Cleaning my processor to apply new heatsink. Help please. - Hardware & Software

I recently bought a new heatsink and thermal paste for my processor and I understand how to install the heatsink and how to apply the thermal paste and everything. I have a question on the removal of the existing thermal paste from the processor itself. I have heard an effective way of doing it is cleaning it using coffee filters and the cleaner "goo gone" because they leave no small fibers on the surface, and it cleans all the grease right off. Then you dry that, and then use a coffee cleaner with 70-90% isopropyl alcohol to make sure it's clean and dry that off. I have another solvent that is acetone based, and as i understand goo gone is oil based. Would [URL="http://www.homaxproducts.com/products/oops/index.html"]this[/URL] product work in the same fashion as the goo gone, or should I attempt a different method? I don't know enough about this, and I'd love some help. Thanks in advance. I'm willing to take suggestions on other methods to clean it too.

Rub it with sandpaper.

tissue, thats what i used, worked a treat, fibers are too small to cause any effect, unless your OCD :downs:

Ok well, my question is centered around the solvents and cleaning. thank you though.

[QUOTE=nubscaper;19922063]Ok well, my question is centered around the solvents and cleaning. thank you though.[/QUOTE] I am being serious, I use 99% isopropyl alcohol and sandpaper.

I was talking about the tissues, but for some reason I don't want to take sandpaper to my processor. Might sound dumb but I don't think it's the wisest choice.

[QUOTE=nubscaper;19922140]I was talking about the tissues, but for some reason I don't want to take sandpaper to my processor. Might sound dumb but I don't think it's the wisest choice.[/QUOTE] No, actually sandpaper is fine. Tons of people lap their processor down to a mirror shine with sandpaper to make it have better contact with the heat sink. Though that can take hours to do. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK-4vZqdBYY&feature=related[/media]

Ok, Thanks for that. Maybe When I buy a new processor I'll look into it. But for now I'm not interested in doing it, I just want to be able to take it out, clean it, and put it back in with as little hassle as possible.

lap = loss of warranty. fuck it up, your screwed

Never said lap it, I said just scrape it off with sandpaper + alcohol. I don't know how you can fuck that up unless you sit there for an hour scraping back and forth until you see pieces of the die ripping off. Besides, overclocking voids your warranty too.

[QUOTE=nubscaper;19922247]Ok, Thanks for that. Maybe When I buy a new processor I'll look into it. But for now I'm not interested in doing it, I just want to be able to take it out, clean it, and put it back in with as little hassle as possible.[/QUOTE] It's pretty easy. Just take the cpu out and use 70% or 99% alcohol wipes to clean off the thermal paste, after wards I usually take a coffee filter (I find it to work pretty well) to whip off the remaining rubbing alcohol/thermal paste and reinsert the chip into it's socket. Just remember when you reapply the thermal paste just use the amount of a rice grain in the center of the CPU. @Collin665 You have the whole concept wrong. Why on earth are you using Sandpaper? Regardless it will still void the CPU. And overclocking doesn't void your warranty unless you plain on using more then the necessary voltage the CPU requires for higher speeds.

I just use a cotten ball and the rubbing alcohol evaporates very quickly so you don't have to worry about any staying on there.

[QUOTE=supersaiyenx;19923088]It's pretty easy. Just take the cpu out and use 70% or 99% alcohol wipes to clean off the thermal paste, after wards I usually take a coffee filter (I find it to work pretty well) to whip off the remaining rubbing alcohol/thermal paste and reinsert the chip into it's socket. Just remember when you reapply the thermal paste just use the amount of a rice grain in the center of the CPU. @Collin665 You have the whole concept wrong. Why on earth are you using Sandpaper? Regardless it will still void the CPU. And overclocking doesn't void your warranty unless you plain on using more then the necessary voltage the CPU requires for higher speeds.[/QUOTE] I lightly lap all my heat sinks/processors (Sometimes its more needed than others). Lowers temperatures for me by at the least 1 degrees Celsius every time, once it went down around 3 degrees Celsius. I've also never had need for a warranty and I do overclock. Three degrees may not seem like a lot, but I don't mind 20 minutes for it.

Eh, while I was putting my 920 in the computer today, I kept on messing the thermal paste up, so I just cleaned it off with a tissue. haven't booted up yet - don't have 7 yet - but I think it's fine.

[QUOTE=sbradford26;19923356]I just use a cotten ball and the rubbing alcohol evaporates very quickly so you don't have to worry about any staying on there.[/QUOTE] Ditto. Except we never have rubbing alcohol so I use finger nail polish remover. Works just as good.

I just use toilet roll, works fine. It really doesn't matter especially when the processor has an in-built heat spreader. For exposed cores such as some GPU cores, I use methylated spirits and a cotton bud. (Or sometimes just toiled roll if I'm in a lazy mood.) Keep in mind that the thickness of the thermal compound layer should be as thin as possible. It is there to fill small imperfections, not transmit all of the heat. Use a credit card or blade to spread it with.

Just use a high purity rubbing alcohol and a lint-free cloth; that's what I use.

[QUOTE=yngndrw;19935071]I just use toilet roll, works fine. It really doesn't matter especially when the processor has an in-built heat spreader. For exposed cores such as some GPU cores, I use methylated spirits and a cotton bud. (Or sometimes just toiled roll if I'm in a lazy mood.) Keep in mind that the thickness of the thermal compound layer should be as thin as possible. It is there to fill small imperfections, not transmit all of the heat. Use a credit card or blade to spread it with.[/QUOTE] Notecards work best in my experience.

I use a cotton swab and pure isopropyl alcohol (you can get 100%, just ask the pharmacist if they stock it) to get most of it off, and then I switch to coffee filters to make sure no particles from the cotton swab are left. To apply the thermal paste, I put down a rice-sized drop and use a box cutter blade to spread it. (And one time while building a friend's PC I cut myself and had to get the alcohol out again to clean the blood off of the CPU.)

[QUOTE=Zeke129;19944253]...... pure isopropyl alcohol (you can get 100%, just ask the pharmacist if they stock it)......[/QUOTE] I knew parents that are nurses would come in handy some day! xD

[QUOTE=S.T.O.R.M;19951172]I knew parents that are nurses would come in handy some day! xD[/QUOTE] You can get that stuff from ANYWHERE, there's a dollar store that is a few blocks away from where I live, and even they sells pure isopropyl alcohol.

[QUOTE=B1N4RY!;19951220]You can get that stuff from ANYWHERE, there's a dollar store that is a few blocks away from where I live, and even they sells pure isopropyl alcohol.[/QUOTE] When I needed some, I couldn't get the stuff anywhere. Every pharmacist I asked say they no longer have it.

[QUOTE=B1N4RY!;19951220]You can get that stuff from ANYWHERE, there's a dollar store that is a few blocks away from where I live, and even they sells pure isopropyl alcohol.[/QUOTE] Actally just found out. It is illegal to buy 100% isopropyl alcohol over the counter at chemist. My parnets aren't even allowed to use it at the hospitals.... So it is going to be 70% for me.......