[SOLVED] Bad vs no thermal paste? And possible removers?

[Ziadul87]

My PC:
Intel Core i3 6100 (Stock cooler)
1*8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2400
Gigabyte H110m-S2PV
Corsair VS450 (Grey Label)
Zotac GTX 1650 OC

I have real high temperatures on any types of load(95-100C). I haven't changed the thermal paste in 4 years. But I did remove the heatsink a couple of times.
I am guessing the the old thermal paste has alrready turned into cement and removing the heatsink CAUSED THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HEATSINK AND CPU to break, which is why I'm getting 100C after only 3-5 mins in games. Even in FARCRY 3!!!
I presently have no access to stores(no thermal paste nor thermal paste remover).
My questions are:

1. Should I keep the paste as it is? or should I remove it? (Then there'll be no pastes between the CPU and heatsink)
2. If I should remove it, what can I use? 90% alcohol is out of reach. So, can I make do with either nail-polish remover/glass cleaner/any other kind of cleaners/chemicals available at home?
3. And if cleaners are dangerous/unusable, will rubbing it off with dry/damp clothes help?
4. Only cheap thermal pastes are available online for now. They are around 25 cents!! Are these cheap pastes trustable? (They are no-name pastes.)
5. Would these temperature hurt my system too much? I.e: Should I discontinue all sorts of gaming/processing intensive tasks?

 

[CountMike]

My PC:
Intel Core i3 6100 (Stock cooler)
1*8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-2400
Gigabyte H110m-S2PV
Corsair VS450 (Grey Label)
Zotac GTX 1650 OC

I have real high temperatures on any types of load(95-100C). I haven't changed the thermal paste in 4 years. But I did remove the heatsink a couple of times.
I am guessing the the old thermal paste has alrready turned into cement and removing the heatsink CAUSED THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HEATSINK AND CPU to break, which is why I'm getting 100C after only 3-5 mins in games. Even in FARCRY 3!!!
I presently have no access to stores(no thermal paste nor thermal paste remover).
My questions are:

1. Should I keep the paste as it is? or should I remove it? (Then there'll be no pastes between the CPU and heatsink)
2. If I should remove it, what can I use? 90% alcohol is out of reach. So, can I make do with either nail-polish remover/glass cleaner/any other kind of cleaners/chemicals available at home?
3. And if cleaners are dangerous/unusable, will rubbing it off with dry/damp clothes help?
4. Only cheap thermal pastes are available online for now. They are around 25 cents!! Are these cheap pastes trustable? (They are no-name pastes.)
5. Would these temperature hurt my system too much? I.e: Should I discontinue all sorts of gaming/processing intensive tasks?

Even cheap paste is better than none, there's only few c difference between best and worst.
If it's dried out it may be worse than none. Paste is made with silicone so it needs a solvent rather than de-greaser Alcohol is good but if not concentrated it may leave some residue. Alcohol (ethyl, methyl, isoprpyl) is safe but you could also use some other solvent like nail polish remover (acetone), nitro lacquer paint remover etc. With all of them you need to just dampen paper towel or napkin just as much as it will not drip because it may dissolve insulation where it drips on. When it dries, make sure no lint is left on surfaces.
In real emergency I even dissolved dried out paste and spread it again, still better than nothing.
Paste is actually a suspension of very fine heat conducting particles in some kind of grease like substance to keep it in place.

 

[vMax]

Can you not get a hold of some MX-4 or the like? And even a cheap TIM will be better than nothing.

Hitting a 100 Degrees C in games and after only 3 minutes does not look good but throttling will kick in to protect the CPU. Still get even the cheap and cheerful TIM and that will hold you for some time...

 

[Ziadul87]

Even cheap paste is better than none, there's only few c difference between best and worst.
If it's dried out it may be worse than none. Paste is made with silicone so it needs a solvent rather than de-greaser Alcohol is good but if not concentrated it may leave some residue. Alcohol (ethyl, methyl, isoprpyl) is safe but you could also use some other solvent like nail polish remover (acetone), nitro lacquer paint remover etc. With all of them you need to just dampen paper towel or napkin just as much as it will not drip because it may dissolve insulation where it drips on. When it dries, make sure no lint is left on surfaces.
In real emergency I even dissolved dried out paste and spread it again, still better than nothing.
Paste is actually a suspension of very fine heat conducting particles in some kind of grease like substance to keep it in place.

Then dry cloth + nail polish remover? or should I dampen the cloth before adding nail polish remover?
And I've also seen someone using vinegar. Would vinegar also be useful?

 

[Ziadul87]

Can you not get a hold of some MX-4 or the like? And even a cheap TIM will be better than nothing.

