Newbie has thermal compound question

[Sushiman]

Ok i got my new p3 and fan and the fan had some sticky stuff on the bottom which was obviously a thermal compound of some type but when i removed the cpu later the sticky stuff obviously now will not have as good of a contact ... so i picked up some artic silver... but here are the questions

1) how do i remove the sticky stuff from the bottom of the HS
2) how do i remove the sticky stuff from the top of the cpu (core ?)
3) what is lapping and do i need it? My hs/fan is intel and it came with the p3

next.... when i apply the artic silver... i just put some on the bottom of the heatsink wipe it into the bottom well (will any rag do) and then put it on top of the cpu and im set right?

thanks so much for answering guys... :)

[[Oc]acaridans]

Question 1: Acetone and a rag will remove the sticky stuff from the HS..make a point of not touching the bottom of the HS with you fingers the oil on our hands can cause problems.

Question 2: I think you can also use acetone on the cpu to clean it using something such as a Q-Tip..but im not to sure if it will hurt the CPU I dont think it will, but dont try it before you know.

Question 3: Lapping is makeing the bottom of the HS flat..This is done by sanding it with fine sand paper like 1200 on a flat surface...Doing this gives better contact to the CPU.

Finally the Artic Silver..apply a small drop on the CPU and use someting to smooth it out, credit cards work great..dont spread it with you fingers..You dont want alot of compound just enought to fill in any void that you cant see.

[The Overclocker]

if you go to artic silvers website (www.articsilver.com) it tells you how to apply it

[sfa ok]

With AS, I've found that I can get a much better layer if I do use my finger, I just clean my finger with alchohol after I clean the cpu and heatsink.

[Colin]

You don't want to use your finger as the oils in your skin will contaminate the thermal interface. A plastic bag over your finger as in the instructions (http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm) will avoid this.

Lapping your HS is the only way for mortals to remove all of the old TIM. For more information on this read Thermal Interface Basics (http://www.arcticsilver.com/thermal_interface_basics.htm) from the good folks at Arctic Silver.

[Sushiman]

thanks much for the help guys... i got all the old stuff off the heatsink and the chip =)