squire Posted October 26, 2005 Well... I didn't actually spill it since its pretty much impossible to spill that thick paste... After I applied some arctic silver paste onto my CPU, my 8 year old niece ran right into me really hard... the paste tube landed on the motherboard (to the ram slots) Now I have paste all over that motherboard area... Should I have to worry? Is it safe to clean up the paste mess on my motherboard with rubbing alcohol? A lot of the paste WENT INSIDE the RAM slot. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
malinois1 Posted October 26, 2005 Well it depends a little on what kind of paste you were using as some is conductive some is not. If it is AS5 yes it is very conductive. Either way I would clean it very well and carefully just to be safe. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bose301s Posted October 26, 2005 Not good, but alcohol is fine to use. The only problem is that AS5 is not conductive but is capacitive so it could cause some problems. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bose301s Posted October 26, 2005 Well it depends a little on what kind of paste you were using as some is conductive some is not. If it is AS5 yes it is very conductive. Either way I would clean it very well and carefully just to be safe. AS5 is NOT conductive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StephenC Posted October 26, 2005 AS5 is thermally conductive only. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squire Posted October 26, 2005 Thankyou. Yes, I use artic silver 5. What exactly does thermally conductive mean? What will it do to my motherboard? Will it affect my ram? Some of the paste cant be cleaned off because its in the tiny little holes now.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StephenC Posted October 26, 2005 Conducts heat. Simple explanation: It helps move the heat from your processor on to the heat sink. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
red930 Posted October 26, 2005 But again, that doesn't make it safe, as it is somewhat capacitive, which means basically it'll hold a small charge whcih could affect the way the board functions. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StephenC Posted October 26, 2005 Oh yes by all means you will need to remove it as best you can from your motherboard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
red930 Posted October 26, 2005 You need some Isopropyl Alcohol of at least 90%. The higher the percentage the better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FbernZ Posted October 26, 2005 I'd say that it'd be best if you can get a toothpick and just try to *pick* the AS5 out. Try to do it in a vertical fashion as well [as to not smudge the AS5 over two contacts inside the DIMM slot] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davidhammock200 Posted October 26, 2005 Get a small, but stiff paint brush, cut to lenth & start scrubbing with 90%+ alcohol. Good Luck, Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
