Thermal paste on cpu question

[Mlady Swagalot]

I had to uninstall a 7950x and noticed that in that process a bit of the thermal paste got on some of the pads of the cpu (the under side). Is this a problem and can I clean it with 70% ethanol?

 

The paste is the defailt noctua one you got with the nh-d15

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

28 minutes ago, Mlady Swagalot said:

I had to uninstall a 7950x and noticed that in that process a bit of the thermal paste got on some of the pads of the cpu (the under side). Is this a problem and can I clean it with 70% ethanol?

 

The paste is the defailt noctua one you got with the nh-d15

Yes, you should clean it off. You don't want that stuff in the socket. 

[Mlady Swagalot]

3 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Yes, you should clean it off. You don't want that stuff in the socket. 

So to be clear, it's ok to clean it off the pads of the cpu?

 

70% ethanol and coffee filters

[manikyath]

i wouldnt use ethanol, either use 99% isopropyl, or just use a dry tissue to wipe it off. non-pure ethanol will leave a LOT of crud behind by itself.

[Mlady Swagalot]

33 minutes ago, manikyath said:

i wouldnt use ethanol, either use 99% isopropyl, or just use a dry tissue to wipe it off. non-pure ethanol will leave a LOT of crud behind by itself.

By ethanol i don't mean using liquer, it's medicinal ethanol.

[Whatisthis]

2 hours ago, Mlady Swagalot said:

By ethanol i don't mean using liquer, it's medicinal ethanol.

If it is denatured, do not use it. The additives leave a residue. If it is pure diluted with distilled water (so you can drink it) then it is good to use.

 

In the US you can’t get non-denatured ethanol readily so we tend to use isopropyl alcohol.

[Alex Atkin UK]

Just as long as you didn't get any in the socket, that's a nightmare.

[Mlady Swagalot]

45 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Just as long as you didn't get any in the socket, that's a nightmare.

The MB is getting sent back to amazon for a refund

[Panda Stonetree]

I prefer to use ArctiClean, its cheap and safe.

https://www.amazon.com/ArctiClean-Thermal-Compound-Remover-Purifier/dp/B001JYQ9TM