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Need advice for how to clean old socket A cpu?

S

SilenceGold

n00b
Joined
Feb 14, 2006
Messages
27
Here is picture of the CPU...

8.jpg


I want it to return to a nice condition for either being reusable for a donated PC or cheaply sold PC.

Any advice on what I should do to clean it all up.

Rubbing alcohol is on my mind to be used for the whole cleanup. Maybe I will hear a better method.
 
So try paper towel with alcohol. These old socA chips with ceramic PCB is real pain to clean properly.
 
Thanks for the reply.

I also just took some pictures of my heatsink that came off this CPU too. It is in the similar condition. Dipping it in the rubbing alcohol shouldn't hurt right?

Here is the picture.

The Fan side -
13.jpg
 
Obviously don't dip the whole thing in there... use alcohol to clean the bottom, hit the dust with canned air or a vacuum.
 
I tend to get bits of paper towel stuck on any PC part I clean....especily parts like a CPU there the paper towel touches resistors and other small jagged parts.

So, I usually just cut up an old T-Shirt and use that and paint brush.
 
I just cleaned up an old Socket A computer too. It has barely been opened since I put it together like 4 or 5 years ago. Replaced the video card once, and that's about it. The CPU was the dustiest thing I've ever seen... inhaled a lot of dust too when I tried to blow it off. I think I have lung cancer now.....
 
SilenceGold said:
Here is picture of the CPU...

8.jpg


I want it to return to a nice condition for either being reusable for a donated PC or cheaply sold PC.

Any advice on what I should do to clean it all up.

Rubbing alcohol is on my mind to be used for the whole cleanup. Maybe I will hear a better method.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I think those alchahol wipes you find in first aid kits work the best... It doesn't tear easily like paper towles and it really cleans great :) Go buy some... very cheap!
 
Rubbing alcohol and coffee filters! They are lint-free and great for that mirror finish.

As for cleaning the fan and heatsink, as long as it is unplugged I'd frankly put it in the dishwasher if you have one. Otherwise, soak that bastard in a dishpan full of warm soapy water for an hour. Done it with many of my fans and heatsinks, got them clean as a whistle, and they worked fine! Just gotta make sure you thoroughly dry it. A hair dryer is handy for that job, plus some patience.
 
91% isopropyl alcohol, and a toothbrush (preferrably an old one that you don't use anymore, or your enemy's new toothbrush).

Scrub in circles, as you would with your teeth. I've found that those Oral-B electric toothbrushes work wonders. You don't need to press hard, just be diligent.

If that doesn't work, then Goo-Gone can remove gunk that otherwise would still be there. Follow up with a rinse of 91% isopropyl alcohol.
 
Wow, all really good idea's! I like that coffee filter trick... and even a tooth brush? I wouldn't have thought of that. :)
 
SilenceGold said:
Dipping it in the rubbing alcohol shouldn't hurt right?
Click to expand...

Dipping it in alcohol might also clean away any lubricant in the fan motor. So if you take that drastic a measure, make sure you add some oil after it's clean.
 
BladeVenom said:
Dipping it in alcohol might also clean away any lubricant in the fan motor. So if you take that drastic a measure, make sure you add some oil after it's clean.
Click to expand...

What kind of oil? Can you use regular cooking oil, WD-40, or how about that oil lubricant that you put on shredder blades? Speaking of... I need to get some of that, my paper shredder is starting to seem kinda dry. LoL
 
noobtech said:
What kind of oil? Can you use regular cooking oil, WD-40, or how about that oil lubricant that you put on shredder blades?
Click to expand...

cooking oil is for food, and dont use wd-40(its not an oil or lubricant at all, its best for cleaning metal, rust, etc. but it will dry up and evaporate in no time). best to use a light oil(3 in 1 or something similar, im guessing that shredder oil is quite light so it should work.

this is of course assuming the fan uses oil(ive never rehabbed a hsf before that way so its never come up for me).
 
I actually use olive oil on fans that I fix. :p It works better than gun oil (too thin), which is the only other oil i have. The northbridge fan on my desktop is lubricated with olive oil right now and I fixed the fan in my refrigerator over 5 years ago with some and it's worked great since.

Some types of cooking oils do dry up. I wouldn't recommend putting generic "vegetable oil" in a fan, or permanently removing the sticker since dust getting in there will cause trouble.
 
pxc said:
I actually use olive oil on fans that I fix. :p It works better than gun oil (too thin), which is the only other oil i have. The northbridge fan on my desktop is lubricated with olive oil right now and I fixed the fan in my refrigerator over 5 years ago with some and it's worked great since.

Some types of cooking oils do dry up. I wouldn't recommend putting generic "vegetable oil" in a fan, or permanently removing the sticker since dust getting in there will cause trouble.
Click to expand...

Oh wow, if you had a asus mobo like me... you can cook eggs on the northbridge. I touched it with my finger and it was like touching a hot frying pan... but the temp shows 30c... I think it's more like 50c!! lol
 
I'm surprised no one commented on the amount of excess thermal goop on that chip. I could cover at least 5 cpus's with an ihs with all that crap. Good thing the goop wasn't conductive like as5 with as much is covering the diodes around the core. Also that hsf is pretty nasty too. Get yourself a can of compressed air and blow that bitch out once a month. Your hardware with thank you for it.

Not trying to be rude, but your hardware needs some luvin too.
 
You can use WD-30 to get your thermal paste off, then rubbing alcohol to clean the WD-30. It might seem redundant, but I have always had difficulty getting thermal paste clean; especially on my socket A chip. Same suggestions for abrasives should apply here. Coffee filters, tooth brushes. I would avoid Q-tips, because they "lint", and can catch, or leave little bits of cotton all over the place. One of those foam rubber make-up applicators would be awesome, however!
 
tiamatu said:
91% and coffee filters ftw!
Click to expand...

Use Isoproyl (91% or higher, I use 99%). I would not recommend anything less than 91%, but maybe I am just picky. Maybe it's because I have 99% readily available. You can buy 91% at any CVS or Walgreens.
 
Kiggles said:
You can use WD-30 to get your thermal paste off, then rubbing alcohol to clean the WD-30. It might seem redundant, but I have always had difficulty getting thermal paste clean; especially on my socket A chip. Same suggestions for abrasives should apply here. Coffee filters, tooth brushes. I would avoid Q-tips, because they "lint", and can catch, or leave little bits of cotton all over the place. One of those foam rubber make-up applicators would be awesome, however!
Click to expand...
Coffe filters, toothbrushes, alcohol, foam rubber, paper towel....maybe its cheaper to buy new chip lol.
 
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