Removing the old arctic silver from the CPU and heatsink

[attilathehun1]

What do you use to clean off the old arctic silver from the CPU and heatsink
fan assembly? Does it matter to clean off the old arctic silver when using it
again, before applying the new arctic silver?
Thanks, attilahthehun1

 

[peter]

It is better to remove the old stuff with Isopropyl Alcohol..or Nail Polish
remover.
Dip a lint free cloth in the liquid( not too much just to moisten) and
slowly wipe the residue off...then use a dry cloth to finish the procedure..
hey you got this far...the rest is easy
honest!!
peter

 

[RJK]

I've found that denatured (ispropyl) alchohol won't even touch some of the
"grey" thermal pastes, and I noticed there are "commercial" cleaning
solutions for cleaning off these thermal pastes / compounds. Having not yet
got around to buying any of them, and suspecting that one or more types
could be "cellulose" based, ...a little while ago I did some experimenting
with several cleaning "liquids" I've got out here in my "outbuilding +
office," (on older gpu's and cpu's that I could afford to ruin and destroy).
!!!

A couple of months, (on a new Nvidia 7300LE graphics card gpu - preparing to
fit a Zalman h/s & fan, I removed the passive h/s, [i.e. no metal lid,
....i.e. gpu is exposed/bare silicon]), I sprayed a little WD40 onto a cotton
bud, and polished the surface of the little silicon slice, ...worked
instantly like MAGIC - i.e. it lifted the thermal compound "film" off of the
gpu surface instantly, and I suspect this "penetrating" / "release" spray
has not attacked or damaged the silicone. The graphics card is in my 2nd PC
and continues to work beautifully.

Now I wouldn't reccommend to anyone to use it (WD40), to clean thermal paste
off of a bare silicon gpu but, I did, and all seems fine !
....of course, cpu's with metal lids protecting the silicone's, ...even
better !!

I just thought that I'd convey the results of my own "trial and error"
experimentation.

regards, Richard

 

[M.I.5¾]

It is better to remove the old stuff with Isopropyl Alcohol..or Nail
Polish remover.
Dip a lint free cloth in the liquid( not too much just to moisten) and
slowly wipe the residue off...then use a dry cloth to finish the
procedure..
hey you got this far...the rest is easy
honest!!

I would be reluctant to use Nail Polish remover. Isopropyl Alcohol is
perfect for the job.

 

[M.I.5¾]

What do you use to clean off the old arctic silver from the CPU and
heatsink
fan assembly? Does it matter to clean off the old arctic silver when using
it
again, before applying the new arctic silver?

It is best to remove the old stuff (Isopropyl Alcohol is perfect for the
job). Remember that when you come to apply the new stuff, that the object
is not to plaster the thing with as much thermal compound as posible. All
you are trying to achieve is to fill the air gap betwixt the processor and
the heatsink. This generally means that a small blob is more than adequate.
The best thermal compounds, these days, are the phase change types.

 

[Paul]

What do you use to clean off the old arctic silver from the CPU and heatsink
fan assembly? Does it matter to clean off the old arctic silver when using it
again, before applying the new arctic silver?
Thanks, attilahthehun1

There is actually a commercial cleaning kit.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arcticlean.htm

To discover the chemical components in that cleaner, you
download the MSDS (material handling safety data sheet).
First one is for the cleaner, second one is for the
"purifier".

http://www.arcticsilver.com/PDF/arcticlean1_msds.pdf
http://www.arcticsilver.com/PDF/arcticlean2_msds.pdf

One component in the cleaner, is D-Limonene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-limonene

I've used isopropyl alcohol for my cleaning needs,
but let's be honest, that it isn't the right solvent
for the job. Isopropyl has the advantage, that it
is compatible with electronics components. But it isn't
the right solvent, to actually solvate the paste base
material. So it takes extra elbow grease, to make
the isopropyl soaked rag, clean off the paste.

