Redoing paste

Aleksandrs

Aleksandrs

Aleksandrs

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For the first time in my life, I now have to redo the paste between the cooler and the cpu, and I am worried as to what I have to do.

I thought the paste would be soft and gooey, but its kinda hard and stuck pretty well. I need to do this because I took the cooler off so I can put it the right way (fitted wrong way round).

I'm so worried about this I am even considering just getting a new cpu cooler to save the hassle. I am completely cack-handed, so while I enjoy building computers, I always struggle with the most basic things :D

Anyway, what's the best course of action? Any tips on how to get the goo off, would I need to take the cpu out or can it stay there and be cleaned? Will any old goo work? I wanna spend the least amount of money as possible! Thanks :)
 
Cheap vodka with cotton buds will work well if they're both lying around. The ideal answer is isopropyl alcohol, which costs a few quid a bottle from a chemist / electronics shop, followed by something like MX2. Arctic ceramique is within a couple of degrees of the best stuff and pretty cheap, or no-name silicone paste will also work well enough.

If you don't have any new paste to put on, just leave the current stuff where it is and remount.

Otherwise, scrubbing with kitchen roll will get the job done. Or you can scrape most off with a credit card and leave the rest in place, it doesn't matter too much really. It's normally easier to take the cpu out, unless it's one of the chips with hundreds of pins sticking out which are easily bent.

edit: This advice is a bit at odds with the general advice of "never let any fibers of any sort settle on the cpu". I've got one computer which has a lapped waterblock, and heatsink, and liquid metal between the two. Short of solder that's about as much effort as one might put into the process. I'm not convinced it's made a measurable difference relative to the one running a mix of AS5 and MX2.
 
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So leaving the current stuff on there would be fine? I didn't really get much of it off and only tried the cooler heatsink, not the cpu.

It just seemed a bit thin and dried up.
 
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Put it all back in with the paste it already has. Been watching the temperature increase, currently at 50c slowly rising after about 8 minutes, started at 41. This is without overclock. I set it back until I sort the overheating problem out.

edit: Another 10 minutes have passed, now at 55c. I'm taking this reading from the bios at the moment as earlier when the bios said 70c (yes it said 70!), osx was only telling me 40! I can't find any sort of decent temperature readers etc for osx at all.
 
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EniGmA1981 said:
http://download.cnet.com/Temperature-Monitor/3000-2094_4-41089.html

No idea if it's a "good" one or not, but It's probably better than nothing :)

Good luck matey
Click to expand...


Cheers running it now. Got the same temperatures as the other app, yet my bios tells me a far different story.

Right now the temps are around the low 40s on idle according to both temperature monitor and the other temperature widget thing

Now I will just restart into the bios... and it says around 56c - 57c

On my mac i'd believe the temp, but on this *cough*other mac*cough*, i can't always be sure if what im seeing is right.
 
What I did was to just rub at it with a cotton pad and some cotton wool as well, eventually it all came off for me. Obviously you need to exercise more care when handling your chip than the heatsink. You could soften it if you had any pure alcohol, as long as it doesn't contain anything else.
 
The chip isn't idling as such when in the bios, as none of the power saving functions are active. It should be cooler once in the OS. The other issue is that the bios may be reading a different temperature to the software, or calibrated differently.

It doesn't look like reusing the paste is going to be sufficient in this case, I'm sorry for steering you wrong.
 
Might wanna take that competitors link down


JonJ678 said:
The chip isn't idling as such when in the bios, as none of the power saving functions are active. It should be cooler once in the OS. The other issue is that the bios may be reading a different temperature to the software, or calibrated differently.

It doesn't look like reusing the paste is going to be sufficient in this case, I'm sorry for steering you wrong.
Click to expand...

Thanks though :) Was worth a try anyway. It's not my main computer so no biggie. Would buying http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=AC-000-AC be a bit overkill if the computers only real use is going to be like surfing the internet and stuff like that? Or do they have more than 1 use?
 
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If you're are going to do it properly with the AS5 then get yourself some solvent to remove the old compound properly. Some thing like this http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=TH-000-AC&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=27

Or if you are still adamant on doing it on the cheap, then to remove the old compound you can use, deodorant (not anti antiperspirant), after shave, your missus nail varnish remover, even WD40 works. Then order yourself a sachet of thermal grease from the bay for a quid.
 
Iirc MX2 and MX3 both outperform AS5 for less money. I'd still go for ceramique though. The tubes are good for perhaps a dozen applications.

^Good list by Mick there. Meths will do it too.
 
JonJ678 said:
Iirc MX2 and MX3 both outperform AS5 for less money.
Click to expand...


Less money? The mx2 isn't even on the store any more and the mx3 is like 40p more.

But as you say it does a dozen applications, I guess it's something that wouldn't hurt to buy.

So you'd say the mx3 is worth the extra 40p?
 
PS I use contact cleaner to remove the old stuff, got a big can & spray a little pool into the lid & dip cotton buds in it, repeating till no more residue comes off the surfaces.
 
Cheers guys! Will get to it :)


I've had the computer on all afternoon at the moment. OSX was saying I was in the 40s, but bios reckoned I was at 68c! :/
 
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