Cheap Computer Equipment

IBM T40 T41 T42 CPU Cooling Fan HeatSink Short 91P8393 US $14.00

IBM T40p T41p T42p CPU Cooling Fan HeatSink Short FN04 US $19.44

IBM CPU Cooling Fan HeatSink Short 26R7859 26R7860 FN04 US $19.44

Powered by phpBay Pro

If you remove a heat sink and reattach it, you must clean off the old thermal compound (from both sides) and place new, clean thermal compound on. Purchase any high-quality thermal compound specifically designed for modern CPUs. (Conductive or thick heat sink compounds require more expertise to apply. I recommend avoiding these.)

You can remove the old thermal compound with the following method:
1) Apply a small amount of glass cleaner to the CPU or heat sink. (For the CPU, put the cleaner on your fingertip and dab it onto the center of the CPU. You don't want any liquid to dribble off the CPU. If in doubt, remove the CPU.)
2) Swirl it around with your finger until the cleaner dissolves the thermal compound.
3) Wipe off the cleaner with a paper towel.
4) If needed, repeat until all compound is removed.
5) Finish with rubbing alcohol to remove cleaner residue.

Note that you need to follow proper anti-static precautions when cleaning the CPU. Leave it in its socket (if possible) and *don't* move around while you're working on it. (It's better you don't get the CPU 100% clean than that you damage it by mishandling it! Do not ever drop the CPU into the socket or 'slide' it into place!)

Then apply a small amount (about the size of a grain of rice) on both the CPU and the heat sink. I like to use a small piece of plastic food bag to cover my finger and use my covered finger to smooth the heat sink compound. On the heat sink, smooth it over the whole contact area (an area slightly larger than the area that makes contact with the CPU's heat spreader) and then remove any excess with a clean paper towel (it should be 'tinted' with a slight visible residue). On the CPU, smooth it (you can use a credit card) into a very thin complete layer.

Then attach the heat sink to the CPU with a straight down motion with *no* twisting. Be careful not to trap any air between the CPU and the heat sink. (You can lower one side of the heat sink slightly ahead of the other to avoid trapping air. Twisting just causes the microscopic peaks on one side to gouge compound out of the microscopic valleys of the other side.)

Make 100% sure the heat sink is flat on the CPU.

By the way, for a quick solution that will probably work "well enough", just remove the heat sink again, put a fraction of a drop of rubbing alcohol or window cleaner on both the CPU and the heat sink. Use a clean fingertip to mix the cleaner into the compound so it is a smooth liquid on both sides. Replace the heat sink onto the CPU. This can't be worse than it is now. (Be very clean. Do not get any dirt of hair in there.)

Items Recently Purchased From This Site: