OMG I've put in the whole tube of thermal paste and it all squished onto the sockers

[Ripper3]

Water can only kill components if there's power going through them, so I don't see why this can't work.
More ballsy than washing in isopropyl alcohol, but possibly more effective than washing by hand.
I'd recommend washing with distilled water afterward. Probably best, so you can make sure nothing harmful is left behind.

 

[HookeyStreet]

:Q:confused;

Please help, I found out too late that I've put into much thermal paste on the cpu and it has all leaked underneath. The components are spanking new. Does that mean it's all gone? When I turned on the power, the led light was on, but there was a non stop beeping sound which I take it is that my CPU is too hot or something. I had in on for seconds - but several times before googling to find out what was wrong. When I lifted the cpu, the thermal paste was still wet and gooey. What's more I used the whole tube. I was so looking to see how my fantastic config would roar (64 x 2, 6000 with SATAII RAid 0+1). Now I am stuck with OMG what have I done now. I could even smell a slight something. Help help.

Did you really use a whole tube of thermal paste? Why didnt you look on the internet for a guide on how much to use, or better still come on here and ask?

I cant offer any other cleaning tips (the guys on here have already told you what to do) but I hope you do get it all cleaned off and your parts arent f*cked!

If they are dead, just give them a good clean and try to blag an RMA

 

[Black Panther]

This'd be a winner in this thread - http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=15303


And I'm hesitating re-seating my zalman (cpu idles 10 degrees above ambient) for fear that I might make it worse...

 

[GJSNeptune]

And I'm hesitating re-seating my zalman (cpu idles 10 degrees above ambient) for fear that I might make it worse...

Okay?

 

[Black Panther]

Okay?

Okay what? The temperature?

 

[GJSNeptune]

Okay what? The temperature?

Okay, as in, why are you posting about your heatsink?

 

[W1zzard]

another idea is to use your showerhead and point it at the thermal paste to flush it away. this is untested, if you try it let us know of your results

 

[Black Panther]

Okay, as in, why are you posting about your heatsink?

Oh it was just a way of 'courage' comparison - I've been reading for days on correct methods on how to remove, clean, apply tm and install heatsinks and am still hesitating for fear I might miss out something and make things worse. And then this poor guy confidently did it all obviously without reading any instructions...

 

[GJSNeptune]

Quite easy. Remove it, clean with Isopropyl and something lint-free, spread a very little amount of thermal grease, scrape off excess. Put a small bead on the CPU IHS, install heatsink, good to go.

I suppose it depends on the heatsink, but generally there isn't much to mess up other than using too much thermal compound.

 

[HookeyStreet]

another idea is to use your showerhead and point it at the thermal paste to flush it away. this is untested, if you try it let us know of your results

LOL W1zzard is looking for a guinea pig

 

[GJSNeptune]

Assuming he has a detachable shower head.

 

[World Citizen]

gooey horror show

 

[GJSNeptune]

Pics! Yay!

 

[GJSNeptune]

Well, they could be bigger.

 

[World Citizen]

let me try again with the pics

 

[Black Panther]

If you save them as a jpg or jpeg file you can post much larger photos. Copy original photos in Paint then 'save as' jpg.... Resize using stretch/skew if you can't upload them.

 

[HookeyStreet]

For some reason, the words OMFG spring to mind!

 

[keakar]

all a dishwasher does is use hot water under pressure to blast off contaminents. it works just as good in the sink with the sprayer and hot water with less drying time needed after.

have any of you dishwasher fans thought to read whats in thermal paste? they have very unhealthy ingredients in them, you dont want even the residue to be getting on your dishes.

not a food item for sure and you risk transfering chemical residue to your dishes.

anyone trying the dishwasher method should run the dishwasher empty after to FLUSH any residue away for safety.

 

[keakar]

use vacum cleaner to suck as much off of the mobo as you can, but to be honest it may be beyond help if it is under the socket.

the cpu is cleanable but will take time and patience. start with good electrical parts cleaner to blast it clean, then be very gentle not to damage pins while cleaning the surface with iso alcohol.

once you cleaned the mobo as best you can then blast out the socket with the electrical cleaner and hope for the best when you turn it on. i would pop the cpu in and lock it then take it out again a few times to see if any pins get dirty from leftover paste. once you are sure its all clean then it is ready to go.

 

[Dano 00TA]

Well, this is a "do at your own risk" solution When I pulled a mb/cpu out of my Vapochill of course the socket was filled with paste and all I did was clean it with a can of carburator cleaner. Used the little tube that comes with it and blasted all the grease from the socket, then I dried it with compressed air, and let it sit for a couple hours. Worked fine for me.

 

[bigboi86]

That's that white silicone based thermal paste isn't it? Hell, you could probably wipe the thing down and it might still work without rinsing. I don't think that stock stuff is conductive or capacitive(someone correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[World Citizen]

Here they - as for the demerit, only if I get a trophy the size of my mistake. as for shooting myself - here's the wisdom for the day, death is a certainty, you may as well go laughing (that is only after shooting yourself).

 

[keakar]

Wouldn't it be safer to "wash" it in Isopropyl?

If you have the balls to put your motherboard in your dishwasher and actually run it, let the board dry for like...a week.

isopropyl will dissolve the film coating of printed circuit boards, a quick application will leave them tacky but to do more will dissolve it. only use it for cpu or heatsinks.

 

[World Citizen]

tah tah tah

 

[Jimmy 2004]

If it's silicon based at least you won't have shorted the CPU... if it's a conductive paste and you've turned on your PC, well good luck!