How to Clean Thermal Paste Of CPU?

Thermal paste is an essential component for the CPU that prevents heating and prolongs the life of your CPU as well as its processor. We know the general principle that heat conductive materials transmit heat when applied between a source and a sink. We keep the processor attached to the motherboard for the CPU, and then the cooler is placed over it. The use of a cooler for the CPU is to gain heat and make the CPU cooler for the best processing. Thermal paste is placed between the cooler and the CPU. Applying thermal paste is quite a difficult task, and then cleaning it is the most difficult one. So here is the best and easy way to clean thermal paste off your CPU.

What is Thermal paste?

Before proceeding to the actual process of thermal paste application and removing it, let’s know what thermal paste actually is. Thermal paste is a semisolid material, i.e., a heat conducting material made up of a polymerizable liquid matrix. The material is capable of transmitting as well as absorbing heat efficiently. So it’s an application over the CPU, i.e., the Central processing unit, to transmit the heat generated by the CPU to the cooler. The thermal paste is generally silver to gray in color and comes in a tube. You need to apply it in small quantities, i.e., a drop of grain size.

How to Clean the thermal paste off the CPU efficiently?

There are many articles explaining the removal of thermal paste. But here is the easy as well as most efficient process explained. So follow each and every step as given in the process;

• First of all, turn on your Pc for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
• This will heat up the thermal paste and make it lose.
• Then Shut down and remove all the wires that supply to your pc.
• Now open the back cover if you have a laptop or the side cover for the CPU.
• Then take out the motherboard and place it on a clean table.
• Now the cooler will be attached to the motherboard at the site of the sink, i.e., the CPU.
• So first of all, remove the screws or loosen the screws so that the cooler will be free to remove.
• Now twist the cooler in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction.
• Please don’t pull the cooler, as it will lead to the CPU or motherboard damage.
• Now, if the cooler easily comes out, turn on the pc for at least 1 hour and then follow the steps again.
• As soon as you remove the cooler, take a microfiber cloth and wipe out the thermal paste present over the CPU.
• Now some amount of the thermal paste remains on the CPU.
• To remove this, apply the ethyl alcohol and then again wipe it out using the micro-fiber.
• Then wipe out the thermal paste present over the sink side of the cooler.
• Follow the same process.
• So in this way, you can remove the thermal paste from your CPU easily.

How to apply or re-apply the thermal paste over the CPU?

This is quite a necessary process and needs to be performed accurately. So the process is as follows;

• Just wait for the CPU to dry as soon as you clean the thermal paste over the CPU.
• After the CPU dries, take the thermal paste you purchased from the market.
• Remove the upper lid so that a pointed opening must be there.
• Now Drop a grain size drop of the semisolid thermal paste.
• Don’t spread the drop over the CPU, as the layer formation may get disturbed and will lead to a gap in some places.
• Now simply place the cooler over the thermal paste.
• The sink side must be placed over the CPU.
• The thermal paste will spread automatically.
• And your thermal paste will start transmitting heat in between the CPU and Cooler.

What if we don’t apply the thermal paste?

Thermal paste is an essential component for the CPU to transmit its heat and keep itself cool. So if you don’t apply the thermal paste, then there may be the chance that zero percent of the heat transmits from the CPU to the cooler, which will lead to a decrease in performance. Sometimes your CPU may crash, which will lead to damage to the other parts present on the motherboard. Suddenly your PC will shut down, and the processor will stop working.

What if we don’t clean the thermal paste?

Thermal paste requires maintenance every 2 to 3 years. The life of paste ends within this tenure. So it would be best if you cleaned the thermal paste and re-applied it. If you don’t clean the thermal paste, then the conductive efficiency of the paste decreases and then becomes very less. This leads to the failure of conductance of the heat from the CPU to the cooler. Due to the failure of heat conductance, the CPU heats up, it decreases the performance of your processor, and your pc slows down. This is the main reason that you get changes in the processing time as your laptop or pc becomes old or within 2 to 3 years.

What if we apply excessive thermal paste?

Excessive application of thermal paste will also lead to failure of heat conductance. Actually, there must be a small and thin layer of the thermal paste in between the CPU and cooler. But if you apply excessive thermal paste, then it may lead to no heat transmission in your CPU. This is why a grain size drop of thermal paste recommends applying over the CPU.

What if the thermal paste expires?

If you purchase the thermal paste and you notice that the thermal paste you purchased is expired, then you must return it. Generally, the expiry time for the thermal paste is 3 to 5 years, depending on the company you choose. Same as the other items, the thermal paste also has expiry dates. And it is recommended that you must change, i.e., clean and re-apply the thermal paste every three years to keep your CPU performance at the top. 

So this is all about cleaning the thermal paste off your CPU.