Cleaning die

I putting together a load of spare parts ive sorted through and am a bit unsure about cleaning the thermal paste off my cpu.

Ive only ever cleaned processors with an intergrated heat spreader but my celeron 633 hasnt got an IHS.
Is it ok wipe the die over with alcohol? Im guessing yes but thought id check.

The stuff on there now is set like enamel! I hope I dont scratch it either!

Also am I right in thinking the PIII 866 was the fastest 100mhz skt 370 chip?
Im thinking about upgrading but seeing as the celeron is 66mhz and ive got pc100 I might as well just overclock it if 866 is the fastest I can get.

 

Best way to clean it is with 'Isopropyl Alcohol' it's near 100% (get as close to 100% as possible)

 

So its OK to rub alcohol onto the die? Like I said, there is no integrated heat spreader.

 

That should be fine (as far as I know). Use a small amount.

 

Ive just been reading up on alcohols and found that if you mix ethanol and water the final voume is only 96% of the constituent parts! Im assuming thats a 50/50 mix.

Im off to find a wire brush.

 

I wouldn't use a wire brush on the die, unless you don't mind a dead CPU.

 

Might as well drown it in CLR

Seriously though, you'll need a lint-free cloth to do this.

 

i'd use Isopropyl Alcohol, then clean it off with cotton wool buds,

BTW you can buy Isopropyl Alcohol from almost any chemist

 

I managed to get some ethanol/propanol mix. My mum uses it at work for something. Ive also got loads of 100% acetone.

I still haven't sorted this cpu out. I need a small form factor power supply, im trying to haggle some guy off ebay from £20 down a bit. Hes had these 2 PSUs on there for weeks but wont drop his price. The computer there out of only sells for £25, I might just buy a whole PC because I will get ram and a harddrive then too!