Thermal Paste Removal

[oralpain]

i use baby wipes lol wet enough to get the stuff off and dries up pretty quickly.

It leaves a residue as well and residue is bad.

I use all sorts of stuff (soap and water, WD40, acetone, acrtic clean, olive oil, and more) for initial removal, based on what I am trying to clean off. However, I always finish cleaning with a sterile gauze pad and 91%+ isopropyl, to ensure that there is no residue of anything remaing on contact surfaces.

[ps3ud0]

IPA is the cheapest and simplest way to go - Akasa TIM cleaner will leave residue due to the citrus based solvent (surprised no ones mentioned that here). Its actually the same (or very similar) to the first bottle of Arcticlean...

The second bottle of Arcticlean basically cleans off any residue left by the first bottle and no doubt is probably just IPA...

Should be able to get it from the chemists too...

I personally prefer Arcticlean, but the best to do is what oralpain above advised - any cleaner then neat IPA afterwards and allow it to dry naturally...

ArctiClean Step 1 Thermal Material Remover

D-Limonene
Methyl Esters of Soybean Oil
Non-Ionic Surfactant

ArctiClean Step 2 Thermal Surface Purifier

Dipropylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether
Azole-Triazole Inhibitor
Proprietary Inhibitor (non-Hazmat, TSCA listed)

ps3ud0

[JIggggg]

I've used Akasa TIM in the past and its been fine.

[peterb]

I use Akasa TIM and then finish off with IPA (Maplins)

[iranu]

Good points about residue. Without knowing what was in the akasa stuff or using it I wouldn't have been able to tell if it left a residue.

[merdat]

Best to use ISOPROPYL as def NO RESIDUE left . There are very few things on the market that leave no film .

[JIM_BOB7813]

Is glasses lens cleaner a good substitute for any of these products?

[Saracen]

It leaves a residue as well and residue is bad.

I use all sorts of stuff (soap and water, WD40, acetone, acrtic clean, olive oil, and more) for initial removal, based on what I am trying to clean off. However, I always finish cleaning with a sterile gauze pad and 91%+ isopropyl, to ensure that there is no residue of anything remaing on contact surfaces.

I completely agree, and I do the same.

But I've often wondered how much of the argument about residue is sheer kiddology? I mean, if you used white spirit and it left microscopic residue, how much actual difference to the ability to transfer heat from chip to heatsink would it make?

I'm inclined to suspect that the answer is "not much ... or less". But I just don't know .... and don't feel inclined to risk my processors by experimenting. The clincher is that Isopropyl alcohol was, for me at least, so easy and cheap to obtain and so easy to use, that I don't see the point in mucking about with anything else.

[ps3ud0]

Theoretically and ideally a metal-to-metal connection without paste is thermally perfect since effectively the atoms in the heatsink are in direct contact with the atoms of the CPU heat spreader allowing 100% thermal conduction.

Unfortunately its technically impossible (is it possible?!?) to make something flat at the microscopic level. With lapping you still expect pits and grooves and the TIM fills these up to make the surface - which why people advise to use as little as possible and to pre-spread it in an attempt to dislocate the thermally non-conductive air bubbles (I know with AS5 you dont have to do it, I prefer doing it to ensure it covers the heatspreader over the core(s)).

If residue remains these pits and grooves are already filled with thermally inefficient material which will impair thermal conduction and reduce the efficiency of the heatsink.

Anyway back to my point, in all honesty the difference of leaving a microscopic film of residue is virtually null, since the whole process of installing a heatsink is marred by potential human error where the residue is probably the least contributing factor.

Most people just advise people to do it as its good practise since its easy to prevent and the solution isnt difficult or expensive...

