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Cleaning Question

Inu

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 29, 2004
Messages
2,023
I looked around altho honestly not too well, i couldnt find info on cleaning the CPU. Im gonna attempt to overclock for my first time. But its running too hot in my opinion idlely. Depending on temperature of room it runs from 49C-51C Idle and 55C-57C Full load.(AthlonXP 2400) I was wondering what i should do to clean the heat sink of dust, since about 20-30% of the top of the heat sink is covered in a layer of dust. I was thinking about compressed air, but is that safe to use on the CPU like that? Also i was wondering about the thermal paste of my processor because the processor seemed to come with thermal paste already applied, it kinda looked like putty or something. I was wondering if its possible to safely remove and reapply some artic silver that i found in my storage somewhere. Please post a reply if you can help. Thanx!

AthlonXP 2400 266fsb (2x133)
HD 40GB Maxtor 80GB Maxtor
(1x512)Kingston PC2700 DDR333 RAM
A7V8X-X MOBO
 
I would guess that your "putty-like" thermal paste was probably a thermal pad.

I am going to be upgrading from my stock hsf w/ thermal pad to a Zalman cooler w/ AS5.

I also would like some pointers on how to clean up the CPU off before putting on the AS5 and new hsf.
 
I do a thorough cleaning on my main system about once every 3 months.
I start with compressed air on all the electronics. Then I use a vacuum cleaner on all non electronic stuff. (case, fans, etc.)
Once I have removed all the loose dust (and if it needs it) I use Q-tips, paper towels and 98% Isopropl alcohol to clean any stubborn dust deposits. This step applies to pretty much everything, electronic or not.
All thats needed is common sense. (IE, make sure alcohol is evaporated before powering on, be gentile when cleaning boards, etc.)
 
wow thanks for the info, i've heard also when using compressed air you want to keep it as level as you can so you dont get condensation from inside the can or something, is this true?
 
that's true about keeping it level, but it should evaporate before you turn the computer on.

a 100% cotten cloth and isopropl alcohole is all you need to clean the hsf and cpu of thermal paste.
 
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