Cleaning heatsink before reuse

[lucasite]

Hi all,
I have been using an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2 on my 775 socket chip for 6 months now.
And today Ive had delivered a new motherboard and i7 chip. I want to reuse my arctic because Ive heard that it'll be better than the stock heatsink.

When I first opened it up (the heatsink), it already have thermal stuff applied to it in a very neat square.

So I wondered if anyone knew if that is thermal grease, or thermal compound, or thermal tape?
If its a thermal tape, does that mean I dont need to clean it. I can reuse it?

And will any normal heatsink cleaner remove it?

And lastly, just before I run down to the local electrical store, what should I buy?
thermal grease?
thermal compound?
thermal tape?

(at some point I do want to play with overclocking)

 

[Philtor]

Hi and welcome to the Forums

The stock heatsink will have thermal grease pre-applied but why do you want to clean it off if your not going to use the stock heatsink anyway? What I would do is use some isopropyl alcohol or acetone to clean the Arctic cooling heatsink and then apply some fresh paste such as MX-4.

 

[Purgatory]

You will need to reapply some thermal compound, but before you do that you will need to clean off the compound that is still there on the heatsink and reapply some new compound.

So a cleaner such as :-

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

or some isopropyl alcohol works a treat too (strong vodka too).


Then some thermal compound such as:-


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

or

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=TH-003-AR&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=27


make sure to wipe the cpu and the heatsink of all dirt and remaining compound with the cleaners and if the heatsink has dust and dirt in between its fins just wash it under some warm water till you get all the dirt out, I normally use an old toothbrush or paintbrush to get everything out and leave it to dry well before attaching it with new compound. Apply the compound as the instructions state on the compound guide ( I personally apply a thin layer and spread it on the cpu and just to be sure add a tiny drop in the dead centre and would apply the heatsink, but everyone will have their own way and many will tell you one way is better then another. Truth is I have tried ever way and they all work same after giving the cpu time to heat up and cool down a few times the compound finds its own level... Just don't add too much that it starts to spill over the cpu when the heatsink is secured.)

 

[lucasite]

Ah yes, sorry Phil. I did confuse my wording there. Yes, I meant that I want to clean my arctic cooler and reuse that on the new processor.

And thanks for the links Purgatory.