Thermal paste cleaner?

[Lither]

I'm planning to repaste my overclocked 6700K/GPU and ArctiClean fluid was the one to use to clean the surface but now there are cleaning wipes from the likes of Noctua and Arctic but are they as effective?

 

[haaammit]

I just use paper towel, cotton buds and isopropyl alcohol tbh

 

[LuckyBenski]

Isopropyl alcohol if you have it (bonus points for using 100% rather than rubbing alcohol, which is 70% IPA and 30% water).

I use lighter fluid (naphtha) sometimes as you can get it in newsagents and supermarkets.

Either way just make sure your final wipe doesn't leave residue or fibres on the surface and you're good.

 

[Ree]

IPA and cotton buds and a wipe with a paper towel to finish.

 

[Glanza]

Electrical degreaser and paper towels has been my go-to for 10+ years

 

[nlel1975]

Depends how long your thermal paste has been on the CPU, I just run Cinebench bench to warm it up then powered down the machine and removed the cooler.

All I needed to do was wipe the CPU with a microfibre cloth and that got rid of all the paste.

 

[subbytna]

Yes don't try it cold, run the PC for a while to make sure the paste has softened so you don't rip it out of the socket, still attached to the cooler....not that I've ever done that, nope, never

 

[Mr Oxide]

IPA with paper towel.

Lately used Noctua wipes which were great on my new AIO to remove their pre applied paste and also used wipes on old i7 3770k when replacing stock cooler. 1 wipe did both

 

[Alan McFall]

Paper tissue since 1991

 

[nlel1975]

Yeah don’t need anything special to clean a CPU unless it’s caked on really bad.

 

[andy_mk3]

Articlean back in the day, no idea if they still make it. The smell was lovely though!

Now I just use isopropyl and a cloth.

 

[hiroofheroes]

Akasa TIM cleaner was orange oil based so smelled great.

I use isopropyl now as well rather than having a dedicated TIM cleaner.

 

[arknor]

go the chemist and ask if they have any alcohol pads people use to clean their skin before an injection, you can probably get some for free if you claim your a heroin addict or some such

will be a fraction of the price for the "computer" related version thats exactly the same

 

[13oots2]

go the chemist and ask if they have any alcohol pads people use to clean their skin before an injection, you can probably get some for free if you claim your a heroin addict or some such

will be a fraction of the price for the "computer" related version thats exactly the same

I buy a litre of IPA at a time, it's a good all a round cleaner and always good to have, you can get a bottle for just over £7. I use mine as a record cleaning solution that is mixed up in a spay bottle, so get through a bit more than most people.

 

[Nick1881]

I use AF Isoclene - Isopropyl on some papwer towel, works well and I got a bottle free from work.

 

[Nevakonaza]

Akasa Tim Clean

Great stuff and smells nice too!

 

[lsg1r]

Arctic Clean (two little bottles) and paper towel, I usually heat up the cpu (non lga) a little before removing the cooler to help loosen it (too many horror stories of pulling out the cpu etc)

When it eventually runs out (seems to last for ages) I'll either get some more or isopropyl..

 

[t31os]

My bottles of Arcticlean have lasted so long (i'm primarily just servicing the 2 home PCs these days - and maybe the odd other PC here and there) i haven't had a need for anything else (gotta admit i do enjoy using it, it's a great product). If i had nothing and needed something i was going to use fairly regularly, cost efficiency wise i'd probably opt to get some 90+% isopropyl alcohol from the rainforest place or similar.

 

[JollyJamma]

I'm planning to repaste my overclocked 6700K/GPU and ArctiClean fluid was the one to use to clean the surface but now there are cleaning wipes from the likes of Noctua and Arctic but are they as effective?

They probably are as effective but probably way more expensive per application.

Just buy a bottle of Isopropyl alcohol. Cheap and works well.

 

[White_Widow]

Noctua and Arctic cleaning wipes are just as effective as ArctiClean fluid. The wipes are designed to be used on delicate surfaces, such as those found on CPUs and GPUs, and are designed to be gentle yet effective. They are also much easier to use than liquid solutions, as they require no mixing or measuring.