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Cleaning thermal paste off a processor

post #1 of 49
6/26/12 at 4:13pm
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I have purchased a CM cooler to deal with unlocking cores on a phenom II x2 but I need to remove the thermal paste on the cpu.
What would be the best way to do this? I've asked in different places and people usually start arguing with each other. The best option I have would be coffee filters or Q tips and Iso Alcohol (I can only get 70% at my pharmacy, I don't know if that is sufficient). Thanks in advance
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post #2 of 49
6/26/12 at 4:15pm
rubbing alcohol and a fiber cloth or q-tips
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post #3 of 49
6/26/12 at 4:19pm
These work great used them for yonks, also good for cleaning other stuff in the PC, you can get a box of hundreds for a pittance biggrin.gif

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post #4 of 49
6/26/12 at 7:51pm
I use isopropyl alcohol (90% or higher) and coffee filters.
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post #5 of 49
6/26/12 at 7:56pm
I use 99% Isopropyl alcohol, first i use disposable napkins to take the majority of the Tim off the cpu then follow up with a Q-tip. thumb.gif

Edit: I think i got mine at either Ride-Aid or Walgreens... Wal-mart only had like 70%, just check any pharmacy store around you and you will find something higher than 90%.
Edited by The_chemist21 - 6/26/12 at 8:00pm
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post #6 of 49
6/26/12 at 7:59pm
  • stubass
  • Want to go sub-zero and bench :)
lot of fine answers here already, i use isopropyl alcohol and a micro-fibre cloth and shines up nice smile.gif
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post #7 of 49
6/26/12 at 8:00pm
I use a gun and shoot it off thumb.gif
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post #8 of 49
6/26/12 at 8:04pm
most all answers preceding me are on the money. the thermal paste is the easy part to "get it off". but the underlying fact is you need to remove the residue while not leaving lint behind.
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post #9 of 49
6/26/12 at 8:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheGovernment View Post

I use a gun and shoot it off thumb.gif
Simple and effective.
A pull of a trigger and problem solved...

Except he'll have to learn how to reconstruct the cooler afterwards. tongue.gif
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post #10 of 49
6/26/12 at 8:07pm
I use the arctic clean 2 part process. Works really well.
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