Hitting a 100 Degrees C in games and after only 3 minutes does not look good but throttling will kick in to protect the CPU. Still get even the cheap and cheerful TIM and that will hold you for some time...

I would love to use MX-4 but the only thermal paste from known brand is this one:
https://www.ryanscomputers.com/detail/thermaltake-tg-7-thermal-grease-cl-o004-grosgm-a
The others are no name pastes

 

[vMax]

The Thermaltake TG 7 is actually quiet good and will more than do the job...There is such a small difference between the cooling performance as to really make no difference.

I would love to use MX-4 but the only thermal paste from known brand is this one:
https://www.ryanscomputers.com/detail/thermaltake-tg-7-thermal-grease-cl-o004-grosgm-a
The others are no name pastes

 

[Ziadul87]

The Thermaltake TG 7 is actually quiet good and will more than do the job...There is such a small difference between the cooling performance as to really make no difference.

Then all I need now is a way to remove the present paste

 

[vMax]

Shouldn't really be an issue, just use some rubbing alcohol/Acetone etc.. on a cloth and it should come off with some work, use an old plastic card to remove if it is hard...Nail Polish remover will do as well.

Then all I need now is a way to remove the present paste

 

[Ziadul87]

Shouldn't really be an issue, just use some rubbing alcohol/Acetone etc.. on a cloth and it should come off with some work, use an old plastic card to remove if it is hard...Nail Polish remover will do as well.

After applying the thermaltake paste once, can I re-use it from the tube a year later? Or do I have to buy another one?

 

[vMax]

Absolutely....I have used a two year old MX-4 TIM with no issues...Just make sure the lid is put back on properly so it is sealed up..

After applying the thermaltake paste once, can I re-use it from the tube a year later? Or do I have to buy another one?

 

[Ziadul87]

Thanks everyone for the help. Really appreciate it.

 

[Ziadul87]

https://www.daraz.com.bd/products/a...0e.searchlist.list.11.664c3ec6x0Z48H&search=1
Will these do? They say 70% Isopropyl alcohol.
And also, will the pads leave lint/residue?

 

[CountMike]

https://www.daraz.com.bd/products/a...0e.searchlist.list.11.664c3ec6x0Z48H&search=1
Will these do? They say 70% Isopropyl alcohol.
And also, will the pads leave lint/residue?

I doubt there's enough alcohol in those pads to do much good, those are for injections and wound cleaning.
Most lint free are coffee filters. You must have a mother, sister or girlfriend that uses nail polish, only few drops are needed.

 

[Ziadul87]

I doubt there's enough alcohol in those pads to do much good, those are for injections and wound cleaning.
Most lint free are coffee filters. You must have a mother, sister or girlfriend that uses nail polish, only few drops are needed.

Only a mother who never uses nail polish XD. Gotta get some from neighbors then.

 

[Ziadul87]

I used nail polish remover on my heatsink. Got this far. But no matter how much I try, I can't get the gray surface out. Or is it enough?

https://imgur.com/a/i2yohlq

View: https://imgur.com/gallery/i2yohlq

 

[CountMike]

I used nail polish remover on my heatsink. Got this far. But no matter how much I try, I can't get the gray surface out. Or is it enough?

https://imgur.com/a/i2yohlq

View: https://imgur.com/gallery/i2yohlq

Looks like those are scratches, some fine (600-900 grit) sandpaper should remove them but they are not bad problem.

 

[Ziadul87]

Looks like those are scratches, some fine (600-900 grit) sandpaper should remove them but they are not bad problem.

Thanks. I used the thermal paste and temperature dropped to max 80c while gaming. I hope it'll drop further about a week later.

 

[CountMike]

Thanks. I used the thermal paste and temperature dropped to max 80c while gaming. I hope it'll drop further about a week later.

Yes. some pastes need some time to set.

 

[Ziadul87]

Applying the thermal paste to your CPU is extremely important.
However, another critical factor is the quality of the paste. The thermal paste helps with the proper conduction of heat flowing from the CPU to the cooling system. The better the quality of the thermal paste, the better the conduction. Therefore your CPU will last longer.
Nowadays, most processors come with the factory-applied thermal paste, so you won’t have to add any of your own. The biggest mistake, though, is when people who used their CPU’s more than three years forget to renew their thermal paste, and they start seeing these high temperatures and low performances.

So Yea PLEASE use thermal paste!
Here you can find a full guide for thermal pastes in general ,it helped me find the proper paste for my Ryzen.

Ultimate Guide For Best Thermal Paste 2020 | PCAviso

We explain how important is thermal paste, how long does thermal paste last, how to clean thermal paste and what's the best thermal paste to use.

pcaviso.com

This thread is too old and also marked as solved. 😅
I applied the thermal paste about a couple of months ago. Anyway, thanks.