Question My 1st time un- and re-mounting of a CPU cooler heatsink - how to do it properly...?

[thomas81br]

Hi gentlemen

I have an old board with an X370 chipset, Ryzen 1700 in it (the first generation). I have bought and have sitting here for about a month (in a drawer) a new CPU that should go into this board after the bios upgrade - 5950x.

I have a scythe ninja 4 cooler. I have built about 3 pc's in my life, but I have NEVER taken the cooler off and put it back on again, I have never cleaned the CPU nor the base of air cooler from paste, etc. and so im a bit worried about the proper way to do it. I want to ask a few things:

1) Uninstalling the cooler (passive) - carefully with various movements (rotating, tilting a little, etc.) simply in all possible directions SLOWLY and carefully try to remove the passive from the CPU (in case the existing old paste has "hardened" too much). Avoid greater upward pressure so that I don't accidentally pull the "glued" CPU out of the socket with the passive...? Yes?

2) To "de-grease" the old (6 years) paste from the CPU and the base of the radiator passive, I bought Isopropyl alcohol. Is this ok/safe for the paste?

3) What to use to degrease the paste? Tissues? Toilet paper? Cotton swabs? A small microfiber towel? Any fabric (old cotton t-shirt cut up)? Or it doesnt matter/its all the same?I'm afraid of cotton and microfiber because of static electricity(?) (probably nonsense), I don't "want" paper tissues or cotton swabs to accidentally leave "pieces/fibers" on the CPU or elsewhere. What the best to use (what do YOU use ?)

4) When applying the new thermal paste (I have an Arctic MX-4 2019 Edition (4g) ) to the 5950x, use the standard procedure - a pea-sized drop in the middle of the CPU...? Is this still the best practice? The 5950x area seems quite large, so use a BIGGER droplet rather than just "pea size" right...? What about other application methods (X cross, 5 dot, etc...?)

5) Then simply push the cooler onto the processor with the paste as much as possible from above/vertically? Don't turn, don't "wobble" (don't let air bubbles appear), just lower it from above (onto the cpu) as vertically and evenly as possible. Correct?

And that's about it... or is there anything else I should be careful about when de-mounting and re-mounting the passive/heatsink of an AIR cooler (and cleaning and reapplying paste, etc. and all that goes with it)?

Thanks

 

[hotaru.hino]

Preparing
I would run the CPU under some stress test (like a Cinebench R23 run) or something to get it warmed up so the TIM should be more pliable and easier to separate from the CPU. This is especially the case if you have a TIM that works more or less by "melting" into place.

Cleaning up
Get some rubbing alcohol of 70% or higher concentration. Pour it on the old paste and let it sit for a few seconds before wiping it up.

To wipe it off, ideally you should use a lint-free cloth, which I like to use coffee filters for this. Otherwise paper towels work.

Applying new paste
For the Ryzen 5000 series, use an X pattern. This is because the Ryzen 5000 series have multiple dies and the X would provide the best coverage:

Installing the new cooler
I'd say lay the cooler on the part, but don't squeeze or push against it. Let the act of securing it in place do that for you. If your cooler is mounted with screws, make sure to do like one turn per screw in an X pattern until they're all at least finger tight.

Anything else?
Don't worry about spillage unless the TIM is electrically conductive, which most of them aren't. You can't apply too much paste because most of it will squeeze out anyway.

 

[Pistolpackin]

Hello!
Please see inline answers below.

Hi gentlemen

I have an old board with an X370 chipset, Ryzen 1700 in it (the first generation). I have bought and have sitting here for about a month (in a drawer) a new CPU that should go into this board after the bios upgrade - 5950x.

I have a scythe ninja 4 cooler. I have built about 3 pc's in my life, but I have NEVER taken the cooler off and put it back on again, I have never cleaned the CPU nor the base of air cooler from paste, etc. and so im a bit worried about the proper way to do it. I want to ask a few things:

1) Uninstalling the cooler (passive) - carefully with various movements (rotating, tilting a little, etc.) simply in all possible directions SLOWLY and carefully try to remove the passive from the CPU (in case the existing old paste has "hardened" too much). Avoid greater upward pressure so that I don't accidentally pull the "glued" CPU out of the socket with the passive...? Yes? >>> Yes, twisting it gently should allow you to eventually pull up without taking the cpu with you. But most mobos today have a metal bracket that locks the cpu in the socket. It's not like the old Athlon\Duron days where the ziff held the cpu pins in place. Now the cpu pins are on the mobo.

2) To "de-grease" the old (6 years) paste from the CPU and the base of the radiator passive, I bought Isopropyl alcohol. Is this ok/safe for the paste? >>> YES, use 90%.

3) What to use to degrease the paste? Tissues? Toilet paper? Cotton swabs? A small microfiber towel? Any fabric (old cotton t-shirt cut up)? Or it doesnt matter/its all the same?I'm afraid of cotton and microfiber because of static electricity(?) (probably nonsense), I don't "want" paper tissues or cotton swabs to accidentally leave "pieces/fibers" on the CPU or elsewhere. What the best to use (what do YOU use ?) >>> It depends on how old\solidified the old paste is. Use paper towels, nothing sharp to scrap off, just take your time. Just be careful and remove the fan\s obviously during cleaning.

4) When applying the new thermal paste (I have an Arctic MX-4 2019 Edition (4g) ) to the 5950x, use the standard procedure - a pea-sized drop in the middle of the CPU...? Is this still the best practice? The 5950x area seems quite large, so use a BIGGER droplet rather than just "pea size" right...? What about other application methods (X cross, 5 dot, etc...?)
>>>Centered pea size is the common method. Apply the bigger droplet to the center of the cpu die lid, then wrap a small piece of plastic around your index finger tip, and gently spread the paste to all areas. Remember, paste is needed to just fill micro gaps in cpu heatsink & cpu die lid. This method ensures the entire cpu die lid gets the thinnest paste possible. We want entire contact, without creating another thick paste thermal barrier.

5) Then simply push the cooler onto the processor with the paste as much as possible from above/vertically? Don't turn, don't "wobble" (don't let air bubbles appear), just lower it from above (onto the cpu) as vertically and evenly as possible. Correct? >>> Yes. I like to seat the sink on the cpu, then torque down the screws in cross intervals at a few turns per screw. If you proceed to turn one screw at a time, until it bottoms out, the heatsink my not sit\seat properly. Don't over tighten the screws, and you should be good.

And that's about it... or is there anything else I should be careful about when de-mounting and re-mounting the passive/heatsink of an AIR cooler (and cleaning and reapplying paste, etc. and all that goes with it)?

Thanks

 

[invisible007]

Can you please suggest which pattern I should use for the Intel Pentium Dual Core P6100 and Intel Core i5-4200M processor?

Applying new paste
For the Ryzen 5000 series, use an X pattern.