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mondayz
10-22-2001, 07:53 AM
My new motherboard had a bad AGP slot so I had to disassemble the system and send the bad board back.
The heatsink had the thermal tape which of course melted to the cpu die when started. Am I right in assuming the die and heat sink must be cleaned and new thermal paste applied? I would appreciate any pointers on how to safely do this cleanup.
It's an AMD 950 t-bird and coolermaster HS.
krazefinn
10-22-2001, 03:27 PM
An alcohol swab helps, but sometimes need acetone, like nail polish remover to get that "devils bubble gum" off cleanly.

Just use it judiciously, sure dont want to soak it or anything.
mondayz
10-22-2001, 08:28 PM
sounds about right. thanks amigo:)
kennedyb
10-30-2001, 10:54 PM
Doe you clean both the die and heatsink? What about putting thermal paste back on? What is the best way to do this? Thick or thin?
mondayz
10-31-2001, 09:08 AM
I couldn't get nail polish remover to budge that gum. So I used Goof-Off on heatsink and die and it dissolved instantly. I worried that something so strong might loosen the die from the chip so I blotted the q-tip before applying to the die and dried it quickly with some compressed air. Afterwards I applied Arctic SilverII as per instructions at arcticsilver.com. Everything appears to run OK so far. I read that a typical heatsink and die have only about 5 to 7 percent actual surface contact, hence the need for thermal interface material. Good Luck.
krazefinn
11-01-2001, 08:21 PM
Yeah, some types of nailpolish remover does not contain any or enough acetone. MEK also works, but as mentioned too much of a too strong solvent missaplied could create other problems.

Just like th thermal paste; too much is ineffective. Actually, a perfectly microscopically machined interface would conduct more efficiently than adding anything in the interface, but since that is near practically impossible even with proper lapping with progressively finer abrasives on a perfectly flat surface like float glass or a mirror, must use just a thin little layer. Believe the thinest possible works best, applied evenly without air pockets is the right way.