is heat sink paste on cpu pins a problem

C

cherrypicker

New Member
Hi Guys I've just bought a used amd am2 socket cpu on ebay but when I opened it up to fit it theres a blob of heat sink paste between and covering about twenty of the pins. The seller is telling me that he's "been in IT for years and I should have expected a used cpu to have at least some heat sink on it and to clean it off with a babywipe or toothbrush and rubbing alcohol"! Sounds :mad: to me what d'ya Guys think should I insist on a refund.
 
Well if the heat sink paste is on the top of the CPU (the flat smooth silver metal side) it's fine and it needs to be removed and new paste re-applied before you put your new cooler on. but if it's underneath the CPU I have no idea how it could of got there and it shouldn't be there.
 
Well, I wouldn't worry about the cpu, but I would worry about the socket that it was inserted in. Did you insert it into your motherboard, or did you receive it? If you just received it, I would preferably use arctic silvers thermal compound removal. If you don't have any, you can use rubbing alcohol.
 
While thermal compound is to be expected on the top of the CPU, having a huge blob on the bottom is a different story. It definitely needs to be cleaned off, but if there's a lot of it in the pins it may be hard to do without damaging the CPU.
 
Sloppy job selling a CPU with compound on the pins. If you decide to keep it, clean it off with alcohol and a soft toothbrush. Just make sure its good and dry before you try installing it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top