request for tips in replacing hsf

[oog]

hello,

when i first bought the pieces to my current system, i purchased an athlon xp 1700+ with the stock heatsink and fan, which i've been using for the past year. i used the thermal pad that came with the retail package. now, i have a new heatsink and fan coming and i'm interested in any tips people might have on removing the current one, and cleaning off the thermal pad. will it be a problem? will it be stuck? should i just plan on wiping it down with rubbing alcohol?

tia.

 

[Jeff7181]

To clean off the thermal pad you're supposed to use isopropyl alcohol because it fully evaporates and leaves no residue behind. But something like GooGone or acetone might work better, so go ahead and use it to clean the pad off, but make sure you do a final cleaning with isopropyl alcohol to make sure there's no residue left, because GooGone and acetone both leave some behind. I've also heard that warm soapy water (dish soap) and a tooth brush works good... but I'm hesitant to get a CPU THAT wet. Using isopropyl alcohol and a tooth brush might work well.
Some places have recommended using a razor blade to scrape the pad off... I don't recommend that because you can scratch the CPU core or the heatsink surface, which is a VERY bad thing.

 

[dew042]

yes - sharp objects are bad for removing the goo. i would get a flat plastic tool of some sort to get the bulk of the pad off and alcohol to remove the rest.....

dew.

 

[Cornel]

Originally posted by: oog
hello,

should i just plan on wiping it down with rubbing alcohol?

tia.

Yes, I did that a couple of days ago... Works like a charm:sun: