I got 70% Isopropyl Alcohol. Is it good? How to use it on CPU?

[death]

Hey guys;

I got "Rubbing Alcohol" which contains 70% of Isopropyl Alcohol. Is that good to clean my CPU Chip and heatsink? or Do I need 100% isopropyl Alcohol? I checked "Nail polish remover", but it contains oil in it. I heard that oil is not good for cleaning CPU. Is that right?


Can I clean CPU itself with Isopropyl Alcohol that I have? I was thinking of dipping Q-tip into rubbing alcohol and then cleaning the CPU with it. Is that how you suppose to do it? Because there is lot of residue around my cpu's chip.

Also, when I put small amound of "thermal greese" (I have "Silver Greese") onto my Cpu's chip. How will I be able to spread this compound evenly onto CPU? What should I use to spread it? Can I use something made out of metal? (Then again I am afraid of static). It is so hard to use a card to spread it, as there isn't much space inside to move around. Any suggestions. Or Can I just use "thermal pad", as it is easy to use? lol

I checked new heatsinks: Ventec Aeroflow and ThermalTake Silent Boost. Silent boost's fan is only 2400 rpm and 27.5 cfm, compared to Ventec Aeroflow with 5500 rpm and 38.5 cfm. Should I consider Aeroflow since its fan has more rpm and better air flow? What do you guys think?

Is there any other Heatsink with the same price?

thanks

 

[ellomoto]

Hi there...

Take a look at the artic silver instructions..

They say

Thermal pads/Thermal Paste can be scraped off with a plastic tool that will not scratch the bottom then the remnants can be removed with a xylene based cleaner, (Goof Off and some carburetor cleaners) acetone, mineral spirits, or high-purity isopropyl alcohol.

Never use any oil or petroleum based cleaners (WD-40, citrus oil 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.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm Check It Out...

As for heatsinks the aeroflow is good, but a bit on the noisy side..check out the zalman heatsink/fan etc

hope this helps... :wave:

 

[Justin]

99% Isopropyl is the best, but 70% works great as well. I usually use hot water, then alcohol, to clean heatsinks and cpus.

 

[death]

thanks guys...........I am keeping this alcohol.