Im having trouble finding pure isopropyl alcohol (can only find 70%), does anyone think I will notice much of a difference in performance vs something in the 90-99% range? I can order off the internet, but it would be nice to find something local instead. Thanks,

Scribs

Well, as long as you don't drink it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubbing_alcohol

Sure! "Wikied"!

Whatever concentration above 70% is good enough, for the purpose; however, since it contains water, I'd go for specific cleaning products, such as "Tim Clean", from Akasa.

(This was a very sui generis thread, indeed!)


Cheers!

Lower conc. alcohol just means you have to scrub it longer to get the gunk off that's all.

My instant TIM disolving solvent: mineral turpintine, aka. paint stripper
You can see the TIM melting away right before your eyes and then you just wipe the whole stuff away then buff the surface.

Scribbs,
I'm a Pharmacy Tech where I live, so I know about alcohol. There is NO difference which type of alcohol you use, because either one will do the job. It's the alcohol BASE content that removes the residual thermal paste..........the 99% alcohol will just evaporate quicker. If I were you, I would use the 70 % isopropyl stuff. That way, if you have to rub a bit to remove the leftover GUNK from the heat sink and cpu cover, it won't dry up right away.
Hope this helps

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Most all major drug stores in the USA carry 91% pure isopropyl alcohol. Use it, it's cheap and works like a dream. I've seen numerous concoctions recommended on this forum, many of them petroleum based. They should be avoided as they will leave a filmy residue that reduces the effectiveness of the thermal paste/compound.

Have you used vinegar as a final cleaning agent before putting on the thermal grease? Vinegar contains a reasonably high concentration of polar impurities, some that are non-volatile. So I'd expect it to leave residuals. Who knows, maybe a thin film of polar gunk is a good surface prep for a HS grease?

Wow. I haven't built my first system yet but I am going to before the end of the year if not the end of October. After reading this though why would the CPU need to be cleaned this efficently and what would be the best method to do so? I would think an out of the box CPU wouldn't need anything other then a light wipedown or are we talking about reusing a CPU or possibly changing a heatsink? If someone could help explain please let me know. I was just going to wipe the new CPU down with alcohol at best and that is only if the directions said so.

Have you used vinegar as a final cleaning agent before putting on the thermal grease? Vinegar contains a reasonably high concentration of polar impurities, some that are non-volatile. So I'd expect it to leave residuals. Who knows, maybe a thin film of polar gunk is a good surface prep for a HS grease?

No I haven't actually, I suggest it because acetic acid is good at removing oxidation from metal surfaces. Better than that is ascorbic acid, but I would not recommend orange juice on your CPU ....

For sure, unless your CPU has put in an order for a screwdriver. Regardless, an acid like acetic will react with an oxidized metal surface and in fact will cause some oxidation itself. But again it's possible that the residuals in vinegar could form a sort of passivating layer on the IHS. There are many different kinds/grades of vinegar that are made from various processes so one would expect different levels and chemistries of residuals. Grocery store vinegar is about 95% water. Check this out, particularly this:

"WHAT IS VINEGAR?
Vinegar comes from the bacterial oxidation of alcoholic drinks such as wine and cider, and the formation of ethanoic (acetic) acid gives vinegar its characteristic smell. However, ethanoic acid is by no means the only acid in vinegar. It is not even the most predominant acid - it is simply the one, which, owing to its volatility, makes its presence known! Many other acids are also present, such as tartaric, malic, lactic, citric and succinic acids. There are probably many more besides, but since these latter acids are non-volatile they have no smell, yet they still contribute to the overall acidity of the vinegar. You will need to look up the structures of these non-volatile acids."

Since vinegar is distilled, many of these other compounds are reduced or removed entirely but like most commodity natural products, it's far from pure.

I agree completely with that logic and have long thought that lapping the IHS can help lower CPU temps because of this. My last step before applying the bead of AS5 is to take a small amount of AS5 on a lint-free cloth, dilute it with ethanol and polish the IHS and HS surfaces. I might have to try a vinegar step right before the alcohol/AS5 step next time.

