Noob question about gpu, thermal paste and acetone

[clidx]

I finally ordered a new gpu cooler since my stock cooler had rising temperatures everytime i turned my pc on (e.g. on ati tray tools 3d renderer sometimes temps would be 60 C and other times 80 C which i consider very hot for such a small 3d rendering task)

i've used acetone to remove thermal paste from my cpu before, but on my cpu there's a big, silver metal cover blocking the way to the cpu chip itself and the paste was on the metal cover but on my gpu, there's no protection around the gpu chip, just a black mini-cover in the middle (where the paste goes) and green thing around it (pcb i think the term is?)

anyway, is it safe to use the acetone on it or should i use something else like isopropyl?

Thanks

Edited September 30, 2007 by clidx

[puntoMX]

Just put the cooling paste on the small black hingy, called the core by the way , a thin film will be okay. To clean the pad or paste I use tinner and alcohol after that.

[clidx]

well i don't have to go through that since the paste is pre-applied on the s1

sorry if i wasn't clear but i was asking if it's safe to put acetone on the circuitry that's around the core. some people specifically state on other forums that when they use nail polish remover to take off thermal paste it's non acetone. i just want to know if putting acetone around the core is safe.

basically the green bit in this pic

thanks for the reply though

[Zxian]

Acetone is a pretty harsh chemical. Rubbing alcohol (70% or higher) should be fine for these kinds of cleaning jobs.

[clidx]

if i use as little as possible, will it be ok? i'll be using the swab to take off most of the paste and the acetone just to take off some dried up... goo

anyway, thanks for the info about the isopropyl, i'll get some of that if acetone isn't safe to use on the green circuit.

[puntoMX]

Never use it on the PCB, why would you any way?

[clidx]

i need to use maybe a drop because the thermal paste application by sapphire was frankly amateur (I'm not saying i could do better) and goop was seeping off into the pcb around the core.

looks like i have to look for something else

Thanks for all your help!

[Zxian]

Alcohol should be able to remove most of the goop left over. If not, gently try to loosen it with a finger nail (gently). Whatever's left over from that you can remove with alcohol.

[Stoic Joker]

The square-ish toothpicks (Most be gentile...) work rather well and are easier to control (smaller contact point) then ones fingernails.

They also work great for straightening the pins on a CPU, if you happen to have dropped one, not that I have...

[clidx]

would brandy work instead of isopropyl? or is it not pure enough?

it's just when i asked my parents if they had any isopropyl or rubbing alcohol, they didn't know what they were...

[puntoMX]

Nope, that will not work, that’s not aggressive enough besides contains sugar and other stuff that doesn’t clean but rather make your GPU/CPU dirty .

Do they have thinner?

[Zxian]

Paint Thinner is acetone - bad.

You should be able to pick up rubbing alcohol at any place where you'd buy basic first aid supplies. It's often used to disinfect wounds before putting on a bandage.

[puntoMX]

Paint Thinner is acetone - bad.

Just a part of it, but way less aggressive as nail polish remover for example...

[clidx]

Ok thanks guys, i'll look into getting isopropyl at my local chemist.

[ripken204]

Ok thanks guys, i'll look into getting isopropyl at my local chemist.

get the highest % of alchohol that you can, 90% or better. this will cause it to evaporate really fast.