Thermal paste HELP!

Hardware Hub Build a PC
1

I just bought my new pc and i just finished installing my hyper 212 evo on my asus p8z77 v lk

i applyed a pea sized amount but i had a bit of trouble getting the heat sink on, it slided a bit.

i noticed on the left side of the retention bracket a bit of thermal grease on it, but no where else.

is it safe to turn the machine on or do i risk short circuting the cpu?.

i dont see it going to the side 

the thermal paste i used was the one included.

i cleaned that bit off with a q tip

if anyone needs a picture im happy to oblige

2

Post a Picture for people to see, itd help a lot, its always better to double check and be safe instead of sorry.

3

How do i add pictures UHHHH...

4

http://www.flickr.com/photos/91914032@N03/

Sorry for the poor quality

5

i just posted the pictures.

there isnt any more thermal past going out from the other sides or anything.

just that side

and i dont see any on the cpu's pcb

6

I would clean it and reapply. Try spreading before you mount the EVO. A guide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hNgFNH7zhQ

Better safe then sorry.

 

7

I would wipe it clean and redo it all, as your CPU heats up the thermal paste will expand drastically. Noticing it already without turning on your PC is not good at all, when you put the pea size of thermal paste on it simply just set your heatsink right on top and don't push or move it around.

8

i saw that guide a million times.

and i appyed using the pea drop method.

the problem is i dont have any isoprohol alchool only rubbing alchool will that work?

9

i only have rubbing alchool (the etilic kind) and acetone. no isoproholic alchool.

can i use either one of those?

 

10

the higher the alchol percent the better. 99% is obviously best, but its at your own descretion to use anything otherwise.

11

i just removed the heat sink and some spilled of to the side what now?

i hope i didnt ruin anything

 

12

edit: non got on the cpu pcb. 

just on the bottom part of the cpu heat spreader

ill post some more pictures in a minute

13

also i only have acetone and 70% rubbing alchool.

i dont know the purity of the acetone

14

this is the current status of my cpu

i am scared to clean the side parts tough out of fear that i might harm it

on picture 569 and 567 that little stripe is a bit of thermal paste that got on there 

what do i do HELP?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/91914032@N03/

i apoligize if im being a complete noob its just its the first time im building one and it wasnt a very cheap build and i dont want to screw up anything.

 

15

Clean the sides of the CPU, the rubbing alcohol works i have used it on intel and AMD chips. DO you have coffee filters? If not some paper towels will do to wipe away the extra thermal compound. It looks like the thermal compound is on the heatsink of the CPU so just clean it up good, make sure the motherboard socket and the bottom of the cpu are spotless(no thermal paste on them) and reinstall. Try not to move the heatsink around to much to avoid this from happening again.

Re apply the thermal paste!

16

i have both coffee filters and lint free cloth.

the alchool i have is ethilic alchool.

so i can just rub it gently to get the thermal paste off the sides and it wont harm the cpu right.

i already checked the pins and the bottom they are clean, the only slightly dirty part was the retention bracket and that is clean aswell.

the only part im missing is the cpu i want to double check with you guys before rubbing it clean as i dont want to harm it

17

The thermal paste is on the heatsink of the CPU(the metal part), that you can clean just fine, i use 70% rubbing alcohol also with no issues yet to this day. Put the alcohol on the cloth not on the cpu and wipe, try not to let any alcohol touch the green part of the cpu. Post pictures when you are done and we can check it out.

18

I just finished cleaning the cpu.

again i didnt mess with the green part and as you can see in picture 570 ( on the left side there is a tiny tiny silver strip of thermal grease) and in picture 572 (tough out of focus on the top left corner you can see 3 tiny tiny dots of thermal grease).

please give me your opinion both if the cpu is well cleaned and how to remove or if i even do need to remove the grease from the green part

http://www.flickr.com/photos/91914032@N03/

thank you to everyone that is trying to help this poor noob.

i am terribly sorry

19

oh and by the way i think its my mind messing with me but the pins seem sideways i think its the socket give me a second ill post a picture

20

As long as the top portion of the cpu heatsink is clean it's all gravy, i can not see any thermal paste anywhere on it. You can get a cotton swab and try to clean the green portion if you want, personally i doubt it will be an issue.

It looks like you are ready to try the install again, do you have anyone around who can give you a hand installing it? There is nothing to apologize for, you are doing the right thing asking for help when you are not sure what to do. 3570k? That is going to be a properly fast system!