how to remove thermal paste from cpu and heatsink?

8/7/2006 9:53:22 PM

alcohol

8/7/2006 9:59:07 PM

and or a razor blade

8/7/2006 10:55:26 PM

is it necessary to remove it and reapply a new coat, cause my motherboard broke so i had to take off the heatsink and cpu, and its got the paste on the cpu and heatsink

8/8/2006 12:18:46 AM

if it was a thermal pad.. you gotta remove it before adding another pad or a grease.

if you are reapplying the same stuff, you can get away with not cleaning the old stuff off, but you'll get better heat dissipation if you start with a clean slate.

Just go buy some 91% isopropyl and use a lint-free cloth and clean off the old stuff.. takes 30 seconds.

I'd use the alcohol before going to razor blades. You don't want to risk adding more imperfections to the heatsink if you're not careful.

8/8/2006 12:28:51 AM

Goo Gone or some other xylenol based cleaner. It works FAR better than alcohol.

8/8/2006 12:43:44 AM

^^if you think surface scraping with a razorblade is going to introduce major imperfections, you are the same guy who is going to lap the thing anyway, so does it really make a difference?

8/8/2006 1:42:54 AM

I second the recommendation of using Goo-Gone. I actually use Goo-Gone and finish off with a CVS brand nail polish remover, lemon scented.

8/8/2006 2:52:45 AM

acetone (finger nail polish remover) and a stiff piece of cardboard to get the big chunks off, then a terry cloth soaked in the acetone to get the rest. then you're left with a scratch free heatsink

8/8/2006 3:33:27 AM

I used this once... it didn't taste so good:

8/8/2006 9:08:02 AM

isopropyl alochol or methyl ethyl ketone

rubbing alcohol and nail polish remover just didn't work well enough for me

8/8/2006 1:28:05 PM

well I use the real acetone, in the gallon jug from home depot

8/8/2006 1:29:00 PM

I use isopropyl alochol. It's works fine.

8/8/2006 1:32:55 PM

I use a wool garment, or a belt sander, either works great

8/8/2006 10:34:23 PM

should i used the alcohol on my cpu too?

8/8/2006 11:07:59 PM

simple,

just a sharp edged object, such as a credit card....scrape off as much crap as you can

then using isopropyl, and with a lint free cloth, clean it until it is 'perfect'

8/9/2006 8:11:43 AM

just put some of the solvent on a lint free cloth and wipe the cpu until all the thermalpaste is removed.

8/9/2006 10:33:28 AM