is 50% isopropyl alcohol ok for removing thermal paste?

[Derick135]

I went to my local drugstore and they only have a 50% iso alcohol. So I was wondering if its ok to use this or is there another way to clean off the thermal paste for my cpu?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

It's 50% good

It's 50% good stuff and 50% who knows.

As for other ways, I use Indigo Extreme Cleaner but if not handy, I will use 97% IA ... it's not the water that you worry about, it's what's in the water.

 

[spentshells]

Do not use 50% just check walmart or something, the other 50% is water or parts of water, 98% is generally used as it evaporates quickly.

 

[Dugimodo]

It ought to work ok.
Sometimes a paper towel is good enough, depends on the paste.

 

[spentshells]

Yeah I agree, preferably that industrial style brown paper towel which is quite fibrous and produces little in the way of lint.

Lint and residue are best avoided and can cause warm spots.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

I have 90%. Would that be alright spentshells?

 

[spentshells]

I have 90%. Would that be alright spentshells?

After 5 mins of thinking I would use the 50% myself or simply use straight brown paper towel.

So yeah 90 would be fine, Im pretty sure I was just being prissy.

 

[timeconsumer]

50% is fine. The rest is distilled water. You just need to try harder to dry it off. Which isn't that hard really. Paper towels, or a cotton ball or camera lens cleaning cloths are all fine ways to dry them. You can even let it sit and evaporate off.

 

[Derick135]

So coffee filter and 50% iso enough to clean the thermal paste on my cpu? I would rather spend the extra money on the artic silver 5 paste when I order a new heatsink for my cpu.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

As for the alcohol when low %, it's the water and what's in the water that is a concern. Even when "purified", and most times it's not, that doesn't mean that soluble minerals are removed and other ingredients are often included.

That's water, not distilled water, plain ole water in the 2nd one.

Again, I use indigo extreme cleaner (last $6 bottle has gotten me thru about 50 blocks, heat sinks, VRMS, etc so far and bottle is less than 1/4 gone) and foam swabs to clean CPUs, GPUs, VRMs and memory chips before installing heatsinks, water blocks, etc. before the application of TIM or thermal pads even when new and no TIM has ever been applied. Oils from handling (fingers) are a bad thing.

But is I don't have my PC toolbox with me, I'll look for 99% or 97%. I wouldn't say 90% is wrong ... some people are satisfied with a GTX 950, some only a 980 Ti (or 2) will do. It's simply a cost benefit analysis tho the cost is not all that much

With 70% at $2.18, and 99% at $2.99, I can't se eit being much concern. Amazon has 99% for $6, 70% for $5.50.

Walmart has a quart of 91% for $2.58, pint of 99% for $3.11

Might even want to try these, if ya OK with 70% ... do 10 CPUs for a buck

http://first-aid-product.com/first-aid-supplies/antiseptic-ointment/isopropyl-alcohol/alcohol-cleansing-pad-10-per-box.html

In short, we're talking pennies between 99% and 50%.


I don't recommend Artic Silver.

1. It's pricier than other alternatives.

2. It's capacative:

http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)

3. It takes 200 hours of heat cycling to cure. Cycling is not equivalent to usage. Even if you go by usage, at 30 hours a week, that's 7 weeks

Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.

Why pay more, risk the capacatance issues and wait 7 weeks to tune in your OCs when cheaper products w/o these issues are available ?

http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=12

Gelid GC-Extreme (0) Aluminum Oxide Low / Thin 37.65°C A+
Thermaltake Grease A2150 (4) Polysynthetic Silver Low / Thin 37.65°C A+
Arctic Silver 5 Polysynthetic Thermal Compound (4) Polysynthetic Silver Low / Thin 37.55°C A+
Shin-Etsu MicroSi G751 (0) Aluminum Oxide Moderate 37.55°C A+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080

Note that most TIMs sold for the PC industry are OEM's from large chemical suppliers like Dow Chemical, Dupont, Shin Etsu or others.

 

[timeconsumer]

I've used a few different ones. I haven't noticed much of a difference between any of them.

My favorite is the pre-applied paste that comes on stock coolers because it requires zero effort! Also, depending on what heatsink you order it might come with a tube of paste, I know the Cryorig ones do.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

By "notice a difference", how is it being looked at ? Overclocking ? Measuring and comparing temps on identical system ?

There differences not only in performance but in workability and longevity. I prefer to use Shin Etsu on CPUs but on GPUs for water block mounting where I'm applying TIM to maybe a dozen chips, and on both sides of a thermal pad I use Gelid Extreme. The reason is Gelid is more viscous and can be left open to air for a longer time.

In the 80-way test that starts here:

http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=12

You're looking at a range from a Delta T of about 5C from best to worst. Not an issue if you're shotting for 4.2 GHz at 1.2 V (1.33v under AVX) but a significant concern if shooting for 4.8 GHz at 1.37v (1.5v under AVX)

 

[turkey3_scratch]

So how do I go about applying my 90%? Do I put some on my finger and rub? And what if water is the other 10%? Could that be fatal?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Well if you apply water, what minerals or other items are dissolved in that water ? Ever see those diswasher pellet commercials where the housewife is cringing over spots on her glassware, those spots are from minerals and other resides in tap water. Trace amounts of iron, manganese, calcium etc are all found in tap water and these things are good for you.... look at a daily vitamin bottle and a lot of the elements found there can be found in tap water.

Obviously, you want to take the CPU out of it's socket, as an alcohol spill on the MoBo wouldn't be good. I use foam swabs

http://www.harmonycr.com/Foam-Tipped-Swabs-s/233.htm?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=CR-Swabs-Material&utm_term=Foam%20Swabs&utm_content=Swabs%20Foam%20Swabs

But any material that doesn't "shed" is fine. Alcohol wipes work very well but make sure they contain no moisturizers of other stuff that will leave a residue. Coffee filters work.... Those plastic dish scrubber pads or even a plastic spatula are good when the TIM has hardened.

 

[nikoli707]

you will not find anything higher than 91% in a regular store. only a medical supply store will have 99%. some hydroponic shops also have 99% for thc extraction. 99% is going to cost quite a bit. just get a $2 bottle of 91%. and use a coffee filter to wipe. the cpu... not your butt, 😛

the other 9% is distilled water with likely less than 20 parts per million dissolved solids.

modern tim/paste does not cure... it hot/cold cycles and moves. the cpu heat spreader and the bottom of the cpu cooler stretch and contract at different rates relative to the rise and fall of temperature. this causes them to sheer against each other on the microscopic level.. think of an earthquake fault slipping left and right on a large scale. as they sheer they molecules move and fall into the microscopic valleys and pits replacing the air(bad heat conductor) with the tim/paste(excellent heat conductor). there is no "curing". it just takes time(read 200 hours above) for the stretch and contract processes to full spread out the tim/paste.