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 ArctiClean - Thermal material
Written by: Chr0n1c [1/5/05]

ArctiClean


Here we’re going to be cleaning a heatsink with a copper base and an Athlon 64 processor. The thermal paste used was Arctic Silver’s Ceramique. I find ceramique to get very gunky/sticky after it’s been through a good use. ArctiClean is for use with all thermal pastes and pads.

Cleaning the heatsink:

The heatsink is off and I have two sheets of paper towel and the ArctiClean solvents ready to clean it up with. Now your supposed to wipe off the excess paste before you put the ArctiClean 1 Thermal Material Remover on. But I wanted to see just how well this stuff would breakup the thermal paste so I just went ahead and put on the ArctiClean 1.


Heatsink before ArctiClean 1 Thermal Material Remover has been applied



Heatsink after ArctiClean 1 Thermal Material Remover has been applied


I let it sit for 60 seconds and it looked like nothing had happened. I picked up the paper towel and gently wiped it. It simply wiped away as if it were water. It may have looked like it didn’t break it up but it most certainly had. All the paste came off with ease, a few wipes and the paste was gone.


Paste was removed with ease.


With the paste gone the next step was to use the ArctiClean 2 Thermal Surface Purifier. This was an easy step, just drop a few drops on the surface and rub the solvent around the surface till dry.


Just a few drops and then rub it in till dry.


This stuff is what really cleaned up the heatsink, like the finishing touch. After it was all dry the heatsink had regained it’s orginal shine and was clean as a whistle, The paper towel I was using had become quite dirty, goes to show this kit really does the trick.


The dirty paper towel after rubbing down the heatsink with the ArctiClean 2 Thermal Surface Purifier



Nice and clean, really got it’s shine back after the purifier was used.



Before and after the ArctiClean 2 Thermal Surface Purifier was used.


Cleaning the Processor:

To clean the processor I took it out of the socket and placed it on a piece of paper on a table. Once again had two sheets of paper towel the ArctiClean solvents. This time I cleaned off any large clumps of remaining thermal paste as orginally directed to do.


The "dirty" processor.



Applied four or five drops of the ArctiClean 1 and waited 60 seconds.




It all once again easily wiped off without a fuss or mess. No need to fear damaging your processor as the chemicals will not cause harm if they drip onto the PCB of the chip. You can use it to clean actual cores, just be gentle as to make sure you don’t chip or snap it off. Never put the processor
back in without completing the additional steps or drying it.


Applied a few drops of the ArctiClean 2.





Before and after the ArctiClean 2 Thermal Surface Purifier was used.


Once again the ArctiClean 2 adds the last nice touch of really getting everything clean and shiny again. Now that everything is clean I can reinstall the processor and apply fresh new
thermal paste and then my heatsink. It took less than 5 minutes to clean the heatsink and the processor, so it really is a quick two step process as they said.



Conclusion:

Arctic Silver’s ArctiClean is a tool I recommended to everyone, especially those who change heatsinks often. It would have been nice to get some special cleaning pads with the kit, but paper towel does the trick just fine. This kit makes the whole process simple and quick without any mess. A clean heatsink and processor can lead to more efficient heat transfer.

PRO’s:
Two easy to follow steps.
Cleans things up very well.
No mess.

CON’s
No specialized pads for the kit.


Questions or comments? contact chr0n1c

ModdersHQ give this product a rating of stars.


 
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