Tom's Hardware > Forum > Overclocking > Cooler and Heatsinks > [Solved] Reinstall an unused CPU cooler 1 day later with no change to thermal?

[Solved] Reinstall an unused CPU cooler 1 day later with no change to thermal?

Forum Overclocking : Cooler and Heatsinks - [Solved] Reinstall an unused CPU cooler 1 day later with no change to thermal?

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Best answer from outlw6669.

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Choralone   09-30-2009 at 11:26:44 AM

I'm building a new rig - 1st time in years. Anyway, count me as one who got fooled by Cooler Master: I installed their V8 processor cooler upside down by following their erroneous illustration.

What I want to know is, can I just flip it around the right way without cleaning off the thermal compound and re-adding more? I would be doing this one day after the initial install, and I haven't powered the thing up yet.

Thanks for the help.

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Best answer from outlw6669
Yeah, I was wondering the same thing.
What do you mean when you say it was installed upside down.

I disagree zip.
The CPU and Hs will need to have the thermal paste cleaned off and reinstalled regardless of having been heated up.
Reason being, when you remove the heat sink it is going to leave an uneven covering of TIM on both surfaces.
Upon reassembling, this uneven covering can trap air bubbles that will act as an insulator between the CPU and Hs.

Use some acetone based nail polish cleaner or isopropyl alcohol (the higher percentage the better) and unused coffee filters to clean off the old TIM.
As you only need to use a small pea sized dot of TIM, you should still have plenty left over from the initial install.
Do not worry to much about getting a different TIM, it will not make to much of a difference (at most 2-3°c).
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zipzoomflyhigh   09-30-2009 at 02:12:00 PM

I'm not sure how you could install upside down, the contact for the cpu that has the thermal paste on it is only on 1 side.

If the thermal paste is untouched, then of course you can use it. If the thermal paste has made contact with the cpu and has been heated up, then you need to clean it off and reapply new. I recommend TX-2.

Reply to zipzoomflyhigh
outlw6669   09-30-2009 at 02:21:08 PM
Best answer

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing.
What do you mean when you say it was installed upside down.

I disagree zip.
The CPU and Hs will need to have the thermal paste cleaned off and reinstalled regardless of having been heated up.
Reason being, when you remove the heat sink it is going to leave an uneven covering of TIM on both surfaces.
Upon reassembling, this uneven covering can trap air bubbles that will act as an insulator between the CPU and Hs.

Use some acetone based nail polish cleaner or isopropyl alcohol (the higher percentage the better) and unused coffee filters to clean off the old TIM.
As you only need to use a small pea sized dot of TIM, you should still have plenty left over from the initial install.
Do not worry to much about getting a different TIM, it will not make to much of a difference (at most 2-3°c).

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 Reply to outlw6669
Choralone   09-30-2009 at 09:01:10 PM

Ah thanks. I figured air bubbles would be the issue. I was just tired and cranky last night and grasping at any straws that would reduce the work ahead of me.

By upside down, I meant that the cooler is installed so that the fan is blowing the wrong way - inside the case instead of towards the vent. The illustration in the instructions is incorrect - if you mount it based on how the V8 logo is oriented in the illustration like I did, you'll need to rotate it 180 degrees.

Thanks again.

Reply to Choralone
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