Reseating my heatsink

[Kaeishiwaza]

I'm concerned that my temperatures are too high in my new system. They're not bad, but considering the cooling, they're not as good as I expected:

Pentium 4 650 3.4
SI-120 with Panaflo fan
P180 with 3 120mm fans (Top intake, rear exhaust, PS chamber)

Ambient 25 C
Idle ----
Motherboard 29 C
CPU 35 C
Load ---
Motherboard 38 C
CPU 50C

These are perfectly acceptable temperature for the processor, but with the SI-120 I figured they would be lower. I'm concerned there's an air pocket or a somehow bad interface between the heat sink and the chip. I'd like to remove the heatsink and reseat it. Is this a good idea? I've read that isopropyl alcohol will clean the old grease off. Is this the best solvent? Or is there something else I should use? Thanks!

 

[BSEagle1]

Lots of people like to use isopropyl. I've used vodka before, actually

I'd say it's a fine idea...can't do any harm, right?

 

[montag451]

I asked a pharmacist about using alcohol v Isopropanol.
He said that the Isopropanol is pure, whereas the alcohol will leave residues at small concentrations.
Fair enough.
Though, this could cause small areas being heated up more than surrounding areas - but does it really matter?
Don't know.

 

[FlyingPenguin]

Your temps are fine. Leave it alone. 50C is nothing to be concerned about unless you intend to overclock it beyond what it is now.

Onboard temp monitors are notoriously unreliable - it could easily be off by +/- 5 degrees - especially if you're using a 3rd party temp monitor app. No way to accurately measure your temp without a lab grade thermal probe.