I think I found the source of the liquid @abcdqfr@lemmy.world. The thermal pad under the VRM heatsink has begun to liquefy into oily substance. This substance appears to have gone to the underside of the board through the vias around the VRM and discolored itself.
Some rubbing with isopropyl alcohol and it’s almost gone:
Perhaps there’s still life left in this board if used with an older chip.
Good detective work! Adding liquefying thermal pads as a reason to avoid Gigabyte.
Asrock has done me well for budget builds, asus is what I happened to upgrade to for midrange. Honestly being dramatic, just haven’t cared for GB historically.
I know it’s completely irrelevant here, but what keyboard is that in the background? The keycaps look really nice.
They feel a bit like a mix between DSA and laptop keycaps.