Cleaning thermal paste from socket

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gtech1

Member
May 27, 2019
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Bought a brand new x10drd-i motherboard. Managed to get some non-conducting thermal paste in the socket.

How screwed am I ? I tried cleaning with alcohol, q-tip and a microfiber tissue. No luck, it's deep on the socket below the pins and I'm afraid to bend them.

Tips ?


 

herby

Active Member
Aug 18, 2013
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If it's really non conducting your fine as long as the pins still make good contact to the pads on your CPU. I wouldn't try too hard to clean it either out of fear of bending the pins. Warranty wise, if you have a problem with the MOBO, it might be a hassle; but even then I bet you could push the non-conductive factor hard enough.
 
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RolloZ170

Well-Known Member
Apr 24, 2016
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install CPU, remove and clean(Alc- Q-tips) the golden contacts(CPU) in that area. repeat that until you don't see any paste on the contacts.
 
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RedX1

Active Member
Aug 11, 2017
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In this situation.

I might be tempted to try drying a small sample with a hair dryer - and then seeing if it can be blown away with a gentle application of some compressed air.

Try it on a sample, remote from the motherboard socket first.



Good luck.



RedX1
 

ectoplasmosis

Active Member
Jul 28, 2021
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I cleaned a much worse example than this by repeatedly soaking the area with pure isopropyl and blowing with an air compressor ‘with the grain’ of the pins, and absorbing the resulting santorum with a fine-weave micro fibre cloth.

Repeat until the area is clean.
 

sparx

Active Member
Jul 16, 2015
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Sweden
Isopropyl alcohol dissolves most thermal pastes. So I'd just lay a lint free cloth behind the socket. Soak the area with isopropyl and use a canned air bottle to blow it away in to the cloth. And repeat until its gone.