Distilled water to clean cpu

[smokeygreen]

Hi i was just wondering if you can use distilled water to clean the thermal paste of my cpu. My plan was to use qtips with a bit of water on them to clean it off then a lnit free cloth to dry it and re apply thermal paste. Would this work and would i need to leave the cpu to dry before attempting to reapply the paste, or would a wipe with the cloth be enough.

 

[Danbuscus25]

you should use rubbing alcohol with a qtip if you have some, otherwise water should be ok BUT, make sure you are very carefull, and if this is a desktop cpu then just besure you dont touch the pins if your cpu has pins, if not then dont touch the contact pads. if this is a laptop cpu, make sure you dont touch the pins/pads, and dont get any alcohol/water on the little metal solders on the top if it has any.

 

[techgeek]

Use 99% isopropanol, you should be able to find it at any drug store. You don't want to use water, it takes a long time to dry, especially if it gets someplace that's not exposed. Also since most pastes aren't water based and use grease (usually silicone based), water on it's own doesn't remove it. Alcohol is a surfactant and will remove the paste cleanly.