Thermal grease between 1156 board pins

[squelchy451]

Hi. I got some thermal grease between my 1156 motherboard pins.

The pins are angled and really tightly spaced, so I'm not sure how to remove the thermal grease from the pins. They're not on the tip of the pin but between the pins, where it's really difficult to reach. I'm guessin I could maybe get really thin needles and try to get it out.

Any ideas?

 

[RavenSEAL]

Alcohol and....something that will fit but not damage it.

 

[masteryoda34]

This is why I always buy electrically non-conductive thermal grease.

 

[squelchy451]

I think it's Arctic Silver 5, which is non-conductive. Should I try to use the CPU with it or do I run a risk of frying the CPU?

 

[Grooveriding]

AS5 is conductive because of the silver.

I would use a small pin point and try to pick some out from between the pins, followed by dipping the same pin in 99% pure alcohol and cleaning up what is left.

I believe you could be rather liberal with the 99% alcohol in trying to 'wash' away the AS5 as it should evaporate away completely. Not 100%, someone else may want to chime in.

 

[SpeedTester]

Alcohol and a soft bristled toothbrush. Just be gentle

 

[dawp]

you may try a spray bottle with a tight or streaming spray pattern and fill it with alcohol. I would try this before using any type of brush or pin.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Also, in the future...apply or remove thermal paste with the chip already placed into the slot.

 

[dajeepster]

Also, in the future...apply or remove thermal paste with the chip already placed into the slot.

win

 

[heymrdj]

you may try a spray bottle with a tight or streaming spray pattern and fill it with alcohol. I would try this before using any type of brush or pin.

This normally works great. As a bonus hold the motherboard upside down and then spray at it with a spray bottle set to stream with as pure of an alcohol as you can (you can get a travel spray bottle for like .96$ at walmart). Still I would leave the board off for a few hours with a fan to make sure no residue remains.

 

[Magic Carpet]

As long as no visible substances remain, CPU should work fine.

 

[lenjack]

AS5 is NOT electrically conductive. Even says so or their website.

 

[Kenmitch]

AS5 is NOT electrically conductive. Even says so or their website.

Go read again. It pretty much isn't black and white but it does look like a cpu socket would fall into the don't do to me 🙂

Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)