disassembly, he saw that the ants had “eaten away” both the thermal paste and some of the thermal pads – both of which ensure better heat transfer between the chip and the heatsink.
This is not an isolated case, three years ago you had a similar problem another redditer complained as well. Apparently, this means that the ants are not directly attracted to the thermal paste, but to electronics in general. Inside, they can damage basically anything with their sharp mandibles.
What to do in similar cases? The solution is to clean the components and the cabinet. It is ideal to blow the inside with air, to remove grease, other dirt and old heat-conducting paste with a soft cloth soaked in isopropyl alcohol. After cleaning the contact surfaces, a new paste must be applied.
However, none of this guarantees that the ants will not return. Therefore, it is necessary to get rid of them in the household completely. There are various traps or sprays, in extreme cases professional disinsection must be used.
2024-02-24 13:45:25
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