Mercury under heat sink!?!

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UncleBenBen

UncleBenBen

Well-known member
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Sep 2, 2015
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Location
Nashville, TN
I found some of these today...
1457663031945-1398877650.jpg

All of the CPUs have a bit of the normal grey heat sink compound. But this one looked like shiney fresh solder. I grabbed a paper towel and gave it a wipe. I only know of 1 metal that is liquid at room temperature.
IMG_20160310_201020395_HDR.jpg

I snapped that picture then put it in an empty plastic tote, put the lid on and took it outside.

I guess my question, has anyone seen this before? And what should I do with it? I've studied mercury just enough to know that I don't want anything to do with it.
 
Looks like Artcic Silver thermal compound - micronized silver in a thermal paste filler. I see it often, almost everyday - the US DoD has their version of it for use in system/air data/navigation computers, and they use a lot more than the commercial applications do.

Edit: See also Liquid Pro - the DoD stuff we use.

Cheers,
 
Findm-Keepm said:
Looks like Artcic Silver thermal compound - micronized silver in a thermal paste filler. I see it often, almost everyday - the US DoD has their version of it for use in system/air data/navigation computers, and they use a lot more than the commercial applications do.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Phew! Thank you for that! I was hoping it was something along those lines. I just know I had gotten something out of the ordinary (for me anyway) on my hands after I found those boards. Then when I got home and saw 'liquid metal' I got a little worried!
 
That looks definitively like a liquid metal to me, some of the drops have pulled themselves into small balls from the surface tension.

Mercury might be the only element liquid at room temperature, but gallium melts at a few degrees above room temperature and is easily super cooled. There is also a cool alloy that freezes at about 20 degrees below freezing, galinstan.

After googling a bit and watching a youtube video I learned that liquid pro actually contains gallium, indium and tin. It is also a liquid, in other words, the alloy I wrote about above.

Göran
 
Thanks to all for the responses. You guys really put my mind at ease, especially since I even got some of it on my face wiping some sweat away while loading those boards in a box to get them home!

I found the MSDS for Liquid Pro. (couldn't get the link to post correctly). Apparently no real toxicity issues unless you eat it. Looks like I'm going to live!

Thanks again all!
 
Ben those look like they could be workstation boards. Are you sure that the processors and boards are not worth far more as items?

Jon
 
spaceships said:
Ben those look like they could be workstation boards. Are you sure that the processors and boards are not worth far more as items?

Jon
Click to expand...

Not entirely sure yet, Jon. But pretty much everything I've found thrown out as just boards by IT or medical engineering have been damaged. Usually burned Ta caps or leaking wet caps.
I haven't had time to really look those over yet, but I'm pretty sure I will find the same thing.
 
Check out the step code on the processors Ben - if Intel they might start with an S - SLBV6 is an example
 
Will do when I get home tomorrow. The wife and I rented a small mountaintop cabin for the weekend for our 10th wedding anniversary. (Don't tell her I'm checking in on the forum! Wink wink)

The 2 on the board in question are the only ones I've pulled so far and are pinless Pentiums. I'll wipe the lids and check more tomorrow.
 
Thanks a lot, Jon! Now you've got rethinking my "scrap it all for the hobby" stance I've been holding on to!(attempt at saracasm!)

I got home and started looking up step codes from these CPUs. Out of these 5 boards I have 4 cheap Intel Xeons, under $5 USD new. Then I found 2 Intel Xeon SLA4P X5365 that sell between $60 and $100 used!

Are these pinless quad core processors that good? Or are they just rare?

I'm pretty sure I've found these types of boards before. Looks like I may have search through my bucket of processors!
 
Hehe stick them on at $90 each and they'll go if you list the auction "good till cancelled" - -they are a rare chip but required for certain applications.

Glad to help Ben.

Jon
 
Thanks a ton, Jon!
Does it matter if they they still function? I have no idea how to test them if so. All I really know about computers is that I love tearing them into as many pieces as possible! :mrgreen:
 
Yes they have to function.
Plugging a PSU into those boards isnt difficult and if you have a graphics cards lying around (if there isnt one on board) you can see if the procs work.

TBH processors fail extremley rarely.
 
Thanks again Jon.
Looking at these two a little closer, they look like they got really hot. Even the area around their sockets look like they have taken some heat. That with the fact that there were 4 processors missing makes me think they kept the ones that were still working.

Regardless, I will take your advice and do a bit of studying on checking these as well as checking part numbers on the rest of my stuff.

I guess trading up would work well for a hobby as well as a business!
 

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