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Cleaning without Rubbing Alcohol

Killswitch_0187
By Killswitch_0187
in Cooling
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I built my computer (first in like 12 years) at the end of February.  I have a Ryzen 3600 with the stock air cooler. It runs great but the whole thing is louder than I'd like so I got a Noctua NH-U12S air cooler to replace the stock one.  My hope is that when not gaming I can rely on the processor cooler and less on the case fans and have a quieter work environment while I work from home.  The problem is that I don't have any rubbing alcohol and the Walgreens down the street is out.  I don't really want to search the town for this stuff during a pandemic.  Can I just carefully use a microfiber cloth?  The way I see it, the thermal compound hasn't been on long and it hasn't been subjected to very high temps (maybe 65c tops).

 

The build:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/t44tL2

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Killswitch_0187 said:

I built my computer (first in like 12 years) at the end of February.  I have a Ryzen 3600 with the stock air cooler. It runs great but the whole thing is louder than I'd like so I got a Noctua NH-U12S air cooler to replace the stock one.  My hope is that when not gaming I can rely on the processor cooler and less on the case fans and have a quieter work environment while I work from home.  The problem is that I don't have any rubbing alcohol and the Walgreens down the street is out.  I don't really want to search the town for this stuff during a pandemic.  Can I just carefully use a microfiber cloth?  The way I see it, the thermal compound hasn't been on long and it hasn't been subjected to very high temps (maybe 65c tops).

You can still clean your CPU without alcohol or any other sort of solvent.

Just get some paper towel (or coffee filters, which produce less lint) and simply do one or two passes over the CPU with just a dry towel/filter.

Then add just the tiniest bit of water to your towel/filter to make it slightly damp and properly clean the CPU. The reason people suggest alcohol for cleaning is because it dries to quickly, but water can be used if you let it dry properly (and don't let any water leak on the board in the first place, which is why you only dampen the towel/filter).

 

If you system has been at 65C tops, you could maybe just get away with dialing down the fan curve, to favor quietness over temperatures?

"We're all in this together, might as well be friends" Tom, Toonami.

 

mini eLiXiVy: my open source 65% mechanical PCB, a build log, PCB anatomy and discussing open source licenses: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1366493-elixivy-a-65-mechanical-keyboard-build-log-pcb-anatomy-and-how-i-open-sourced-this-project/

 

mini_cardboard: a 4% keyboard build log and how keyboards work: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1328547-mini_cardboard-a-4-keyboard-build-log-and-how-keyboards-work/

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Acetone works, or just nail polish remover if you can't find the pure stuff.

F@H    EOC

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Thanks guys.  I'll give these a try. 

 

As to fan curves, I've brought down the case fans some and brought up the CPU fan but it is surprisingly loud even at 55%.  The reason the temp hasn't been too high is that I just haven't done too much gaming yet.  The toughest thing I've thrown at it is CS GO so far.  All that said, I'd be lying if I said it was 100% noise.  Also I wanted to tinker.  I'm going a little stir crazy at this point lol.

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