GPU cleaning guide?

[Trik'Stari]

Anyone know of a good guide to completely cleaning a GPU and all it's parts? Preferably non reference cards. I've tried looking here on the forums, and only found something regarding thermal paste.

[Liam-McShane]

There isn't anything else to clean apart from fans and heatsink(s) and cleaning those is just common sense.

[Archangel1994]

Getting a can of compressed air helps. The thin nozzle can get in hard-to-reach spots making the cleaning more thorough.

[seiny]

Don't pop the cooler off, it's unnecessary

[Trik'Stari]

I was thinking more along the lines of cleaning the PCB with Isopropyl alcohol as well as the heatsink and replacing the thermal paste.

[Enderman]

1) remove cooler

2) clean thermal paste off GPU and heatsink

3) remove thermal pads

4) use compressed air to remove all dust from heatsink

5) reapply new thermal pads

6) apply thermal paste to GPU

7) remount the cooler

[Trik'Stari]

1) remove cooler

2) clean thermal paste off GPU and heatsink

3) remove thermal pads

4) use compressed air to remove all dust from heatsink

5) reapply new thermal pads

6) apply thermal paste to GPU

7) remount the cooler

So, no point to cleaning the PCB with rubbing alcohol?

[Enderman]

I was thinking more along the lines of cleaning the PCB with Isopropyl alcohol as well as the heatsink and replacing the thermal paste.

I wouldn't use any kind of liquid on the PCB to avoid corrosion or oxidising. If you must, use compressed air and a small paint brush to clean any particles off the PCB and components.

[Trik'Stari]

I wouldn't use any kind of liquid on the PCB to avoid corrosion or oxidising. If you must, use compressed air and a small paint brush to clean any particles off the PCB and components.

I just saw someone talking about cleaning up the PCB on their graphics card without using alcohol or compressed air, and was wondering what the alcohol was for and how it would be done.

[Enderman]

I just saw someone talking about cleaning up the PCB on their graphics card without using alcohol or compressed air, and was wondering what the alcohol was for and how it would be done.

Alcohol is used to remove thermal paste from heatsinks and GPU/CPU dies. People like it because it evaporates faster than water and helps remove the compound better than a dry piece of paper towel. A damp paper towel with water works just as well but you need to make sure no water is left behind when you're finished. There is no reason to use alcohol on the PCB unless you have thermal paste or thermal pad residue stuck on it. Personally I would use alcohol only where there is thermal stuff that needs help removing. Wiping the whole PCB with alcohol may not be the best for some of the types of plastic used in a few components. Compressed air or a small brush is the best for cleaning the rest of the PCB.