ReSeating a HSF inside the case

[newuser]

I need to redo the artic silver paste on my CPU, apparently I did a lousy job installing it originally. Is it safe for me to do this whi;e the board is still mounted inside the case? Guess I'm just lazy, but I hate to take all the junk back out

Specs in the sig, it is an AMD system with the dreaded clipped on HSF

 

[Goatsan]

its safe to do it inside the case, as long as the pc isn't on at the time. Although i might suggest taking out the mobo because it is much easier to do out of the case than in the case, and since you didn't do it perfectly right last time, there is a better of a chance that it might not be seated right again, although i've never had tha problem myself.

if it still doesn't give the temps that it should, it could be that you have a bad heatsink

 

[newuser]

I thought it might have been something easy, so I cleaned the dust out of the HS, then replaced fan...sigh those helped some, but it still runs hotter than it should so it willl occasioally cause clitches. Hopefully it is just the paste and the clip or HS is not messed up or faulty.

What is the best way to remove the risidual paste? Rubbing Alcohol??

btw, this rig was originally built about 5months ago and the temps have gradually gotten hotter.

 

[Gravity]

Hmm...that is strange indeed. What fans are you running in your case? What are the temps of the room?

Also, instead of removing your MB, it might be faster, easier to remove the psu.

What heatsink/fan combo are you using?

 

[newuser]

Probably around 70*F ambient temps, which has been the same the whole time. Mabey a bit cooler now, but def not hotter.

2 fan PSU, 2 exhaust fans (NMB + YS Tech), 1 intake fan on the side (NMB)

SK-7, w/ Antec Fan, Artic Silver III

Initial temps upper 20's case, mid to upper 30s CPU
Current temps upper 30's case, 45-52* CPU. Only get slight problems after 50*+ temps, does not crash.

I have tried a few days with the case open, but that did not really help with the CPU temps too much, so that leads me to believe it is not a case fan problem.

 

[pspada]

Those temps are not at all unreasonable. Try this - with the case open, setup a floor fan to blow directly into the case for a day or so, and see if it changes the CPU temp at all.