Thermal paste everywhere help please

[Shinyvids]

So I came to help a buddy who said he built his computer with an uncle or something. I get here they say is this bad and this is what I’m looking at. Now from experience with older boards you could possibly fix this issue. We are not too worried about the board tbh he can buy a new one it’s the CPU that we are more worried about. Any help would be greatly appreciated 

[CasualExtremist]

Pardon my language and lack of useful info, but I just came here to say:

 

Holy fuck.

[RONOTHAN##]

Both should be salvageable with enough isopropyl. The CPU just looks ugly, with a single wipe of the pin contacts odds are it'll just work. The motherboard is the one that's a bit sketchy, but flushing out the socket with isopropyl enough times should hopefully pix it assuming no pins were bent in the process. 

[CasualExtremist]

After processing the images and controlling my breathing, my first real thought is an extremely soft bristled brush and isopropyl alcohol. You'll want a few ROLLS of paper towels at hand so that when the alcohol starts mixing with the thermal paste and trying to run/flow into new areas of the board, you can gently wipe it up to prevent it spreading the thermal paste further. I'd go gentle and slow to the best of my ability, but as long as you have enough time, definitely fixable.

 

Edit: If you know any women or if any are nearby, ask if they have a makeup brush you can destroy. Those are typically very soft bristles. Just make sure you give it a dry brushing on your hand or elsewhere to shake off any loose bristles before using on the electronics.

[Rarity]

had something similar happen to me before on the m/b .. end up using alot of electrical contact cleaner to it from the socket,  as for the cpu , some isopropyl alcohol or those alcohol wipes will do 

[YoungBlade]

The CPU is gonna be fine. You could dunk it in a tub of thermal paste, leave it overnight, and once it's cleaned off with rubbing alcohol it'll be just fine. Heck, if you dropped it into a jar of peanut butter, I'd be more concerned that it contaminated the peanut butter than that the CPU was hurt.

 

The board is the real concern. Do you know if that paste is conductive? What paste did they use?

 

 

[CasualExtremist]

5 minutes ago, CasualExtremist said:

After processing the images and controlling my breathing, my first real thought is an extremely soft bristled brush and isopropyl alcohol. You'll want a few ROLLS of paper towels at hand so that when the alcohol starts mixing with the thermal paste and trying to run/flow into new areas of the board, you can gently wipe it up to prevent it spreading the thermal paste further. I'd go gentle and slow to the best of my ability, but as long as you have enough time, definitely fixable.

 

Edit: If you know any women or if any are nearby, ask if they have a makeup brush you can destroy. Those are typically very soft bristles. Just make sure you give it a dry brushing on your hand or elsewhere to shake off any loose bristles before using on the electronics.

If you go the makeup brush route, make sure it isnt a used one btw. Just thought about that 

[emosun]

wasn't there a video showing thermal paste can actually be in the socket and have no effect due to being non conductive electrically?
 

 

[PDifolco]

How tf did you manage to do that??

Anyway paste isn't conductive so a good cleanup will be enough

[podkall]

Do you have 99% IPA?

[FireLegend]

33 minutes ago, Shinyvids said:

So I came to help a buddy who said he built his computer with an uncle or something. I get here they say is this bad and this is what I’m looking at. Now from experience with older boards you could possibly fix this issue. We are not too worried about the board tbh he can buy a new one it’s the CPU that we are more worried about. Any help would be greatly appreciated 

To be honest soaking the CPU in 99% isopropyl alcohol would most likely be fine and using a toothbrush (also soaked in isopropyl alcohol) will do the job!

[Pusbucket]

21 minutes ago, emosun said:

wasn't there a video showing thermal paste can actually be in the socket and have no effect due to being non conductive electrically?
 

 

doesn't it actually depend on the thermal paste used?

Sadly some of the best performing are also electrically conductive.

[Dedayog]

57 minutes ago, Shinyvids said:

So I came to help a buddy who said he built his computer with an uncle or something. I get here they say is this bad and this is what I’m looking at. Now from experience with older boards you could possibly fix this issue. We are not too worried about the board tbh he can buy a new one it’s the CPU that we are more worried about. Any help would be greatly appreciated 

Are they using the AM4 mounting hardware on an AM5 motherboard?  Hope it's the same.

[YoungBlade]

6 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Are they using the AM4 mounting hardware on an AM5 motherboard?  Hope it's the same.

It generally is. It's compatible as long as it uses the stock backplate, which that hardware appears to use.

 

If it used the mounting clips, there are compatible coolers from all the way back to the AM2 days. AMD's backwards compatibility for coolers is kinda insane.

[manikyath]

presuming they didnt find that one type of paste that is still conductive these days, this isnt that much of a "disaster" past just a ridiculous mess to clean up.

 

for the socket the procedure is just to rinse, i wouldnt stick anything in there that doesnt belong there if you arent absolutely 100% sure what you're doing. buy one of those spray cans of 99% isopropyl alcohol. ever since covid they have been rather expensive, but that will be a fairly safe method to clean the crud out the socket.

 

as for the cpu.. i'd do the majority of that mess just with kitchen tissues, then a once-over with isopropyl.

 

but if it's a matter of getting it to work and screw the mess.. just put the cpu in the socket, if you're missing a memory channel or something you just open and close the socket a few times until all the crud is out the way of the pins.

 

also, protip, if you go for the alcohol rinse of the socket, hold the motherboard upside down above a surface you dont mind getting dirty, then the crud just falls straight out instead of all over the board.

[The K-Man89]

Everyone here has great advice, both cpu and board will be fine, I usually use a very soft tooth brush and isopropyl alcohol, for the board you can lightly poor it in the socket then stand the board up side ways to knock the bulk of the paste out.

[Shinyvids]

okay i got an update! cleaned everything up best i could now i got red CPU light and Yellow DRAM light on the board, ive tried CMOS batt reset ive tried the flash BIOS button on this board ive tried to see if the cpu had damaged the pins everything seems fine i checked power cables im at a loss he's about to order a new board and new CPU but i told him id come here first for any ideas. any help would be great

 

 

The link is the build parts that are the ones in question. 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RDrrfd

[Shinyvids]

my other question is can you try to boot the PC up without the cooler on there? for like long enough to see a boot screen then kill it? im trying to see if the seating is an issue but taking the cooler on and off is a pain.

 

[CasualExtremist]

23 hours ago, Shinyvids said:

my other question is can you try to boot the PC up without the cooler on there? for like long enough to see a boot screen then kill it? im trying to see if the seating is an issue but taking the cooler on and off is a pain.

 

Worth reiterating the advice previously stated. Seems like you're headed that direction, but

On 7/9/2025 at 12:42 PM, manikyath said:

if it's a matter of getting it to work and screw the mess.. just put the cpu in the socket, if you're missing a memory channel or something you just open and close the socket a few times until all the crud is out the way of the pins.

As far as boot testing with no cooler, this forum topic might be of help: