Do I also have to clean out the thermal paste that spilled over to the sides...

of the CPU because the person who put it there put too much?

Also, do I have to remove ALL of it? There is a tiny bit of reside that simply refuses to leave...

yes but be gentle about it

yes but be gentle about it

ionusX

whatever you do , don't eat it it's poisonousevildead6789

Also, what is the absolute worst that could happen if I use new thermal paste with just a little residue left from the old one?

[QUOTE="evildead6789"]whatever you do , don't eat it it's poisonousXeros606

Contact a mortician.. ):

[QUOTE="evildead6789"]whatever you do , don't eat it it's poisonousXeros606

Also, what is the absolute worst that could happen if I use new thermal paste with just a little residue left from the old one?

Nothing, scrape it off be carefull that you don't damage any parts, you can use something wet but you will have to wait till the motherboard is dry before you power it on.

Some coolign pastes guide electricity , others don't , if you don't know what cooling paste you have used it's better that it's all gone and just put a little bit in the middle so that it covers a part of the cpu. Make sure it doesn't overflow so you don't have the same problem. The cpu doesn't need to be covered completely with cooling paste. You don't need much.

Greetz

Don't eat it

and no it doesn't matter if you use another type of cooling paste on top of the other, if its dry you'd just better wipe it off a little so that it guides well.

If the paste is spilling over the sides you've applied it incorrectly. Too much paste will result in poor cooling, which can lead to overheating, reduce overlock potential, possible CPU shutdown, etc.

The best thing to do is remove the cooler, clean both the bottom of the cooler and the CPU of all thermal paste, and reapply it properly. If you're a little unsure about applying thermal paste, you can use Arctic Silver's guides, which are really good. A quick Google will give you a ton of guides to applying thermal grease.

Good luck!

Boz

If the paste is spilling over the sides you've applied it incorrectly. Too much paste will result in poor cooling, which can lead to overheating, reduce overlock potential, possible CPU shutdown, etc.

The best thing to do is remove the cooler, clean both the bottom of the cooler and the CPU of all thermal paste, and reapply it properly. If you're a little unsure about applying thermal paste, you can use Arctic Silver's guides, which are really good. A quick Google will give you a ton of guides to applying thermal grease.

Good luck!

Boz

Bozanimal

Thank you for the link to the guides. I'll go about applying thermal paste differently next time. What's the best way to clean off the thermal paste from the CPU? Can you even do that? I usually use rubbing alcohol to remove the thermal paste from the heatsink.

Edit: My temps on stock cooler @ 3.6Ghz was hovering around 40 degrees C idle. With the CM Hyper 212+, @ 3.6Ghz, it's hovering at 26 degrees C idle. I say, that's pretty good.

You usually would clean it with quetips dabbed in some rubbing alcohol.sSubZerOo

[QUOTE="sSubZerOo"]You usually would clean it with quetips dabbed in some rubbing alcohol.Elann2008

The top isn't that sensitive but still be gentle lol. The thing you have to watch out the most for is notbreaking any of the pins, they can be plied but if one breaks fun's over.

[QUOTE="Elann2008"][QUOTE="sSubZerOo"]You usually would clean it with quetips dabbed in some rubbing alcohol.evildead6789

The top isn't that sensitive but still be gentle lol. The thing you have to watch out the most for is notbreaking any of the pins, they can be plied but if one breaks fun's over.

[QUOTE="evildead6789"]

[QUOTE="Elann2008"] On the CPU is okay? I usually never clean the CPU. I'm paranoid about it. I just clean the heatsink cap. :P Is it okay to do that?Elann2008

The top isn't that sensitive but still be gentle lol. The thing you have to watch out the most for is notbreaking any of the pins, they can be plied but if one breaks fun's over.

If you clean it while it is in his socket you can't break the pins, beside applying a little pressure isn't bad, what do you think the cooler does. It's pressed on extremely tight , the cpu can take it don't worry.

I just use tissue paper with isopropyl. Been working well for me so far, and it's a lot more cost-effective than using a ton of Q-tips :P

Wait, did you get thermal paste on the pins of the CPU? If so you've got to clean that off.

Just take it all apart and use rubbing alcohol and Q-tips to clean everything. Use compressed air to make sure any fibers from the Q-Tip are removed from the ICs (integrated circuits) of the motherboard and CPU components.

When in doubt, clean it out. It makes sense because it rhymes. :P

Good luck,

Boz

I only use Isopropyl alcohol and garage wipes, they are sort of like tissues but don't really leave residue. I don't like using q-tips because they leave that cotton residue all over.