Question about applying Thermal Paste

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DavidWright05

New Member
Ok, my CPU was way too hot yesterday for the first time... around 73 degrees...

So I just bought some arctic Thermal Paste and am ready to reseat the heatsink with it... Only problem is, the "thermal pad" is like stuck all over the bottom of the heatsink and the top of the CPU... IT looks like the aftermark that a round "sticker" leaves if you know what I'm talking about...

Obviously I wanna be as careful as possible So I dont burn 250 dollars here... Anyone know what or how I should use to remove this gunk before applying the paste???
 
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paratwa

New Member
You need to use some alcohol to clean the old paste off. Be careful not to get any on the pins of the cpu.

Apply some to a rag and wipe the old off until there is no residue left at all.

Denatured alcohol works best, since it is a purer form than rubbing alcohol, but you can use the rubbing type in a pinch.

Clean the cpu and the thermal block off until it is super clean.
 
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DavidWright05

New Member
paratwa said:
You need to use some alcohol to clean the old paste off. Be careful not to get any on the pins of the cpu.

Apply some to a rag and wipe the old off until there is no residue left at all.

Denatured alcohol works best, since it is a purer form than rubbing alcohol, but you can use the rubbing type in a pinch.

Clean the cpu and the thermal block off until it is super clean.
Click to expand...

ok... Should I use a Coffee Filter to do it? I heard it's best because it's a lint free material.
 
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PC eye

banned
If you have a stock hsf there you will need a new thermal pad. The round paste remaining is the leftover of the preformed compound used. you may want to start looking at 3rd party cpu coolers like Artic Cooling or Zalman where you easily clean off AS-5 or another thermal paste used on those.
 
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DavidWright05

New Member
PC eye said:
If you have a stock hsf there you will need a new thermal pad. The round paste remaining is the leftover of the preformed compound used. you may want to start looking at 3rd party cpu coolers like Artic Cooling or Zalman where you easily clean off AS-5 or another thermal paste used on those.
Click to expand...

WTf, I cant just clean it off and use thermal paste and then reseat it???

I have the stock hsf that came with the intel core 2 duo 6600
 
porterjw

porterjw

Spaminator
Staff member
DavidWright05 said:
ok... I still havent done anything yet..

I was worried because PC eye said I need a new thermal pad

so a coffee filter is good?
Click to expand...

Yeah, you'll be fine. Take a credit card and scrape off all the residue you can from the HSF (and the CPU too if you're nimble). After that, just rub away with alcohol until no more gray comes off. Coffee filters work great, but in a pinch Q-tips are decent, and the right paper towel will work, but you just have to be a bit more careful. You'll just want to stay away from napkins, tissues,toilet paper, or anything like that.
 
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DavidWright05

New Member
imsati said:
Yeah, you'll be fine. Take a credit card and scrape off all the residue you can from the HSF (and the CPU too if you're nimble). After that, just rub away with alcohol until no more gray comes off. Coffee filters work great, but in a pinch Q-tips are decent, and the right paper towel will work, but you just have to be a bit more careful. You'll just want to stay away from napkins, tissues,toilet paper, or anything like that.
Click to expand...

ok awesome... getting to work right now
 
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DavidWright05

New Member
hey, while removing the gunk from the HEATSINK with a CC, I noticed that I scratched it a little... there was no way around this, and I wasnt being rough... but I stopped immediatly and just started using a cloth instead. Is this a big deal?
 
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paratwa

New Member
If it was just on the heatsink and not the cpu, then its not a huge deal, since that is what the thermal paste is for. It fills the pits and gaps that are between the cpu and heat sink.


Just be careful!

And how does a piece of plastic scratch a piece of metal?
 
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DavidWright05

New Member
HOLY CRAP

Please tell me I didnt just toast my CPU... please god...

Listen: I applied the paste, connected the heatsink like described on via instructions from arctic silver website... But like a total unbelievable idiot I forgot to plug the heatsink back into the mobo... So I start up my computer, notice that the fan is not spinning, and shut it back off after approximately 7 or 8 seconds... I plug it in, turn it back on, but I dont hear a beep and the monitor does not turn on... The CD drive did "initialize" and the GPU turned on, but I dont think that makes any difference.

Did I just toast my CPU? ****
 
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INTELCRAZY

banned
DavidWright05 said:
HOLY CRAP

Please tell me I didnt just toast my CPU... please god...

Listen: I applied the paste, connected the heatsink like described on via instructions from arctic silver website... But like a total unbelievable idiot I forgot to plug the heatsink back into the mobo... So I start up my computer, notice that the fan is not spinning, and shut it back off after approximately 7 or 8 seconds... I plug it in, turn it back on, but I dont hear a beep and the monitor does not turn on... The CD drive did "initialize" and the GPU turned on, but I dont think that makes any difference.

Did I just toast my CPU? ****
Click to expand...

You're fine....
 
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paratwa

New Member
Unplug your PSU then try clearing your cmos and rebooting. Read your manual, it should tell you how to do that. Including shorting the jumper.

If it was just a few seconds you should be fine.
 
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