thermal paste?

well i built a new system from here not long ago and put it together, sadly it didnt work and both the psu and mobo where faulty. obviously this meens i mput the cpu and heatsink together and damaged the seal on teh thermal paste so presumably i have to reaply it. im buying a mouse and keyboard from ocuk soon so i can buy some thermal paste too if needs be. but how do i get rid of the thermal paste on my old cpu? thanks in advance. josh

bit of tissue paper should do fine unless anyone recommends otherwise?

Yep, I also find tissue paper or kitchen towel works pretty well.

Ideally I think you should use a lint free cloth and a TIM cleaner of some description but realistically kitchen towel or similar will do fine for removing thermal paste. Just be careful to remove all residue before applying the new thermal paste.

ok. that seems fairly straightforward, but is it safe to handle it that much? i dont want to static it to death or corrode it. and when i aply it do i put it on the cpu or the heatsink? thanks

I tend to keep to the sides of the cpu when handling them.
Apply the thermal compound to the cpu normally, but check the manufacturer instructions.

thanks. will i need a static band for this then? usuraky i just touch the radiator or case before i pick anything up. is that ok? thanks

nail polish remover & ear buds

my gf always wonders why i have it

Yeah i would use a stiff piece of card/old credit card to remove most of it then use some tissue paper/cotton buds with some alcohol/nail varnish remover to get the rest.

I get as much as i can off with some kitchen towel and then apply this

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=TH-000-AC&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=27

simbady said:

I get as much as i can off with some kitchen towel and then apply this

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=TH-000-AC&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=27

Click to expand...

Exactly what I do and it works very well.

I second Simbady too.

wupwup said:

thanks. will i need a static band for this then? usuraky i just touch the radiator or case before i pick anything up. is that ok? thanks

Click to expand...

no, no, i've never used one of those, i've always just had the psu plugged into the mains just switched off at mains and the back. and i can bet most if not all the people on here don't use an anti-static wrist band.

Just to explain, having the PSU plugged in but not turned on acts like a grounding wire.

Nail varnish remover cheap and cheerful

White spirit and kitchen towel f.t.w

Isopropyl alcohol and paper towel - it's the base ingredient of a lot of the cleaners and can be specially ordered in from your local chemist.

If you want to use a general household product you could use meths or even real lemon juice slightly watered down.

As pointed out in other posts, make sure you wipe off the main bulk of the gunk first and use the alcohol/solution to completely clean up the CPU.

Plec said:

Isopropyl alcohol and paper towel - it's the base ingredient of a lot of the cleaners and can be specially ordered in from your local chemist.

If you want to use a general household product you could use meths or even real lemon juice slightly watered down.

As pointed out in other posts, make sure you wipe off the main bulk of the gunk first and use the alcohol/solution to completely clean up the CPU.

Click to expand...

Or Ethanol...

varnish, nail polish remover and cotton buds,

Superewza said:

Just to explain, having the PSU plugged in but not turned on acts like a grounding wire.

Click to expand...

That’s what I do and by touching unpainted metal parts of the case you should discharge any static.