Qtips and alcohol to clean CPU - stray fibers?

[tempstar]

I cleaned my processor (Core i5) and heat sink with some q-tips dipped in 99% isopropyl alcohol. I waited for everything to dry, then reapplied thermal compound and reassembled the PC. Everything seems to be working well, and the PC is running within normal temps (60C under full load).

I read somewhere that the fibers from the fibers from the qtips could cause problems. Now I am worried that I may have damaged something from using the qtips.

Do I need to worry about stray fibers from the qtips damaging my PC? My PC seems to be working fine...

 

[tempstar]

Sorry for the duplicate posts. Forum said that the post did not work the first time.

 

[garyhope]

"Almost pure cellulose, soft and "breathable", cotton fibres vary in length from 1 to 6.5 cm, with a diameter of 11-22 microns.

"1 micron is .001mm. "

Did you see any fibres left on top of the CPU? Did you blow off any dust or visable fibres after cleaning with the alcohol? You're probably safe. The fibres are very small and the thermal solution will fill any gaps. Do you think you got a good seal with the thermal solution and have the heat sink clamped down evenly and firmly? I doubt if the clearances are that critical what with the thermal solution filling in the gaps. As long as you didn't leave big lumps of almost microscopic fibres, you're probably OK. Is it working, is it cooling, do you know your temps?

 

[jedimasterben]

You haven't damaged anything. I use them all the time and have NEVER had any problems. Just look at it before you put the thermal paste on. If you see any fibers, just blow them off with a soft breath. Even if you didn't, they are so small that there would be no measurable difference.

So, you're fine. Just sit back and enjoy the CPU.

 

[christop]

No damage I use paper towel to wipe off my chips. Never hurt anything.