How can I clean the bottom of my CPU?

[breckenvail]

Hey guys I'm new to Tom's Hardware and I have an important question. I recently just took out my cpu and got a tiny bit of thermal paste on the bottom. I put it in a non static bag to deal with later. I'm wondering if I could use rubbing alcohol or something to get it off. It's covering about 1 socket. The CPU BTW is e8400. Thanks

 

[Liderc]

90% Alcohol and a q-tip should suffice. Just be gentle.

 

[rambo117]

man, ive done that before
it scared the crap out of me when i looked at the bottom of the cpu.
all i did was just put the cpu back in the socket and hoped for the best.
it ended up working just fine
well, maybe it was becuase i had an AMD althon(lolz)

 

[rangers]

i take it and run it under the hot tap and wipe it with a cloth then dry it with a bit of toilet paper, then leave it in a hot place all night to make sure its dry, as long as its dry it will be ok

 

[jerreece]

i take it and run it under the hot tap and wipe it with a cloth then dry it with a bit of toilet paper, then leave it in a hot place all night to make sure its dry, as long as its dry it will be ok

Gee can't get more smart alack than that, eh?

 

[rambo117]

for a minuite, i thought he was serious :lol:

 

[rangers]

Ive even taken a scrubbing brush to one, its really not a big deal

 

[jonpaul37]

just bring a fire hose to ur case with the side panel off, it's ok to keep in up and running while hosing it down, electricity and water are fine together, later on you can do your taxes while skiing, get back to me...