PCTech Forums

hi all,

i have a very loud cpu fan. I had it for a like a month now, and i want to switch to a new one. How do i do this? How do i saftly remove the thermal paste from the cpu? and then use what to clean it with?

CPU fans usually start whining after two years.

You shouldnt have any problem replacing it, the old fan will pop off and probably not leave much residue from the thermal waffer on the CPU. Scrape it off with a razor blade if you want.

Most of the CPU fans come with a thermal waffer that is equivelient to the thermal paste that everyone use to use.

If you really want real good thermal transfer between the CPU and the fan, you would scrape off the waffer on the new cpu fan, and likewise any residue onthe CPU and then you would use a thermal heatsink compound like Artic Silver. Apply a thin layer to the CPU and then slap on the CPU fan. Don't forget to plug it in.

A little bit of that Arctic Silver goes a long way, you'll see what I mean if you get some on your clothes

Do you have to make sure you get ALL the old thermal paste off the CPU and is it ok if you cant?

u can use something like Akasa TIM Cleaning Solution http://froogle.google.co.uk/froogle_clu ... ng=p&hl=en

to clean the heatsink of thermal paste i just normally use a cloth works alright for me. doesnt really matter if you cant remove all the paste just make sure you apply a new layer cleanly over the cpu before putting another cpu fan on. And then it should be fine

Its just I read somewhere that you HAD to get all the old paste off as you need to make sure the new layer has complete contact with the CPU as without it not all the heat would be transfered from the chip. I guess they are just being fussy.