Did I accidentally ruin my CPU?

[unkempt pelican]

Does anyone know if the Arctic MX-6 thermal paste on my Ryzen 9 5900X CPU pins will be problematic? I accidentally got some on my pins while preparing my CPU for my new motherboard tomorrow. I just bought the CPU brand new back in August and I hope that I didn’t damage it.

[simple trout]

Holy shit that's a lot of thermal paste

Go get isopropyl alcohol and put it in a spray bottle and spray the shit out of it

DO NOT SCRUB IT

For the record you shouldn't put thermal paste on before you put the cpu in the motherboard

And just put a little dot in the middle

[unkempt pelican]

I took the CPU out of my old motherboard which is a B450

[simple trout]

Not slather it on there like peanut butter

[unkempt pelican]

Tried that when I first got it, my CPU ran at 90C at idle

[simple trout]

That's a problem with your cooler. What cooler are you using? And did you take the protective film off?

[unkempt pelican]

Yes I took the protective film off. I am using the Noctua NH-U12S cooler

[simple trout]

I dont think you put it on right

[unkempt pelican]

It should’ve been on right. I followed the instructions that came in the box

[simple trout]

Also I think that coller is a touch low edge nd for your.

Touch low end for your cpu

It's 120w cooler

120w cpu

You need overhead

[unkempt pelican]

Also, won’t spraying my CPU with 70% medical alcohol ruin it since it’s an electrical component?

[unkempt pelican]

What

[simple trout]

No? Alcohol evaporates quickly

Just don't install it until like 30 seconds have gone by

Also o don't actually think it's electrically conductive

[unkempt pelican]

I’ll install it tomorrow because my new motherboard arrives tomorrow which is a b550

[simple trout]

Isopropyl alcohol idk what medical is

[simple trout]

What mobo

[unkempt pelican]

Well that stuff is used in medical

[simple trout]

Kk

You're fine

[unkempt pelican]

ASUS ROG Strix B550 F WiFi II

[simple trout]

Nice

A little overpriced

But ok

[unkempt pelican]

I got it on sale

[simple trout]

Nice

It's a pretty good motherboard

[unkempt pelican]

That’s good

[simple trout]

The thermal paste isn't electrically conductive so as long as your pins touch the motherboard you are fine

[unkempt pelican]

I’m a bit nervous about my CPU, so I spray a tad bit of the alcohol and then do what exactly?

[simple trout]

No a shitload of alcohol

Spray it until the paste is gone

[unkempt pelican]

So it will break away?

[simple trout]

Just sit in in a safe spot

[simple trout]

Break away? It will melt away

[unkempt pelican]

Ok

[simple trout]

But yeah

[unkempt pelican]

No toothbrush?

[simple trout]

You should be good I gotta go no

[simple trout]

Oh god no

https://tenor.com/view/how-to-clean-cpu-gif-23585180

[unkempt pelican]

ChatGPT recommended a toothbrush

[simple trout]

Oh please don't listen to it

It WILL destroy your cpu

[unkempt pelican]

Ok

[simple trout]

Please be careful

[unkempt pelican]

Even my local Apple Store technician guy recommended a very gentle toothbrush

[simple trout]

Bad idea

[twilit kettle]

70% seems scary, I would try 90+ % at the very least

[simple trout]

Very bad idea

[unkempt pelican]

I have no 90%

[simple trout]

Eh i use 70

Just let it dry for a few minutes

At least

[twilit kettle]

Okay that feels better.
Yeah do what grub said, make sure it well dried before use.

[unkempt pelican]

So spraying it a a lot will not damage it?

[simple trout]

Anyway gtg

[unkempt pelican]

Ok

[twilit kettle]

as long as it is not enough force to bend the pins.

[unkempt pelican]

Ok

[unkempt pelican]

I have a tiny spray bottle with peppermint oil in it, if I rinse out the bottle, would that be fine?

This bottle

[twilit kettle]

I am not sure, I do not know you so I can not say how well you will handle all of this.
In theory after it is well cleaned and dried and stuff, it should be fine no matter what bottle you use, and hope it goes away after spray.
If not you might have to try other things, I would next try a soft paint brush, just for the sides, the main goal is not to add debris in there, and not to bend the pins, I think.

[unkempt pelican]

I don’t have a paint brush

[twilit kettle]

Well you can think about that later maybe, see if spraying alcohol helps.
Also, if one drop did not work you should have tried a bit more, not a lot more

[unkempt pelican]

How many times would you recommend me to spray it?

Safely

[twilit kettle]

The goal is to make it clean, not sure how much it will take. I have never put myself in this type of situation before, so no experience.

[unkempt pelican]

Ok

[twilit kettle]

Specially wherever there are pins.

[unkempt pelican]

It seems to be only in the edges so aim for the edges?

[twilit kettle]

Yeah, outwards/sides, so your spray should be moving the paste out, not into the other pins.

Take a break if you are freaking out a bit or similar, come back to it when you are calmer, I think you can slowly undo this, everything will be good then. But can also make the issue worse if you are not careful, so take your time, slow down.

If you are too afraid, just take it to a shop with professionals, they will do it for you, you help the local economy, you do not have to worry about ruining your CPU, etc, etc.

[unkempt pelican]

I asked my local Apple Store and they said that they won’t help due to liability

[twilit kettle]

Uh, unless I am missing something this is not a Apple thing, so kind of expected from what little I know.

[unkempt pelican]

I asked ChatGPT about the spray bottle method. It said that’s a good idea but it said to spray once then let it evaporate then spray again until it breaks away. Thoughts?

[unkempt pelican]

I don’t have any other pc repair shop. It’s an Apple authorized repair shop but also works on Windows devices as well.

[twilit kettle]

I am not experienced with that exact thermal paste, I am not sure how it will behave, I am not going to try to help you here, just to end up feeding the chatgpt in the end, bye.

[unkempt pelican]

I’m just trying to be cautious because I can’t afford a new CPU if the CPU stops working

[twilit kettle]

Then asking chatgpt seems like the worst idea.
You are just trying to remove some paste, basically clean you cpu, i have already shared what ideas I have, it is up to you now. Or wait until more experienced peeps can give some pointers.

[unkempt pelican]

Ok

[simple trout]

Yes

[simple trout]

A lot

[simple trout]

PLEASE DONT LISTEN TO CHATGPT

[unkempt pelican]

I tried it, it broke some of the thermal paste away. Still some remains

[unkempt pelican]

In a row or after a short time period?

[simple trout]

Keep going

[simple trout]

In a row

[unkempt pelican]

Ok I’ll try that, didn’t know if soaking would ruin it or not

[simple trout]

I t won't just try not to speay the top too much ass a precaution

[unkempt pelican]

Sprayed what I can. I ran out of the alcohol. It looks better but still not fully gone.

[simple trout]

Oh no

The pins

[unkempt pelican]

I found more alcohol and carefully used a toothbrush. All of the thermal paste is gone and none of the pins broke in the process.

[simple trout]

Ok, send me a picture

[simple trout]

Alright looks good! Have a good day.

[unkempt pelican]

Thank you for your help

[fresh timber]

I can't say if that is good, but I will say that you should absolutely NEVER use ChatGPT when trying to get information, because it will tell you lies with 100% confidence