Don't scrape the silicon die. Try to let your cleaning
fluid loosen up the stuff a bit. Applying a tool to the
surface, is a no-no.

When putting the heatsink back on, be careful not to
rock it. It should be sitting parallel to the surface.
The "rubber bumpers" that are adhered to the four corners
of the processor, are there to prevent the heatsink from
sitting crooked. If you let it sit crooked, it will
crack the edges of the silicon die. And if you crack
enough off, or the crack goes into the body of the
silicon die, the processor will be killed. Some
instructions are included here. (The original
document on the AMD site, is no longer available.)

http://web.archive.org/web/20030424...ent_type/white_papers_and_tech_docs/23986.pdf

Good luck,
Paul

 

[smlunatick]

I would be reluctant to use Nail Polish remover.  Isopropyl Alcohol is
perfect for the job.







- Show quoted text -

Nail polish remover is a weaker form of Acetone, which is a known
cleaner.

 

[OldDuke]

What do you use to clean off the old arctic silver from the CPU and heatsink
fan assembly? Does it matter to clean off the old arctic silver when using it
again, before applying the new arctic silver?
Thanks, attilahthehun1

How many times must you be told this...you are asking a NON XP
question in an XP group. It is OUT OF PLACE here.

Ask elsewhere

 

[attilathehun1]

Look, the only reason I'm asking this question here is because, lets get the
GD thing over with!
Ok, back to the original problem. Do I have to clean it off of both, the
CPU and the heatsink and fan assembly?
Now, no wise cracks, please. I've repented, and I'm very glad that I've
joined here to get my problems answered. If I can help too, which I've done,
I will with nps.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, attilathejun1

 

[Brett I. Holcomb]

Artic Silver makes a compound for cleaning heatsink and CPU. You do
need to clean the old stuff off both - carefully.

 

[RJK]

I can remember reading some quite knowledgeable articles on this subject, on
the web, a long time ago.
One or more articles went into great detail and, I remember being a little
"awed" by some of the descriptions of heatsink, and heatsink paste
materials, and "interactions" between some heatsink thermal pastes, or
compounds if you prefer and the heatsink metal itself. i.e. some compounds,
in as many words, impart some sort of waxy material that appears to actually
penetrate into the heatsink metal, (particularly aluminium), and can never
be successfully or thoroughly cleaned off and "removed". ...and this
residue can be incompatible with other / replacement heatsink thermal
compounds formulations.

This "rang true," for me, as I was reading becuase I could remember a
"shadow" like residue, on some heatsinks in the past, which were difficult,
if not, impossible to completely clean off. Polishing away the heatsink
surface on a flat surface with progressively finer abrasives, confirmed this
"penetrating" effect of thermal compound on some heatsinks. Ever since
reading about that, and bearing in mind that the cost of replacing a
heatsink fan, costs not much more than a whole "fan+heatsink", it's
obviously quicker to replace the whole thing - for the sake of a few pounds
!!

regards, Richard

 

[M.I.5¾]

I would be reluctant to use Nail Polish remover. Isopropyl Alcohol is
perfect for the job.







- Show quoted text -

Nail polish remover is a weaker form of Acetone, which is a known
cleaner.

 

[M.I.5¾]

How many times must you be told this...you are asking a NON XP
question in an XP group. It is OUT OF PLACE here.

Ask elsewhere

How many time must you be told: stop posting your ****ing unwanted
repetitive unwarranted ****wit posts here.

THIS IS A HARDWARE NEWSGROUP, ****WIT.

 

[M.I.5¾]

Look, the only reason I'm asking this question here is because, lets get
the
GD thing over with!

Just ignore our resident mentally ill ****wit. Every one else does. He
complains that people aren't listning to him, but in reality, it is he that
refuses to get the message that just about everone else has given him.

 

[Walter Wall]

[Snipped: Repetitive Repetition]

Look: There's nothing left.