Edit: typo and grammar

The recommendations in this thread for sure apply to removing existing thermal grease, but also for a new CPU. Look at Jack's procedure above and the discussion of what is accomplished by the cleaning. You also might want to search out the benefits of polishing the IHS. I've seen it discussed on threads here on Toms and on other enthusiast sites but do not have the links stored on this laptop, only on my desktop back home.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic [...] ctions.htm

Well you could follow the advice and instructions posted by the "experts" here ( many of which sound like they are making a salad or preparing a vaginal douche) or you could simply follow the manufacturers directions posted above.

Call me crazy, but I actually think Arctic Silver knows what cleaning and application methods are the most effective. Unless you tried all these suggestions, with all combinations of CPU's and HSFs, and tested before and after results, how would you know which recommendation to use? BTW, note the consistent reference to isopropyl alcohol in the AS5 cleaning instructions.

Let the flaming begin!

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic [...] ctions.htm

Well you could follow the advice and instructions posted by the "experts" here ( many of which sound like they are making a salad or preparing a vaginal douche) or you could simply follow the manufacturers directions posted above.

Call me crazy, but I actually think Arctic Silver knows what cleaning and application methods are the most effective.

Let the flaming begin!
Luckily all the true expert builders here say to go with what's being described by Arctic Silver.

Well, there are two ways to take the word 'polishing'.
One is lapping to a high degree of flatness & smoothness then polishing it to make it look like a mirror, voiding the warranty in the process.
The virtually eliminate the need for thermal paste providing the two surfaces have been treated and requires the smoothest thermal paste on market (AS Ceramique) at minimal amount to achieve maximum conduction.

The other polishing is like wax polishing... a layer of insulation...

[EDITED]

Thanks for all the replies guys, Im glad to see this spawned such a fruitful discussion heh. I was figuring that 70% would maybe take a little more elbow grease, and possibly a little airflow to dry off fully, but that it wouldnt be too much worse.

On the topic of preparing a new HS/cpu, I think it also tends to depend on the HS too. Some HS come in a much smoother state than others. There are some that come with a real mirror finish, in which polishing probably would only muck it up (as they are better than you would probably do), while others come in a fairly smooth state (which might benefit from polishing). Unless you are super hardcore, I think maybe just a slight rub down with isopropyl alcohol for both the HS and CPU would do.

Also note however that some HS come with thermal paste pre-applied. In that case, if you dont have AS5 or something to replace it you should probably not remove it, and if you do have AS5 you definitly need to replace it.

Well, there are two ways to take the word 'polishing'.
One is lapping to a high degree of flatness & smoothness then polishing it to make it look like a mirror, voiding the warranty in the process.
The virtually eliminate the need for thermal paste providing the two surfaces have been treated and requires the smoothest thermal paste on market (AS Ceramique) at minimal amount to achieve maximum conduction.

That's the plan I like. Having been a professional metallographer, flatness and mirror finish are my mantra. Voiding warranties are part and parcel in our search for overclocking perfection. Om mani padme hom.

I have not used that one before! Thou shalt not wax thy heatsink (except HSs made by Maserati)!!!

Well then, here you have it, from Akasa to Cooler Master, from tooth paste to 'vegemite'.

http://www.dansdata.com/goop.htm

By the way, nice buddist mantra you've got there!


Cheers!

Hehe, crazy Dan. He writes for AtomicMPC and lives in the land of Aussie.
One of the people on my list, haven't mentioned him here for a long arse time... (kinda forgot about him... )

He's done a nice & funny job, that's for sure!


Cheers!

He's done a nice & funny job, that's for sure!


Cheers!
He pretty much knows just about anything to do with physics and technology!
The guy is a bloody freak!

Yeh, Dan Rutter(I call him Dan Nutter ), I met him when I started computing way back in 2000 when I haven't started overclocking.
He's more like a general 'knows everything too much' guy, but doesn't professionalise in overclocking like I do now.
He is more nutty than me and Crashman combined...