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I built my first computer and made a HUGE mistake.

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  • Computers
  • Thermal Compound
  • CPUs
  • Motherboards
  • AMD
Last response: in Motherboards
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March 20, 2014 9:42:21 PM

I built my first computer and made a HUGE mistake. I misunderstood where to put the thermal paste and I placed it (the whole tube) directly on the CPU pins. Is there any chance of saving my MB and CPU or are they pretty much toast at this point?

MB: MSI 970A-G43 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.1GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W 6-Core Desktop Processor FD6300WMHKBOX


More about : built computer made huge mistake

March 20, 2014 9:48:40 PM

As far as i know there is no easy way to take that paste off the pins without possibly damaging them :/  however someone else may know a way

I myself have never seen this
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a b V Motherboard
March 20, 2014 9:56:44 PM

take the cpu and put it in a container (dish) of isopropynol and let it soak.then carefully,and i mean carefully use a soft bristle brush to gently wipe the compound off of the pins.this could take a while.make sure not to bend the pins.once the compound is cleaned off let the cpu dry and install normally.relax,its not the end of the world.obviously you cant soak the motherboard but if you put some iso in a spray bomb and spritz it and use the tooth brush method you should be able to get it clean.
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a b à CPUs
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a b À AMD
March 20, 2014 10:00:12 PM

Soak the CPU in rubbing Alcohol that might take care of the past just be careful to not bend the pins. Soak it in the Alcohol and then use a soft Bristol toothbrush to remove the rest. Just do it slow and easy so as to not bend the pens.
The motherboard is another story but I would use the same thing use a toothbrush soaked in Alcohol and scrub the socket clean and let it dry before you even try to power it back up. If you do not bend the pins on the CPU you can salvage them both. Just be very careful with the pins they are very delicate and just trying to bend one back in place is enough to break one of them off.

Since you used the whole tube you are also going to need another tube of thermal past and apply it correctly to the "top" of the CPU this time and not the whole tub.
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March 20, 2014 10:20:01 PM

bryonhowley said:
Soak the CPU in rubbing Alcohol that might take care of the past just be careful to not bend the pins. Soak it in the Alcohol and then use a soft Bristol toothbrush to remove the rest. Just do it slow and easy so as to not bend the pens.
The motherboard is another story but I would use the same thing use a toothbrush soaked in Alcohol and scrub the socket clean and let it dry before you even try to power it back up. If you do not bend the pins on the CPU you can salvage them both. Just be very careful with the pins they are very delicate and just trying to bend one back in place is enough to break one of them off.

Since you used the whole tube you are also going to need another tube of thermal past and apply it correctly to the "top" of the CPU this time and not the whole tub.


Thanks, I will try the iso + toothbrush method. Also, the CPU seems to be stuck to the heat sink. Since I didn't have thermal paste in the right spot, is it somehow melted together? I turned it on and off many times trying to figure out why I couldn't get a video feed, but it was never on more than 5-10 minutes at a time and all of the fans were running.

Edit: I was able to get it off, there seems to be some adhesive or other paste there.

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March 20, 2014 10:28:13 PM

and, so you know, you only need a very small amount of thermal paste:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-heat-...

the last part of this is good information that you should read through about different application methods and their merits
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March 20, 2014 10:29:41 PM

Zack Teater said:
bryonhowley said:
Soak the CPU in rubbing Alcohol that might take care of the past just be careful to not bend the pins. Soak it in the Alcohol and then use a soft Bristol toothbrush to remove the rest. Just do it slow and easy so as to not bend the pens.
The motherboard is another story but I would use the same thing use a toothbrush soaked in Alcohol and scrub the socket clean and let it dry before you even try to power it back up. If you do not bend the pins on the CPU you can salvage them both. Just be very careful with the pins they are very delicate and just trying to bend one back in place is enough to break one of them off.

Since you used the whole tube you are also going to need another tube of thermal past and apply it correctly to the "top" of the CPU this time and not the whole tub.


Thanks, I will try the iso + toothbrush method. Also, the CPU seems to be stuck to the heat sink. Since I didn't have thermal paste in the right spot, is it somehow melted together? I turned it on and off many times trying to figure out why I couldn't get a video feed, but it was never on more than 5-10 minutes at a time and all of the fans were running.

Edit: I was able to get it off, there seems to be some adhesive or other paste there.



Stock heatsinks usually have some compound on them so you don't have to buy any...that may be what saved your CPU from frying
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March 20, 2014 10:46:01 PM

Yes, the FX-6300 comes with thermal paste already applied, now that you finally managed to get the thermal compound out of the CPU, is when you need to buy and apply a thermal paste, best of luck getting it fixed.
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March 20, 2014 10:55:06 PM

OMG you poor guy ,
good luck m8
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