Old cooler on new CPU

[james cullen]

Hey all,

I have a Noctura CPU cooler installed at the moment. I 'd like to use this cooler again on another CPU, so I have to take it off and remount on new.

Question is what do I do with the old cement from the original installation? Do I need to remove it and how would you do that before remounting on new CPU?

Thanks

 

[mickey megabyte]

i would definitely remove the old stuff - i've used a cotton bud dipped in alcohol successfully in the past.

let it dry well, or give it a good rub with something sensible.

apply a thin layer of fresh thermal paste, et voilà...

 

[james cullen]

thanks Mickey,

yeah I thought removing would be sensible.

Alcohol hey? Do you think Metholated spirits or Turpentine would be ok?

Cheers

 

[thefabe]

i would definitely remove the old stuff - i've used a cotton bud dipped in alcohol successfully in the past.

let it dry well, or give it a good rub with something sensible.

apply a thin layer of fresh thermal paste, et voilà...

+1 This is good advice I just wanted to add not to over saturate the cotton ball or swab and CPU, handle with care let the alcohol do the work. It's an easy task to accomplish.
Then choose a quality thermal compound and apply a thin layer on the CPU and after cleaning off the cooler as well your good to go.
Edit I would stick to a 20% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol. Commonly found in most persons medicine cabinet. Works very well.
Fabe

 

[whs]

Have a look at this:

 

[mickey megabyte]

should be ok - just be careful - don't go pouring the whole bottle on!

an old toothbrush might come in handy too - depending how dry, thick and crusty it all is.

 

[james cullen]

thanks guys, good to go.

Great article whs

 

[whs]

Glad we could help.

 

[Tepid]

Use tissue or soft paper towel, and a high quality Rubbing Alcohol.
Polish the top as good as you can, basically, making sure there is no film or residue left behind,

Then use Arctic Silver 5 , not just any grease will do. You will be glad you did.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

A geek would use only something lint-free to scrub the surface of the heatsink.

True geeks seem to favor coffee filters for that purpose.

Not that it's likely to matter, but one must always be concerned with credentials and living up to the code. Har-de-har har.

 

[Trucidation]

Real men use blowtorches!

But I'll go with mickey's alcohol-dabbed cotton bud.

 

[Tepid]

Ha yes, coffee filters. Forgot about that, been a while since I built my last and had to clean off stock grease. That is true.
Probably lost 10 points on my credential renewal.

Tissue and Paper Towels do work, you do need to blow off any lint, if there is any.