Have you decided that you need to drop your CPU temperature a few degrees with some preformance thermal compound? Maybe your upgrading your CPU or CPU Cooler? Or is it just time to replace that old gray goo with some new silver based thermal compound? In this article we will explain how to get that old goo off and replace it with some new high preformance silver grease!

 

Technical Precautions:
Dont put it in your mouth.
Dont give it to children or leave it where children can get a hold of it.
Keep it away from pets and animals.
Thermal compound should always be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads.
Never turn on a computer without a heatsink properly mounted on the CPU. Also be sure tohave a thermal interface material between the CPU core and the heatsink. A modern high performance CPU can be permanently damaged in less than 10 seconds without proper cooling.

 

Heatsink Preparation:

 

If your heatsink has a thermal pad mounted on it, this pad must be removed before using thermal compound. Like wise if your heatsink has thermal interface material applied to it, it also must be removed. After the pad or thermal interface material is removed, ONLY thermal compound will be between the CPU heatspreader and the heatsink.

 

Thermal pads are made with paraffin wax that melts once it gets hot. When it melts, it fills in the microscopic valleys in the heatsink with wax. To minimize permanent contamination of the heatsink mounting surface with wax, the thermal pad should be removed before it is used and melted. Never use heat or hot water to remove the pad, as heat will melt the wax into the heatsink. Take care not to scratch the surface of the heatsink when removing the pad, a plastic tool is recommended in the removal of thermal pads or other thermal interface material. You can then optimally remove the remnants of the wax or other thermal interface material by using  a product called ArctiClean 1 and 2. You can adequately clean the remnants with a xylene based cleaner, Goof Off and some carburetor cleaners or high-purity isopropyl alcohol. If you use Goof off or xylene based cleaners always follow up with a cleaning of high-purity isopropyl alcohol afterwards. NEVER use any oil or petroleum based cleaners such as WD-40, citrus oil based cleaners and many automotive degreasers on the base of a heatsink. The oil, which is engineered to not evaporate, will fill in the microscopic valleys in the metal and significantly reduce the effectiveness of any subsequently applied thermal compound.

 

CPU Preparation:

 

As you may know the heatspreader is the raised square in the center of the CPU and is highlighted in red and is covering the dual core in the picture bellow.

 

 

 

New CPUs generally do not have thermal interface material applied to them from the factory, so cleaning the surface is not required but is recommended. For optimally clean the CPU heatspreader surface use a low residual solvent - high-purity isopropyl alcohol - and a LINT FREE cloth such as a lens cleaning cloth or a coffee filter. If another thermal compound had been previously applied to the CPU heatspreader you MUST clean the surface first. Important: Keep the surfaces free of foreign materials and do NOT touch the surfaces, a hair, piece of lint, and even dead skin cells can significantly affect the thermal interfaces performance. In addition, oils from your fingers can adversely affect the performance by preventing the micronized silver fill from directly contacting the metal surfaces. e.g. Fingerprints can be as thick as 0.005?

 

Applying Thermal Compound:

 

Carefully apply directly to the heatspreader of the CPU. Only apply thermal compound to the top of the actual CPU heatspreader. Understand that we are just putting thermal compound in close proximity to the center of the heatspreader. Only a small amount is typically needed. The example at left shows you an approximate amount to use, about the size of one aa half uncooked grains of short-grain white rice or 3/4 of a BB. Spread it thinly over the surface of the heat speader using a business card or similar item. The idea is to fill in any microscopic valleys in the heatsink or gaps that there may be between the heat sink and the CPU’s heat spreader.

 

 

 

Finishing the Application:

 

Double check to make sure no foreign contaminants are present on either the bottom of the heatsink or the top of the CPU heatspreader. Mount the heatsink on the CPU per the heatsink instructions provided by manufacturer. Be sure to lower the heatsink straight down onto the CPU. Once the heatsink is properly mounted, grasp the heatsink and very gently twist it slightly clockwise and counterclockwise one time each if possible; just one or two degrees or so. Please note that some heatsinks cannot be twisted once mounted. However, our testing has shown that this method minimizes the possibility of air bubbles and voids in the thermal interface between the heat spreader and the heatsink. Since the vast majority of the heat from the core travels directly through the heat spreader, it is more important to have a good interface directly above the actual CPU core than it is to have the heat spreader covered with compound from corner to corner. Happy cooling!

 

Cleaning and Removal:

 

Thermal compound can easily be removed from hardware using the proper cleaners and tools: For general clean up, a cloth or paper towel will work well. Intricate cleaning can be accomplished with Q-tip swabs. An old toothbrush can often get the compound out of crevices that other tools cannot reach.

 

CPU Core: For adequate cleaning use high-purity isopropyl alcohol or acetone and a bit of careful rubbing. Do not use nail polish remover as it contains fragrance oils and other contaminants. If you use acetone, do  a final cleaning with high-purity isopropyl alcohol.

 

Heatsink: For adequate cleaning use a xylene based cleaner, Goof Off and some carburetor cleaners or high-purity isopropyl alcohol. If you use Goof off or xylene based cleaners always follow up with a cleaning of high-purity isopropyl alcohol afterwards.

 

CPU Ceramic: Use any of the following cleaners: dish detergent such as Dawn, Lux, Palmolive, Etc. Do not use soap for an automatic dishwasher to clean a CPU. WD-40, citrus based cleaners. Xylene based products. Goof Off, some carburetor cleaners and many brake cleaners. Mineral spirits. Be careful to keep the mineral spirits away from the core. Once the majority of the compound has been removed from the ceramic, small patches remaining on the ceramic can be erased with a soft eraser.

 

If you use any of the suggested products to remove thermal compound from the CPU ceramic or heatsink base, always do a final cleaning with isopropyl alcohol to remove any residue from the cleaner.

 

Removal from Self:

 

Wash your hands with any dish detergent such as Dawn, Lux, Palmolive, Etc. rather than hand soap. Do not use soap for an automatic dishwasher!

 

As you can see it couldnt be easier! By replacing that old gray compound with some new preformance silver based thermal grease you can drop your temperatures and rest easy knowing your CPU is going to run stable and trouble free.