Where did you buy your CPU cleaning supplies?

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burningrave101

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I'm looking to purchase some 99-100% Isopropyl Alcohol and some lint free clothes. Where did you guys find yours at? Most drug stores and places like Wal-Mart only carry 91% Isopropyl. I hear that pec-pads are really good for something lint free.
 
I used the regular isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs (q-tips). worked fine
 
I just use the 91% isopropyl from wal-mart and a paper towel.

acetone is cool for stock paste that is more like gum.
 
Go down to the liquor store and pick up a bottle of Everclear.

It's 95% and you can drink what is left over.
 
I just use the 91% and it works fine for me... Havn't had any problems thus far, you should try that if you don't feel like ordering anywhere expensive
 
WC Annihilus said:
I've been fine with 70% and paper towels <shrugs>
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70% isn't pure enough. 70% is considered rubbing alcohol. It takes longer to evaporate and leaves behind noticeably more residue then 91%. It can cause your temps to be a little higher then they would of been if you used something like 99-100%. I may just settle with the 91% since its readily available but i'd like to pick up a bottle of the 99% since it will last a long time.
 
I use 90%+, whatever's around. I think the stuff I usually use is 93% from Wal-Mart, but lately I've been using 91% from Rite-Aid.

 
Frank4d said:
Go down to the liquor store and pick up a bottle of Everclear.

It's 95% and you can drink what is left over.
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Best. advice. ever.
 
Go down to the liquor store and pick up a bottle of Everclear.

It's 95% and you can drink what is left over.
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That is great!!!

Does it actually work???
 
For those of you that have a Meijer nearby they've got 99% isopropyl alcohol.
 
jcll2002 said:
i just got some arcticlean. What should I use...a paper towel?
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Put a few drops of the solvent on, wait, then use a q-tip or a paper towel to wipe it off. Then apply a few drops of the surface primer or whatever it's called and wipe that off. Stuff is amazing.
 
i use arcticlean coupled with a paper towel. Got the arcticlean off ebay. Stuff works great, better than 99% isopropyl
 
burningrave101 said:
70% isn't pure enough. 70% is considered rubbing alcohol. It takes longer to evaporate and leaves behind noticeably more residue then 91%. It can cause your temps to be a little higher then they would of been if you used something like 99-100%. I may just settle with the 91% since its readily available but i'd like to pick up a bottle of the 99% since it will last a long time.
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my 91% bottle is still 75% full, and I've used it A LOT, and also left the cap off overnight a couple of times on accident.
 
I never use any cpu cleaners, just a cloth to wipe the old paste off, why is there a compelling reason to use them?
 
alcohol cleans everything, and isint so hard to clean up


Thanks for telling me about mijer and the 99 precent alcohol thare



Good point about the everclear, but anyone under 18 cant get it
 
sculelos said:
I never use any cpu cleaners, just a cloth to wipe the old paste off, why is there a compelling reason to use them?
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while I don't think you need to or should spend more than a couple of bucks on some 91% or 99% alchohol, you should use them in general because ideally you want a nice fresh surface for your thermal paste, so that ONLY your new thermal paste is on that surface, uncontaminated by old paste, and or other residues.

I mean, it makes sense, its like cleaning all of the dirt out of a wound before putting a band-aid on it, or neosporin or something.
 
chameleoneel said:
I mean, it makes sense, its like cleaning all of the dirt out of a wound before putting a band-aid on it, or neosporin or something.
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Yeah

if you think about it, our porcessors are like wounds


big hole in the pocket
require shitloads of care
need to be cleaned
washed
cooled
 
sculelos said:
I never use any cpu cleaners, just a cloth to wipe the old paste off, why is there a compelling reason to use them?
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Because your not getting the old paste all off. Your just wipeing off what you can see. That doesn't remove the thin layer thats still on there and the microscopic particles left behind in the surface of the heat spreader. Something even like a fingerprint on the IHS can slow down heat transfer. Everyone should read the instructions for properly cleaning and applying thermal paste on the Arctic Silver website if you havn't already. How you apply the thermal paste can make as much of a difference in temps as what brand of thermal paste your using to begin with.
 
burningrave101 said:
Because your not getting the old paste all off. Your just wipeing off what you can see. That doesn't remove the thin layer thats still on there and the microscopic particles left behind in the surface of the heat spreader. Something even like a fingerprint on the IHS can slow down heat transfer. Everyone should read the instructions for properly cleaning and applying thermal paste on the Arctic Silver website if you havn't already. How you apply the thermal paste can make as much of a difference in temps as what brand of thermal paste your using to begin with.
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Ah I guess I'll have to get some and clean my heatsink and cpu, then reapply the paste, but what difference will it make, maby like 1-2C difference?
 
Hmm would 95% denatured ethyl alcohol be alright for cleaning CPUs?
 
Big jug of acetone from Ace hardware and a roll of generic paper towels. Eats through anything.
 
Doorbasher said:
Big jug of acetone from Ace hardware and a roll of generic paper towels. Eats through anything.
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Yep. I use acetone in the shop for rebuilding carbies, and with a few gallons, I end up using it on everything. Use it to clean metal before painting, poured some in my BBQ and tossed a match in there to de-grease it (for fucks sake do not try this at home), used it on my heatsink when I put it into storage.
 
burningrave101 said:
It can cause your temps to be a little higher then they would of been if you used something like 99-100%.
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I am skeptical of your claim.
 
WC Annihilus said:
I've been fine with 70% and paper towels <shrugs>
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%70 leaves visible residue... Just splash a bunch in your hands sometime and use it to wash them off. You'll find a nice film on your hands like soap.


I just use 91% from the drug store and some q-tips/paper towels.
 
mikeblas said:
I am skeptical of your claim.
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Why would you be? 70% isn't pure enough so it leaves behind more of a residue. That residue will slow down the heat transfer potential more then if you had used 91% or 99%. If it wasn't true then everyone would just use 70% and the CPU cleaning guides on the net would recommend the usual 70% instead of the high percentage.
 
devnull said:
%70 leaves visible residue... Just splash a bunch in your hands sometime and use it to wash them off. You'll find a nice film on your hands like soap.
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Sounds like you've bought a pretty crappy product. I'd expect 70% isopropyl alcohol to be a 70% aqueous solution -- that is, the other 30% is water. That's what Wallgreen's sells, anyhow.

burningrave101 said:
Why would you be?
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Because you don't substantiate them.
 
mikeblas said:
Because you don't substantiate them.
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Whats to substantiate? 70% is 1/3 part water so it takes longer to evaportate than 91% or especially 99.9% and leaves behind a residue. I did a google search a minute ago and found several threads on different forums where users said the same thing. 70% will work but 90%+ is much better.

http://www.heatsink-guide.com/board/read.php?id=630

2. Acetone or 91% Isopropyl alcohol (I use 91% because the normal 70% leaves a residue)
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http://www.expertsrt.com/articles/coral/upgrade.shtml

Now that the HSF is off, you need to clean all the old paste off the CPU. A lint-free cloth and 99% or 91% rubbing alcohol is best for this. 70% alcohol will work, just be sure to dry wipe it good to remove any residue it might leave.
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rubbing alcohol is like the magic elixer of the computer godz

somebody on another thread somewhere(not sure which one) said that zippo lighter fuild takes the paste right off then use rubbing alcohol to clean it all up
 
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