PSA: thermal paste on a CPU pin is not a death sentence

I got a glob of Arctic Silver on a Ryzen pin last week and panicked bad. Used a toothpick and 91% isopropyl to gentle scrape it off and the thing booted right up. Has anyone else brought a CPU back from a thermal paste oopsie without replacing it?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa_jones2110d ago

Did you use a toothbrush or just the toothpick? I've heard a soft bristle brush with alcohol works better to get into the tight spots without scratching.

jamesmason9d ago

Flip that around and think about why a toothpick is actually better. Toothbrush bristles, even soft ones, can trap gunk in the pores of the plastic if you're not super careful. A wooden toothpick scrapes right along the seam without leaving any fibers behind. Plus, alcohol dries out some plastics over time and can make them brittle, especially the cheaper ones. I've cleaned a few old consoles with just a dry toothpick and got them working fine. Sometimes the simplest tool is the right one.