Does the cheap thermal goop dry out and how do you get it off?

[Bignate603]

Ok, i'm thinking of going to get one of those forged Taisol coolers and some artic silver. The temp on my CPU has been going up so i think the stuff is dried out. Only prob is i've heard that the cheap thermal grease needs a degreaser to come off. Is this true? If so, what kind do i get?

 

[glenn1]

i use simple rubbing alcohol to clean thermal grease off processors... seems to do fine

 

[mechBgon]

The thermal greases I've seen can be wiped off with a cotton cloth. They're typically silicone-based, and I think silicone is pretty unreactive toward degreasers. It's also worth mentioning that silicone-based dielectric grease is what you put on the sparkplug boots of an auto, and they hit temperatures your CPU will never reach, so I don't know about the idea of the grease just "drying out."

 

[Nevin]

Could be that your heatsink is dusty. Dust acts like a nice cozy insulating blanket and hinders the transfer of heat from the heatsink to the air.

Nevin

 

[Bignate603]

hmmm, thanks guys. I'm probably going to rub it off with a clean cloth then use an optical cloth to make sure it doesn't leave any lint