Arctic Silver Cleaning

[WonkySights]

What do you use to clean the Arctic Siler paste off a CPU & Heat Sink.

 

[lucky9]

Alcohol. Rubbing type is common and easily one of the best. Use a cotton swab or similar to apply.

 

[NickelPlate]

Use high purity rubbing alcohol (90% or better). No offense to lucky but I wouldn't use a cotton swab or anything that could leave behind fibers (paper towels, tissues, rags etc). I read somewhere and it may have been on AS website to use a coffee filter (which are supposedly lint free) to wipe off with the alcohol, and avoid touching the heat spreader which can contaminate with finger oils.

 

[Aeros]

Just let your cat/dog lick it off...hah! no j/k.

I use 90% rubbing alcohol as well. But when removing I dont think you need to use a cofee filter. I use a plain ol' piece of paper towel, or rag, or my shirt sleeve if I'm in a hurry (never washes out though). Just make sure you remove it all. As for lint...It's non conductive so who cares. If you really want blow it off with a blast of air.

As for application don't use anything to spread it (it's not butter..I know...I know... I can't belive it either!)

Instead, squeeze out a dollop (drop) the size of a small bearing (BB) on the center of the IHS. Then smoosh it down with your heatsink (twist and push down to make sure it spreads out evenly). The point of this is to not get any air bubbles between your IHS and HS/F.



There ya go! Enjoy a faster pain free application!

 

[NickelPlate]

Originally posted by: Aeros
Just let your cat/dog lick it off...hah! no j/k.

As for lint...It's non conductive so who cares. If you really want blow it off with a blast of air.

It's not the conductivity but rather the contamination of the surface with impurities and such which "could" affect heat transfer efficiency. I don't really know how much having dust or finger oil on the CPU would affect heat transfer but I just checked the instructions on AS website and they do suggest using a lint free lens cloth or coffee filter for cleaning. It may not make much difference in the end but it doesn't take much time or effort to do it right. And using a can of air to blow it off is a good suggestion.

 

[Fallengod]

$.99cent bottle of 70% isopropyl alcohol does the trick just great.


In terms of lint and such. Ive used paper towels for years. I know AS website says to use lint free stuff blah blah blah. It really doesnt matter. I think it is people being overly cautious. I havnt found it to make any realworld difference. Just dont use something that falls apart easy.

 

[SilthDraeth]

I know not everyone drinks coffee, but if you do, just use a filter.

As for not spreading it around, thats BS also. Put a drop or 2, enough that spread around will cover the whole cpu top, then put your hand inside a clean zip lock bag, and pull it tight then spread the silver all over, making sure it covers completely in a thin film, then put your heat sink on firmly and tighten it down. No need to spin the heat sink, etc.

 

[DarkManX4lf]

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
I know not everyone drinks coffee, but if you do, just use a filter.

As for not spreading it around, thats BS also. Put a drop or 2, enough that spread around will cover the whole cpu top, then put your hand inside a clean zip lock bag, and pull it tight then spread the silver all over, making sure it covers completely in a thin film, then put your heat sink on firmly and tighten it down. No need to spin the heat sink, etc.

What if you drink coffee and dont use a coffee filter but a strainer instead

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: DarkManX4lf

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
I know not everyone drinks coffee, but if you do, just use a filter.

As for not spreading it around, thats BS also. Put a drop or 2, enough that spread around will cover the whole cpu top, then put your hand inside a clean zip lock bag, and pull it tight then spread the silver all over, making sure it covers completely in a thin film, then put your heat sink on firmly and tighten it down. No need to spin the heat sink, etc.

What if you drink coffee and dont use a coffee filter but a strainer instead

Then I recommend putting your strainer inside a coffee filter and then after you brew a fresh pot go ahead and take a look at how much grit made it thru the strainer but was caught by the coffee filter.

BTW I make my coffee this way - double filtered I guess you could call it - takes a ton of the bitterness out. Use to use filters, then switched to the metal strainer, then did the double-filter and life has been great ever since (strainer goes inside the filter, just as the coffee grinds would if the strainer was not there to begin with).

Oh - and I use 70% isopropyl with q-tips. Sure they leave lint soemtimes but you can clearly see the fibers by your eye when it happens and it is not hard to remove them by blowing on it (followed by a dash of IPA to remove spittle) or just flush it off with a little extra IPA.

 

[dali71]

Originally posted by: SilthDraeth
I know not everyone drinks coffee, but if you do, just use a filter.

As for not spreading it around, thats BS also. Put a drop or 2, enough that spread around will cover the whole cpu top, then put your hand inside a clean zip lock bag, and pull it tight then spread the silver all over, making sure it covers completely in a thin film, then put your heat sink on firmly and tighten it down. No need to spin the heat sink, etc.

No, it's not BS, as the manufacturer of AS only recommends spreading it on CPUs with an exposed core (Athlon XP, P3, etc.). For CPUs that have an IHS (any modern CPU), they suggest that you either put a rice grain sized amount in the center of the IHS (for A64s and single core P4s), a vertical line down the middle of the IHS (dual-core Intel), or a horizontal line across the middle of the IHS (quad-core Intel). For any CPU with an IHS, they do not suggest spreading the TIM yourself; you should let the heatsink do that. You can check it out for yourself at their website.