Best way to clean cpu

[corsaman132 10]

The cpu paste doesn't wear out,it just hardens over time and becomes less effective. As stated,there really is very little difference between thermal pastes,maybe a few degrees of heat ,the cpu cooler that is used is more important.I usually use alcohol wipes but if i run out,i use wd40 on a soft cloth and dry thoroughly.

[anywebsite 10]

Don't use WD40 it'll make it greasy & it'll be harder to remove the greasy residue from the wd40 than any paste.

[Ghozer 112]

^^

 

What he said..

 

WD40 is NOT a cleaner, it's a Lubricant, it only displaces water and dirt, doesn't dissolve it...

[corsaman132 10]

The cpu paste doesn't wear out,it just hardens over time and becomes less effective. As stated,there really is very little difference between thermal pastes,maybe a few degrees of heat ,the cpu cooler that is used is more important.I usually use alcohol wipes but if i run out,i use wd40 on a soft cloth and dry thoroughly.

 

I didn't say it cleaned the paste off,the cloth does that,the wd40 is something for the paste to stick to(I spray it on the cloth,not the cpu),i also stated that i dry the cpu afterwards thoroughly,and that's only on the rare occasion that i run out of alcohol wipes.I have had no problems using it and NEVER had a greasy residue afterwards.

Just sharing my experiences on an open forum,after all,that's what they are for aren't they? Also,i'm not giving the op bad advice,i highly recommend using the proper stuff!

 

P.s On the front of the can of WD40,it clearly states that it DOES clean,so why haven't they been done for false advertising?

 

Straight form the tin......

 

*Stops squeaks

*Drives out moisture

*Cleans and protects

*loosens rusted parts

*Frees sticky mechanisms

Edited July 23, 2014 by corsaman132

[anywebsite 10]

Does it mention anything about electronics? Just because it can clean some things doesn't mean you should wash your cpu with wd40. It's pretty bad near any plastics & leaves an oily residue that doesn't evaporate. It's good for metal mechanical parts where a bit of oil helps, but your cpu doesn't need oiling, keep the wd40 away from your PC. If you're really stuck, like it's a Sunday, you only have £1.50 to your name, can only get to local shops & have some kind of cpu cleaning emergency then there are still many better options than WD40. You need to use something that will dissolve grease and evaporate cleanly & quickly, preferably be safe around circuit boards, plastics, etc too. If you have to use an oil-based solvent then choose a cleaner, lighter one & be very careful, make sure it evaporates quickly & leaves no residue, keep it away from anything other than the metal part of the cpu, petrol lighter fluid has worked ok for me in the past. Cleaning alcohol will be safer. If you're a little more patient, can wait for a delivery or find a reasonable priced supplier locally, then isopropyl alcohol would be my solvent of choice for cleaning most electronics, cpus included.

 

All these solvents produce flammable gasses, so do it outside or in a well ventilated place away from any sources of ignition.

Edited July 23, 2014 by anywebsite

[Ghozer 112]

I didn't say it cleaned the paste off,the cloth does that,the wd40 is something for the paste to stick to(I spray it on the cloth,not the cpu),i also stated that i dry the cpu afterwards thoroughly,and that's only on the rare occasion that i run out of alcohol wipes.I have had no problems using it and NEVER had a greasy residue afterwards.

Just sharing my experiences on an open forum,after all,that's what they are for aren't they? Also,i'm not giving the op bad advice,i highly recommend using the proper stuff!

 

P.s On the front of the can of WD40,it clearly states that it DOES clean,so why haven't they been done for false advertising?

 

Straight form the tin......

 

*Stops squeaks

*Drives out moisture

*Cleans and protects

*loosens rusted parts

*Frees sticky mechanisms

 

because it displaces dirt, doesn't dissolve or remove it... ISOpropyl etc are solvents, that dissolve the dirt, (TIMClean is a natural, Citrus alternative, that works better imho)

 

But sufficed to say, you shouldnt use WD40 to clean CPU's, as it leaves a residue on the surface (no matter how much you wipe it) as it's meant to lubricate also, so using this, then wiping, then applying thermal compound will mean that the thermal compound won't contact with the CPU properly as there'll be a thin layer of grease between it and the CPU

[Cyclone 10]

I didn't say it cleaned the paste off,the cloth does that,the wd40 is something for the paste to stick to(I spray it on the cloth,not the cpu),i also stated that i dry the cpu afterwards thoroughly,and that's only on the rare occasion that i run out of alcohol wipes.I have had no problems using it and NEVER had a greasy residue afterwards.

Just sharing my experiences on an open forum,after all,that's what they are for aren't they? Also,i'm not giving the op bad advice,i highly recommend using the proper stuff!

 

P.s On the front of the can of WD40,it clearly states that it DOES clean,so why haven't they been done for false advertising?

 

Straight form the tin......

 

*Stops squeaks

*Drives out moisture

*Cleans and protects

*loosens rusted parts

*Frees sticky mechanisms

 

It's a penetrating oil, by definition it leaves a residue.

If you use oil to clean the CPU you then need to use something else to clean the oil off the CPU (alcohol wipes you mentioned).

[lauren85212 10]

Can of compressed air works very well, I use it all the time, and even occasionally use a small air compressor that I have which has a squeeze handle which allows me to control the amount of air that it shoots out.

 

It's alarming sometimes the amount of dust that comes flying out of there (especially in my office which I keep clean and we have no animals- where does this dust come from?)

 

The only concern you have is to make sure not to point the air directly at your fans and over spin them, which can break them if they spin faster that they are designed to. Other than that- spray away. Get that nasty dust out of there!

[Guest]

Can of compressed air works very well, I use it all the time, and even occasionally use a small air compressor that I have which has a squeeze handle which allows me to control the amount of air that it shoots out.

 

It's alarming sometimes the amount of dust that comes flying out of there (especially in my office which I keep clean and we have no animals- where does this dust come from?)

 

The only concern you have is to make sure not to point the air directly at your fans and over spin them, which can break them if they spin faster that they are designed to. Other than that- spray away. Get that nasty dust out of there!

 

That won't clean a CPU, it'll just blow dust away.

 

corsaman132, there are lots of products that say they clean, doesn't mean you use them for cleaning everything!

[grand 10]

Wd40 does clean

[AlexAtkin 10]

Wd40 does clean

 

The point here is for CPU cleaning you need to use something that leaves no residue and WD40 by its nature is designed to leave one - otherwise it wouldn't be much good as a lubricant.

 

Also, why revive a year old thread to post such a short and unhelpful post?

[Spacebadger 10]

You should address any dust build up on the fan blades and heatsink vanes before dismantling or looking at paste problems. Personally I don't recommend compressed air or vacuum cleaners in case it spins the fan in a way it wasn't designed to cope with (in theory could act as a generator sending electric back along the bus). I find old toothbrushes are good, as are cheap kids paintbrushes, just spend 10 mins and get in all the nooks and crannies, a bendy straw is safe enough to blow some bits away. If it's no better, then look at the paste. You may also want to consider environmental issues of the unit, making sure it's got airflow around it, not near other sources of heat etc...