our maintenance Your PC runs smoothly It’s not the most glamorous task, but it’s essential to getting the most out of your machine. The thermal interface material (TIM) of the CPU, ideally best thermal paste We tested one of the mundane tasks that took just a few minutes. Also, if your machine is overheating (or the fan is spinning loudly all the time, which means your system is overheating), you can try a fresh coat of thermal paste. It can improve performance, lower temperatures and extend component life.
If you upgrade the cooler, you will need to remove and replace the thermal paste on the CPU (probably best cpu cooler) or reuse an old CPU with a new motherboard.
In this how-to we will remove the thermal paste on an old Lenovo M93P Tiny running an I7 4790S. This little box is under the TV, Chrome OS Flex desktop in the living room. I need to replace the thermal paste to clean it up and give it a few more years of use. However, if you do this on a custom-built PC, the steps are the same (see ). how to make a computer).
How to replace the CPU thermal paste
1. Turn on your PC, let it run for a few minutes, then shut it down and unplug it. Thermal paste can harden and doing a cold pull on the heatsink/cooler can damage the CPU. Alternatively, you can use a hot air gun/hair dryer to gently heat the area.
2. Remove the heatsink/cooling assembly from the CPU/GPU. Take your time to loosen the screw and allow the pressure to be released evenly.
3. Use a small amount of isopropyl alcohol on a lint-free cloth. When First, wipe the thermal paste off the heatsink. By cleaning the heatsink first, you can test how easily the paste cleans before it reaches the CPU/GPU.
Four. Use isopropyl alcohol and a cloth to remove the paste from the CPU. Gently remove the paste while keeping the CPU in the socket. Don’t rush, take your time. The paste in the indentation can be cleaned using a cotton swab.
Five. Apply an appropriate amount of thermal paste to the CPU. However, wait for the isopropyl alcohol to evaporate first, then make sure there is no pooled liquid or debris before applying.
6. Reseat the heatsink/cooling assemblyapply even pressure when resting on the CPU.
7. Screw down the heatsink/cooling assembly by tightening the screws in a diagonal sequence, a few turns at a time. This keeps the pressure relatively even and spreads the thermal paste across the top of the heat spreader/CPU. Also, avoid putting too much pressure on either corner, which in the worst case can physically damage the processor.
8. Turn on your PC and use it normally. Check for missing screws, snagged wires, and misaligned cables before applying power. Little “gotchas” happen more often than we like to admit.
