MSI MEG Z390 ACE is leaking lots of black oil at the back!?

Merisimus

Merisimus

Merisimus

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Lancashire
Hi All

Opened up the back of my case and can see these huge black oily patches on the back of my motherboard.. is this something to worry about?

The temps are fine running prime95 Blend (Core/Mos etc) and im using only air coolers in my system.

7TPj1D3.jpg


Case: Coolermaster Masterbox MB500
CPU: I7 9700K 5.0GHZ
GPU: ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3070 Twin Edge OC
RAM: 32GB DDR4 Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200Mhz
Mobo: MSI MEG Z390 ACE
CPU cooler: Noctua NH-D15s
PSU: Corsair RM850
 
Last edited:
momo56 said:
Were there thermal pads on those areas? Looks like grease/oil from pads.
Click to expand...

MSI tech support just got back to me and said

Thanks for contacting MSI technical support.

Regarding your concern, we are sorry, in this case, it seems that the cooling pad has melted. Please remove the heat sink on the front of the motherboard and replace the cooling pad. Please wipe the melted cooling pad with alcohol. If you are unable to replace the cooling pad yourself, please contact your reseller (The place you bought this MB from), then ask for some help. If the reseller for some reason cannot help, we have to ask you to contact MSI distributor or MSI Office near your place to seek further help. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

This was an expensive board so im dissapointed tbh (I dont have the stuff for replacement)

My main concern at this point is my other parts at risk? I just put a new gpu in...
 
You would have hoped that MSI would just send some new thermal pads over to you directly. Might be a good idea to contact them again and see if they can let you know the exact thickness of pad required so you can source some new ones to avoid delays.

When you replace them, pay careful attention not to over tighten the four heatsink screws as they can easily snap.

That staining won't damage anything but just keep an eye out on the vrm temperatures in the meantime.
 
EsxPaul said:
You would have hoped that MSI would just send some new thermal pads over to you directly. Might be a good idea to contact them again and see if they can let you know the exact thickness of pad required so you can source some new ones to avoid delays.

When you replace them, pay careful attention not to over tighten the four heatsink screws as they can easily snap.

That staining won't damage anything but just keep an eye out on the vrm temperatures in the meantime.
Click to expand...

Do MSI use cheap thermal pads? Why did they melt in the first place?

I've built many systems and its the first time ive seen this..

I downloaded HWinfo and the MOS doesnt go above 60c running occt/prime95 large
 
Merisimus said:
Do MSI use cheap thermal pads? Why did they melt in the first place?
Click to expand...

I don't think MSI cheap out on thermal pads and "melted" is most likely just a poor choice of wording from them that got lost in translation. I highly doubt that they've literally melted.

I've not personally seen this on a motherboard before but I have seen the exact same type of staining from thermal pads fitted to a gpu.
 
This happens quite a bit on the latest amphere GPUs. I would say the relatively high temps from the MOSFETs are causing the oil from the thermal pads to be released from the pad matrix. Probably won’t have any detrimental effect int he short term. But long term I would imagine it would cause the pads to “dry out” or loose elasticity at the least and maybe have reduced conductivity.

probably follow the advise to replace the thermal pads. Tho you will need to find out how thick they are. If you have a micron-Meter you can measure it. Otherwise ask MSI what thickness they need to be. I think a decent set of pads will set you back about £15.
 
I had a similar problem with my evga 470 back in the day and I contacted them about it and they said it was just residue from the pad and not to worry about it, but to be sure I would strip it down and check mate.
 
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