CPU + Artic Silver = Mistake!!!

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Butterball

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CPU + Artic silver = BAD!!!

well i just got my new complete water cooling kit so i tested it out for a couple of days to see if it was water tight then i installed it last night. so far so good. however it came with a thing of Artic Silver II thermal compund. i have never used it before but what the hey. so i put a small bit on the pros. core and some went on the chip at the time i wasnt to worried until it wouldnt POSt the i realized it was shorting the bridges on my chip out so i sat with alcohal wipes and cleaned the best i could but there is still a cloudly look to it and it is shorting still any ideas on how to clear it off?
:dead: :dead: :dead:
 
First of all, compoud should only be applied on the CPU CORE, NOT on the rest (for reasons you just discoverd).

If you want to clean it, use a dry tissue and finish it with isopropanol.
 
It is the compound and I didn't mean to get it on there and I tried the alcohol there is still a very light coat that looks cloudy so I think I need to a new processor.:mad:
 
Use some electric cleaning spray, i.e. something that doesn't contains oil like WD-40 or 5-56 does.

Then just spray on the chip untill all AS is removed, yes literally drown the CPU...
 
read the link

read the link
ONLY Arctic Silver II should be between the processor core and the heatsink.
CPU Core:
Use isopropyl alcohol or acetone (nail polish remover) and a bit of careful rubbing.
(If you use acetone, do a final cleaning with isopropyl alcohol.)

Clean the mating surfaces completely with a low residual solvent (High-purity isopropyl alcohol or acetone will work) and a LINT FREE cloth. (i.e. lens cleaning cloth) If another thermal compound has previously been applied to the heatsink, the mounting surface should be thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned with a xylene based cleaner, (Goof Off and some carburetor cleaners) acetone, MEK, mineral spirits, or 99% pure isopropyl alcohol. It is important to keep the surfaces free of foreign materials and NOT to touch the surfaces (a hair, piece of lint, and even dead skin cells can significantly affect the thermal interfaces performance, especially on modern small core CPUs as the surface area is already severely limited). In addition, oils from your fingers can adversely affect the performance by preventing the micronized silver fill from directly contacting the metal surface. (Fingerprints can be as thick as 0.005")
Never use any oil or petroleum based cleaners (WD-40, citrus based cleaners and many automotive degreasers) on the base of a heatsink. The oil, which is engineered to not evaporate, will fill in the microscopic valleys in the metal and significantly reduce the effectiveness of any subsequently applied thermal compound.
 
well i soaked it in isopropyl alcohol like you said and got it completely cleaned off and the chip still dies. my onboard diagnostic for my MB says that the CPU is either improperly mount (it isnt) or is a bad chip. so i am thinking i have a very expensive keychain if anyone wants it they can have it for $15:blackeye:
 
You didn't broke your CPU by swithing the sink on and off? Are the corners of the die (shiny thing where AMD is noted on) broken (as not NOT SHARP)?

Bad chip is possible, but not probable. Knowing AMD has become very tight on warranty, you'll have to be very sure you didn't brake it (and yes, they can tell...:p)
 
Originally posted by Butterball
well i soaked it in isopropyl alcohol
SOAKED IT?! :rolleyes:
if you submerged it, you might have ruined it. Alcohol will evaporate. Allow to dry throughtly.
 
no i didnt break the chip the core (AKA die) or any of that the chip looks fine on a visual inspection but it does not work i am worried that when i tried to start is with traces of the AC II on it it shorted out and destroyed important circuits (arent they all)
 
sound like you killed it, but its worth trying to clean it again, allow it to dry completely (can go in a 200ºf (or less) oven for an hour) then seat it carefully, and try it.
Might just be the cost of experince, next time use the thiness possible coat of compound, only on the top of the core.
good luck
 
if you manage to clean it up properly and there are no external signs of you messing the chip up then i would think you have a decent chance of a refund/new chip. don't give up on it though. if you don't fancy using an oven then just crank out a hairdryer and give it a good once over :)

SamJ
 
well do i have a story to tell. so i cleaned that pross. like none other and got it spotless so i put it back in the board and nothing. so i test it out in my buddies board and it worked just fine (not over clocked due to unshorting l1) so then i thought, " Oh heck, " it must be the board that is fried due to shorting of the chip (it does happen) so as i was tearing it apart to see if i could pass it off as defective

i noticed two of the mounting screw that are used to ground the board where almost falling out and making no contact with the board. so i screwed them in and reattached my diag. tool and started it and it posted fine. but since it wasnt hooked to important things like HHD, FD, CD ROM, Video card i still was sure so i put it all back together and low and behold it worked just fine

so... the moral of this story always look at the extream details before trying to pass a board you break as a defective one


(*edited by mod)
 
Originally posted by Butterball
well do i have a story to tell. so i cleaned that pross. like none other and got it spotless so i put it back in the board and nothing. so i test it out in my buddies board and it worked just fine (not over clocked due to unshorting l1) so then i thought, " Oh heck, " it must be the board that is fried due to shorting of the chip (it does happen) so as i was tearing it apart to see if i could pass it off as defective

i noticed two of the mounting screw that are used to ground the board where almost falling out and making no contact with the board. so i screwed them in and reattached my diag. tool and started it and it posted fine. but since it wasnt hooked to important things like HHD, FD, CD ROM, Video card i still was sure so i put it all back together and low and behold it worked just fine

so... the moral of this story always look at the extream details before trying to pass a board you break as a defective one


(*edited by mod)

Glad to hear that, u didn't burn ur cpu and mtb! Up fr u man! Btw, what mhz were u able to achieve using watercooling? Cheers!
 
Clean with isopropyl alcohol and then spray with som electrical contact cleaner.

Probably isn't fried just needs some TLC :)
 
Well, thats a great ending to the story. I had the same issue with an ASUS CUSL2 board awhile back. I installed everything and it would not boot. I sent it back to the merchant, they tested it and said it was fine so they sent it back to me. Still didnt work so I read through some emails from the merchant and what did i find? Them asking me if I had properly mounted the board. I shrugged it off at first but then I thought about it..Hmm, maybe I need to use every screw hole. I tried that and it worked great. Moral of the story, read the instructions and never cut any corners. Make sure your install is 100% complete before the first boot up.
 
well it was a nice surpise to have it start back up although i still cant figure out how they came so lose and it still worked before the water cooler was installed well i take that back i know why they came lose my old HSF had a huge delta fan on it that shook the enire house very loud, but why it worked then and not when i put in the new system i dont know

oh well it works and is now running at a max of 95 degrees F at 1 ghz or 115 F as a 1.34 ghz
 
i'm getting a new cpu at christmas (a 3000+ :D)i'm gona be very very very careful because if i destroy it its gona cost me alot of money:D
 
When I need to clean Arctic Silver off my CPU I wash it in the sink under running water. I found liquid detergent is the best cleaner for AS. Just squirt some on the top of the chip, rub it around with your finger, rinse thoroughly, dry the top with a paper towel, let the pins air dry and you're good to go.
 
This is what an AMD CPU should look like with Thermal Paste applied.

cpu_with_thermal_paste.jpg


I'll try to look for a P4 pic.

PS. Here's the updated URL for the artic silver instructions -> http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm
 
electric cleaner

I use Electric Cleaner from Radio Shack.
it is the last resort, it works,come with a brush on the nozzel.
Allow to dry completely.
 
Denatured Alcohol is the best thing to use. It works fast and dries fast. rubbing alcohol will work in a pinch but it takes longer to dry. Denatured Alcohol can be found at Pharmacies and Hardware stores. It can also be purchased through electronics components suppliers though it is usually much higher priced through them.
 
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