cpu Can not conductive thermal compound demage the pins of a AM4 CPU ?

[LinuxTux23]

Hi there,

 

unfortunately some thermal paste got on a few pins of my AM4 CPU. I've tried to clean it with spiritus ( alcohol ), but i couldnt remove all off it.

The tip of the pins and upper part are free from paste. But at the little dots, where the pins are soldered to the CPU is covered by a small layer of thermal compound.

 

The final question is, could the small layer of compound demage the CPU ?

 

Thank You !

[Vishera]

  That has been a happening for many people,here is a good solution:

On 3/18/2020 at 2:09 AM, ShrimpBrime said:

Use a soft bristle tooth brush and gently wipe the TIM away.

Don't push, just lightly sweep and let the bristles do the work. 

Be sure Soft. No chemical needed.

 

[Quackers101]

think most if not all thermal compound is not conductive or that conductive, would be worse if it was liquid metal. Paste shouldn't do much, if it's just there, if it's a deep layer it might be bad? from google on one of the thermal paste:

"Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity. ... While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths"

 

I guess some is luck and not having too much.

[Guest]

22 minutes ago, LinuxTux23 said:

Hi there,

 

unfortunately some thermal paste got on a few pins of my AM4 CPU. I've tried to clean it with spiritus ( alcohol ), but i couldnt remove all off it.

The tip of the pins and upper part are free from paste. But at the little dots, where the pins are soldered to the CPU is covered by a small layer of thermal compound.

 

The final question is, could the small layer of compound demage the CPU ?

 

Thank You !

Yes but only if it is an electrically conductive paste, and you try to use it. Dry clean toothbrush is a good idea from the other person above, liberal application of 99.9% isopropyl shouldn't do any harm either

[mariushm]

Most thermal paste is THERMALLY CONDUCTIVE as in transferring heat, but less ELECTRICALLY conductive.   

 

If it's not electrically conductive, having some paste on pins could be a problem because it adds resistance between the pin and the contact in the socket, or could cause the pin to not make electrical contact in the socket. 

 

if it is electrically conductive ... again ... the paste has higher resistance than direct gold plated copper to gold plated socket contacts connection  (or whatever the pins and contacts are made of) so in theory it could cause problems. 

 

The solution is to just carefully wipe the pins, clean them with a toothbrush or something ... isopropyl alcohol works, sanitary alcohol works, acetone would work, gasoline would work (it's a solvent, but clean the pins with water afterwards)

 

 

[LinuxTux23]

25 minutes ago, Vishera said:

  That has been a happening for many people,here is a good solution:

 

Thank You guys very much ! The toothbrush idea saved me !