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Thermal paste removal

Masteton
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Go to solution Solved by MaratM,

No, if you sell it the new owner is very probably going to wipe it clean with some degreaser (alcohol) before applying any thermalpaste, i always do.

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I upgraded my cpu so I cleaned my old one and packed it up for sale. The thing is used some 93 rubbing alcohol that has glycerine and lemon aroma in it. I read that glycerine could be bad. Is the cpu somehow damaged now? What about cooling efficiency? Can I clean it again with isopropyl alcohol? I read that glycerine doesn't come off..

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93% alcohol ?

CPU:i7 9700k 5047.5Mhz All Cores Mobo: MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Edge AC, RAM:Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 3200MHz DDR4 OC 3467Mhz GPU:MSI RTX 2070 ARMOR 8GB OC Storage:Samsung SSD 970 EVO NVMe M.2 250GB, 2x SSD ADATA PRO SP900 256GB, HDD WD CB 2TB, HDD GREEN 2TB PSU: Seasonic focus plus 750w Gold Display(s): 1st: LG 27UK650-W, 4K, IPS, HDR10, 10bit(8bit + A-FRC). 2nd: Samsung 24" LED Monitor (SE390), Cooling:Fazn CPU Cooler Aero 120T Push/pull Corsair ML PRO Fans Keyboard: Corsair K95 Platinum RGB mx Rapidfire Mouse:Razer Naga Chroma  Headset: Razer Kraken 7.1 Chroma Sound: Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker Case: Modded Case Inverted, 5 intake 120mm, one exhaust 120mm.

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Just now, Constantin said:

93% alcohol ?

93 degrees alcohol infused with the aroma, and has glycerine inside.

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1 hour ago, Masteton said:

Yes

Normally you should be fine, but i wont bet 100% on it.

Wait for some more replies that may know better....

CPU:i7 9700k 5047.5Mhz All Cores Mobo: MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Edge AC, RAM:Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 3200MHz DDR4 OC 3467Mhz GPU:MSI RTX 2070 ARMOR 8GB OC Storage:Samsung SSD 970 EVO NVMe M.2 250GB, 2x SSD ADATA PRO SP900 256GB, HDD WD CB 2TB, HDD GREEN 2TB PSU: Seasonic focus plus 750w Gold Display(s): 1st: LG 27UK650-W, 4K, IPS, HDR10, 10bit(8bit + A-FRC). 2nd: Samsung 24" LED Monitor (SE390), Cooling:Fazn CPU Cooler Aero 120T Push/pull Corsair ML PRO Fans Keyboard: Corsair K95 Platinum RGB mx Rapidfire Mouse:Razer Naga Chroma  Headset: Razer Kraken 7.1 Chroma Sound: Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker Case: Modded Case Inverted, 5 intake 120mm, one exhaust 120mm.

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You can usually find 91% isopropyl alcohol in any pharmacy here in the United States (don't know about the availability overseas).  This % of alcohol is free of other compounds other than water and you can always check on the label to make sure.  this works perfectly fine for removing thermal compound.  Glycerine or as we chemists properly call it, glycerol, is inert and will not damage the top of a CPU any more than the little bit of water that is in the aforementioned 91% isopropyl alcohol. I have used 91% isopropyl alcohol to clean CPUs and heat sinks without any adverse issues.

 

Chemistry Lesson:  isopropyl alcohol is miscible with water and simple distillation leaves a mixture of 91% alcohol and 9% water which is why you see this as the commonly available mixture.  To get to 99% isopropyl alcohol requires other approaches.

Workstation PC Specs: CPU - i7 8700K; MoBo - ASUS TUF Z390; RAM - 32GB Crucial; GPU - Gigabyte RTX 1660 Super; PSU - SeaSonic Focus GX 650; Storage - 500GB Samsung EVO, 3x2TB WD HDD;  Case - Fractal Designs R6; OS - Win10

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1 hour ago, Alan G said:

You can usually find 91% isopropyl alcohol in any pharmacy here in the United States (don't know about the availability overseas).  This % of alcohol is free of other compounds other than water and you can always check on the label to make sure.  this works perfectly fine for removing thermal compound.  Glycerine or as we chemists properly call it, glycerol, is inert and will not damage the top of a CPU any more than the little bit of water that is in the aforementioned 91% isopropyl alcohol. I have used 91% isopropyl alcohol to clean CPUs and heat sinks without any adverse issues.

 

Chemistry Lesson:  isopropyl alcohol is miscible with water and simple distillation leaves a mixture of 91% alcohol and 9% water which is why you see this as the commonly available mixture.  To get to 99% isopropyl alcohol requires other approaches.

Ok, but will affect the cooling efficiency when the new thermal paste will be applied? 

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No, if you sell it the new owner is very probably going to wipe it clean with some degreaser (alcohol) before applying any thermalpaste, i always do.

CPU: i7 8700K OC 5.0 gHz, Motherboard: Asus Maximus VIII Hero (Z170), RAM: 32gb Corsair Vengeance RGB 3200 mHz, GPU: Asus Strix OC gtx 1080ti, Storage: Samsung 950pro 500gb, samsung 860evo 500gb, 2x2Tb + 6Tb HDD,Case: Lian Li PC O11 dynamic, Cooling: Very custom loop.

CPU: i7 8700K, Motherboard Asus z390i, RAM:32gb g.skill RGB 3200, GPU: EVGA Gtx 1080ti SC Black, Storage: samsung 960evo 500gb, samsung 860evo 1tb (M.2) Case: lian li q37. Cooling: on the way to get watercooled (EKWB, HWlabs, Noctua, Barrow)

CPU: i7 9400F, Motherboard: Z170i pro gaming, RAM: 16gb Corsair Vengeance RGB 3200 mHz, GPU: Sapphire Vega56 pulse with Bykski waterblock, Storage: wd blue 500gb (windows) Samsung 860evo 500Gb (MacOS), PSU Corsair sf600 Case: Motif Monument aluminium replica, Cooling: Custom water cooling loop

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52 minutes ago, Masteton said:

Ok, but will affect the cooling efficiency when the new thermal paste will be applied? 

The likelihood is close to zero that it would have any effect.

Workstation PC Specs: CPU - i7 8700K; MoBo - ASUS TUF Z390; RAM - 32GB Crucial; GPU - Gigabyte RTX 1660 Super; PSU - SeaSonic Focus GX 650; Storage - 500GB Samsung EVO, 3x2TB WD HDD;  Case - Fractal Designs R6; OS - Win10

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