How to Remove Thermal Grease from CPUs
Thermal grease or paste helps to transfer heat from a computer's central processing unit to the heat sink or fan. As the CPU processes information, it creates heat that can damage a CPU if it's not properly cooled. At times the CPU's heat sink or fan can become faulty or is simply inadequate to handle cooling the CPU. One part of replacing a cooling device is to clean off the thermal grease from a CPU.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Open the computer case to access the CPU.
-
2
Remove the clips holding the heat sink in. In some cases, the clips are removed by pulling on the heat sink where it meets the motherboard, but it may be necessary to remove the entire motherboard to remove the heat sink.
-
-
3
Separate the heat sink from the CPU. Removing the heat sink while twisting slightly can make the heat sink come off easier.
-
4
Unclip the CPU
-
5
Wet a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol or a degreaser such as Goo-Gone.
-
6
Touch a piece of metal to remove any potentially harmful, built-up static charge before taking out the CPU.
Always hold the CPU by the sides. Bending or sometimes even contaminating the needles on the CPU can cause the CPU to either not work correctly or not work at all. Although it is possible to clean the CPU inside of the case, this is not advisable because the cleaning agent may damage other components.
-
7
Clean the thermal grease off of the CPU using the wet cotton ball until it is clean.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit cpu 1 image by Robert Molnar from Fotolia.com
