Thermal Compound Removal Help

[DK2]

excellent idea crazyazn

[Dashock]

The 1.99 Isoprophyl 99% is all you need and a good clean static free cloth if you have any lcd wipe cloths those are just fine save yer money for other stuff lol my 2 cents!

[misterlarry]

Hey MacJunky that's funny stuff. Got any updates on Sasquatch?

[MacJunky]

Aside from the fact that I have hair in almost enough places to be him, not really.(I am not kidding either :( )

[Supergrover]

Originally Posted by MacJunky

Aside from the fact that I have hair in almost enough places to be him, not really.(I am not kidding either :( )

And from Creston,,,,,,Hmmmm

[Frost]

I used high end cosmetic Q-tips and 99% Isopropyl Alcohol. Just make sure that it is moist with the alcohol and you shouldn't get lint coming off of it. Try not to rub back and forth as that will just cause lint to come off it. Single strokes while rotating it will minimize your chances of lint.

Also, it takes more than a three or four q-tips to get ALL of the old grease off. I just kept cleaning until my q-tips did not change color (from white) when I swiped against the surface. Damn grease goes deep (which is good but bad for removal).

[matsta31]

Guys, you need to realise that Macjunky post reflect the sad reality of Mac users. Stay with PC or you'll start writing post like him.

[geokilla]

Originally Posted by klaiboi

here is a nice video (curtosy of NCIX) on how to remove thermal compoud and reapply it
YouTube - NCIX Tech Tips #11- Installing Thermal Compound

the other NCIX tech tip videos are pretty good IMO

Thank God for finding this thread. The last time I installed my aftermarket coolers, it took a good hour >.<

So when I use coffee filters, I just basically follow what I just watched on the NCIX Tech Tips correct? I have only 70% isopropyl alcohol though. I've always used that and didn't have much problems, but just wanted to make sure.

Also I heard that once you apply the thermal compound, it's better not to remove the heatsink like what Linus did to see whether there's enough or too much because it'll screw up the thermal compound? Is that correct?

[TopDogZero]

Also I heard that once you apply the thermal compound, it's better not to remove the heatsink like what Linus did to see whether there's enough or too much because it'll screw up the thermal compound? Is that correct?

Yes it could cause air packets.

[Pelt]

I was laughing so hard I was crying when I read MacJunky's post. But then I thought what if this kid takes this crap seriously....then I laughed even harder at the thought of him doing that stuff....that seemed like a better sentence in my head, now I'm not to sure. Anyway I'm with the 99% ISO crowd. I've used Artic Clean before but I too was concerned as to whether or not it was safe if it slid of the chip I was cleaning. Artic Clean has a slightly orange smell to it indicating to me some kind of oil is used in the mix. hopefully I'm wrong but I don't know. There are lots of folks that swear by the stuff and it is thick enough that if properly applied it won't go anywhere and it does a wicked job cleaning the CPU.

But for the price, I would rather buy a big bottle of 99% isopropyl alcohol at 2 bucks then a tiny bottle of Artic Clean for 12 bucks. Plus if the isopropyl alcohol gets on the board it evaporates instantly leaving no residue so it's very very safe IMO. For a cleaning cloth I use a spare cleaning cloth that I get with my glasses works incredibly well.

As for application that's a tough one so many theroies and the differences between temps is not the great from one to the other. I've tried just about every method there is and the easiest one is the pea method. The most important part of thermal paste application isn't so much the method but technique. Too much and the stuff squeezes out the sides and acts more like insulation trapping heat in air bubbles instead of a heat transfer material, to little and the chip won't transfer heat effectively. The pea is the easiest method for rookie builders because the results can be more consistent from application to application. One of the toughest obstacles to getting a good seal between the CPU and the cooler is the cooler itself. Make sure you read and understand the instructions before you apply the cooler. Excessive screwing around with the cooler after you've applied the paste may create air bubbles and you don't want that.

Once you've got the cooler on and your confident you'll be able to get the clips on without much wrestling give the cooler a quarter twist left then right then back to center again. This will force out the air and mate the two surfaces, after this try not to move the cooler and don't lift it.