ZALMAN 9700 LED

[Pbirmingham1988]

I have a Zalman 9700 and I wanna reapply the thermal paste but I've never taken off a CPU fan before... Well the thing is is that i want to do this because my pc used to run at 50C at full load @ 3.5ghz... I started OC'ing a little more n then all of a sudden my temps have stayed high ever since around 60c... even when I put it back to the default settings (2.4ghz) it idles around 52-55c n now its always around 57c-61c... I just want to know how to properly reapply thermal paste n which ones do you recommend?? Is there a solution to remove the thermal paste i already have on it??? I want to start off new and one more thing.. I Have a stock chipset cooler... Could this make any difference to my temps? so my questions are How do I safely and properly remove and reapply new thermal paste and do I need a good chipset cooler?

[Tyreal]

I just want to know how to properly reapply thermal paste n which ones do you recommend??

I recommend Arctic Silver 5 or Arctic Silver Ceramique. Most others will recommend those as well.

Is there a solution to remove the thermal paste i already have on it???

Yes. I recommend 70% or higher Isopropyl Alcohol. Arctic Silver also has their own product called Arcticlean that does an AWESOME job of removing any thermal paste. ArctiClean by Arctic Silver

I want to start off new and one more thing.. I Have a stock chipset cooler... Could this make any difference to my temps?

Not likely.

I wrote a guide on thermal paste.... Read it: The HardwareLogic Thermal Paste Guide

[gvblake22]

Great post Tyreal. But personally, I would try and stick with 80% Isopropyl Alcohol or higher though as it evaporates very quickly.

[Tyreal]

I've been using 70% since I first started building and doing stuff with computers. Although I would prefer 90%... 70% does fine. :P

[Pbirmingham1988]

thx guys ill have to go to newegg now or my local computer store... Im worried about my pc!! :(

[gvblake22]

90% or better Isopropyl Alcohol can usually be most easily purchased at a drug store, grocery store, or something like Wal-Mart or Meijer.

[screwballl]

I have NEVER seen anything over 70%.. I have looked everywhere, Food World, Winndixie, Safeway, Albertsons, Dans, WalMart, local PC shops, local electronics shops, Target, Kmart.. everywhere and have NEVER seen anything over 70%

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by gvblake22

90% or better Isopropyl Alcohol can usually be most easily purchased at a drug store, grocery store, or something like Wal-Mart or Meijer.

Yep, and that's all I use. You can use a lower concentration when cleaning off CPU components, but 90%+ is so easy to come by, why not use the stronger stuff that also evaporates quicker?

Originally Posted by Screwball

I have NEVER seen anything over 70%.. I have looked everywhere, Food World, Winndixie, Safeway, Albertsons, Dans, WalMart, local PC shops, local electronics shops, Target, Kmart.. everywhere and have NEVER seen anything over 70%

Interesting - on the flipside, I can't recall a store not carrying the higher concentration when I went looking for it. In fact, I just picked up a another bottle about two weeks ago, either from Wal-Mart or the midwestern equivalent, Meijer (both places are next to each other and I don't remember which one I purchased from).

[gvblake22]

HAHAHA, hey Paul, I think I see a business opportunity here!

[One4yu2c]

Apparently it was from Meijer, and their own branded stuff too. 99% and under a buck fifty - let's stock up on this stuff Blake, and sell if for $2.99 elsewhere