Thermal Paste

T

tayla13

New Member
Hey,

just took apart my computer and had a look at the heat sink and cpu. I was just wondering about a few things?

- If the inside of your computer is dusty, whats the best thing to clean it with?

- What should the thermal paste look like? should it fix the heatsink to the proccessor? I could remove the heatsink easily and the thermal paste seemed to be all dried, is this normal?

Tayla13
 
Compressed Air is generally used to clean PC's out...

The heatsink paste can be liquid or solid, for example, Dell I know used to use a pad of thermal paste that hardened like no-one's business. The Speeze compound I use is a liquid when the HSF is removed, I removed it today to re-apply it and it was still a liquid.

You should re-apply a small layer to the HSF base because you may have destroyed the bonds now by pulling them apart. All you need to do is get some from a computer shop or online, get some nail-varnish remover and a lint-free cloth and clean both the HSF and CPU, take care not to short the CPU out though. Then, put a blob of the thermal paste onto the HSF no bigger than a grain of rice and spread it evenly and make sure it's only the size of a rice grain because for some strange reason the paste doesn't work properly after using so much. You will need to run the PC for a few hours to get the paste to settle properly. I recommend a tube of the paste instead of a sachet, it's much easier to use and you can be more exact with how much you put on.;)
 
yer, origanally this pc was premade, and im pretty sure its a paste. Its not a thermal pad, thanx for the advice, but how should you clean the proccessor without shorting it out? do you definitely need to clean it all off?
 
tayla13 said:
yer, origanally this pc was premade, and im pretty sure its a paste. Its not a thermal pad, thanx for the advice, but how should you clean the proccessor without shorting it out? do you definitely need to clean it all off?
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If you took the heatsink off the processor, you will need to reapply the thermal compound because it is no longer usable.

I just use a scrap piece of cloth to get the majority of the thermal compound off, then use Q-Tips to clean the rest off.
 
A small amount of rubbing alcohol and a small piece of very fine piece of an abrasive pad with light brushing. Take the cpu out of the mobo when you do this. If you are unsure of your ability to do so, take it somewhere it is easy to mess things up. Make sure to wipe it clean of all debris and dust when finished, a lint free cloth is best.
 
ETSA said:
A small amount of rubbing alcohol and a small piece of very fine piece of an abrasive pad with light brushing. Take the cpu out of the mobo when you do this. If you are unsure of your ability to do so, take it somewhere it is easy to mess things up. Make sure to wipe it clean of all debris and dust when finished, a lint free cloth is best.
Click to expand...

I would avoid using an abrassive pad though, as it might scratch the finish of the processor and decrease heat-transfer effieciency. I wouldn't say soak but after the dried thermal paste gets moist enough, it should come with some scrubbing with a soft piece of cloth......
 
i generally use a vacuum attachment to suck the dust from the case. A razor blade to lap the heatsink and CPU and apply arctic silver to make it sexy cool.
 
cryption said:
i generally use a vacuum attachment to suck the dust from the case. A razor blade to lap the heatsink and CPU and apply arctic silver to make it sexy cool.
Click to expand...

That IS NOT a good idea, since vacuum cleaners have alot of static electricity, which is a killer for electronics.
 
yes and no, use the plastic sucking attachment and I've never had a problem. Also you never touch it to the hardware ... keep it 7-10 inches above and blow the dust so it sucks up what you blow away.

I've never had a problem.
 
is compressed air also the best way to clean out the fan? how far do u normally keep the can away from parts? and how often do u clean? thanks so much
 
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