EDIT:
RE: Citrus oil-based cleaners

You can then optimally remove the remnants of the wax or other thermal interface material by using ArctiClean 1 and 2. You can adequately clean the remnants with a xylene based cleaner, (Goof Off and some carburetor cleaners) or high-purity isopropyl alcohol. If you use Goof off or xylene based cleaners always follow up with a cleaning of high-purity isopropyl alcohol afterwards.
NEVER use any oil or petroleum based cleaners (WD-40, citrus oil based cleaners and many automotive degreasers) on the base of a heatsink. The oil, which is engineered to not evaporate, will fill in the microscopic valleys in the metal and significantly reduce the effectiveness of any subsequently applied thermal compound.

ps3ud0

[freddie]

baby wipes are a no!

they have cream and deposite residue on top of the 'cleaned' surface. even if its a very thin layer it still puts a barrier between the thermal paste the base.

alcohol is good as well as surgical spirit. otherwise just wipe with a lint free cloth (screen wipe or cd wipe) it might be good to do this as soon as the computer is switched off as the paste will be warm and so free itself from the processor easier and wipe off easier. otherwise you can use a hairdryer to help.

[carbon8ed]

I've always used Halfords (Wynns) Fuel Injector and carb cleaner - has worked on T'Birds right threough to my Q6600 and a couple of laptops. Never fails, leave no residue, and eats some plastic - but great stuff

HTH

[peterb]

I've always used Halfords (Wynns) Fuel Injector and carb cleaner - has worked on T'Birds right threough to my Q6600 and a couple of laptops. Never fails, leave no residue, and eats some plastic - but great stuff

HTH

Almost certainly petroleum based - detrimental to plastic, can't be certain it leaves no residue, almost certainly bad to breath in the fumes from it.

Stick to IPA or surgical spirit.

[chriswood_7]

I have used CD head cleaning fluid for the last few years, works really well

[peterb]

I have used CD head cleaning fluid for the last few years, works really well

It is probably IPA based.

[tiggerai]

Nail Varnish remover... as I have some anyway (although it gets used a lot more for thermal paste than it does nail varnish)

That and some cotton buds. Job done.

[Saracen]

Theoretically and ideally a metal-to-metal connection without paste is thermally perfect since effectively the atoms in the heatsink are in direct contact with the atoms of the CPU heat spreader allowing 100% thermal conduction.

Unfortunately its technically impossible (is it possible?!?) to make something flat at the microscopic level. With lapping you still expect pits and grooves and the TIM fills these up to make the surface - which why people advise to use as little as possible and to pre-spread it in an attempt to dislocate the thermally non-conductive air bubbles (I know with AS5 you dont have to do it, I prefer doing it to ensure it covers the heatspreader over the core(s)).

If residue remains these pits and grooves are already filled with thermally inefficient material which will impair thermal conduction and reduce the efficiency of the heatsink.

Anyway back to my point, in all honesty the difference of leaving a microscopic film of residue is virtually null, since the whole process of installing a heatsink is marred by potential human error where the residue is probably the least contributing factor.

Most people just advise people to do it as its good practise since its easy to prevent and the solution isnt difficult or expensive...

Yeah, I understand the theory. But my point was, in practice, how much difference does it make?

If the thermal paste improves the conductivity (by allowing some transfer, in those pits and grooves, via conductive paste), presumably it'll drop the CPU temps a bit, and presumably that will help enhance the CPU life. But what amount of temp drop, and what effect does it have on CPU life?

Perhaps, if you're an extreme clocker, the 2 or 3 degrees might make a worthwhile difference. But to many people, it won't matter a damn. Suppose, therefore, that running the CPU 3 degrees hotter knocks two years off it's lifespan. That might mean it lasts 8 years instead of 10. How many people are still using 8-year-old CPUs (apart from me, that is )?

Which was my point - in real-world terms, does it matter if there's thermal compound there at all, let alone a microscopic residue because it was cleaned with white spirit instead of IPA (etc)? I suspect that the cleaner makes little or no real-world difference, and I would be too sure about the thermal compound either.



Note: The time-scales and temps quoted here are mere examples. I'm not claiming they're representative of the actual situation. I'm just illustrating the point.