Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

On Fri, 1 Feb 2013 05:16:07 +0000, Mike Tomlinson
wrote:


Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

Isopropyl Alcohol with an otherwise unused bristle paint brush?

I keep such a brush for dusting anyway.

In message , Apellation
Controlee writes
On Fri, 1 Feb 2013 05:16:07 +0000, Mike Tomlinson
wrote:


Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

Isopropyl Alcohol with an otherwise unused bristle paint brush?

+1
Will soften the tar and not damage the components. Maybe use cotton bud
for small areas.

--
Simon

12) The Second Rule of Expectations
An EXPECTATION is a Premeditated resentment.

On Fri, 1 Feb 2013 05:16:07 +0000, Mike Tomlinson
wrote:


Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it?

Angle grinder.

--
Frank Erskine

On 01/02/2013 05:16, Mike Tomlinson wrote:

Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

Is it worth trying it out before assuming that's what will happen? And
if it does - I wonder how long a PC card can keep emanating the smell -
eg if you left it switched on in the garage for a couple of days might
that sort it?
--
David

On Feb 1, 5:16*am, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. *Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. *I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? *Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

--
*(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

Every year we used to get the same C64 in for 'service' from a
gentleman who smoked a pipe. Heavily.
First task was always to unscrew the MB, seal in a bag with IPA, and
leave for 24 hours to soak....

Phil.

In article ,
Mike Tomlinson writes:

Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

I would use an air duster to blast the dust off it.
If the heatsink and fan are demountable, I might also take them
off to clean under, and possbly to wash the heatsink if the air
duster can't clean it up. Obviously, any of this risks breaking
the card, and if you do break it, it's not reasonable to expect
to return it afterwards.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

In article , Lobster davidlobsterpot60
writes

Is it worth trying it out before assuming that's what will happen?

Oh, it'll happen. I recently repaired a PC for a friend who is a heavy
smoker - replaced the PSU - and the smell after I powered it on was
sickening. Got him to come and take it away pronto, but the stink
lingered for days afterward.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

On Fri, 1 Feb 2013 09:48:40 +0000 (UTC),
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
Mike Tomlinson writes:

Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

I would use an air duster to blast the dust off it.
If the heatsink and fan are demountable, I might also take them
off to clean under, and possbly to wash the heatsink if the air
duster can't clean it up. Obviously, any of this risks breaking
the card, and if you do break it, it's not reasonable to expect
to return it afterwards.

Nicotine doesn't lie like dust, it builds up a tar-like coating.

In article ,
Apellation Controlee writes:
On Fri, 1 Feb 2013 09:48:40 +0000 (UTC),
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
Mike Tomlinson writes:

Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

I would use an air duster to blast the dust off it.
If the heatsink and fan are demountable, I might also take them
off to clean under, and possbly to wash the heatsink if the air
duster can't clean it up. Obviously, any of this risks breaking
the card, and if you do break it, it's not reasonable to expect
to return it afterwards.

Nicotine doesn't lie like dust, it builds up a tar-like coating.

The smell comes from the looser stuff (ash, soot) which can blow
away, not the stuff stuck firmly to the card.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

In article ,
Mike Tomlinson wrote:
Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

Wash the entire thing with warm water and washing up liquid. All the fag
smoke artifacts are water soluble.

Rinse well, and dry in a warm place for a couple of days.

--
He who laughs last, thinks slowest*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 01/02/2013 09:48, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
In article , Lobster davidlobsterpot60
writes

Is it worth trying it out before assuming that's what will happen?

Oh, it'll happen. I recently repaired a PC for a friend who is a heavy
smoker - replaced the PSU - and the smell after I powered it on was
sickening. Got him to come and take it away pronto, but the stink
lingered for days afterward.

Well OK, but that's a whole PC, not just one card?

--
David

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
On 01/02/2013 05:16, Mike Tomlinson wrote:

Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

Is it worth trying it out before assuming that's what will happen? And if
it does - I wonder how long a PC card can keep emanating the smell - eg if
you left it switched on in the garage for a couple of days might that sort
it?

I'd try it out to make sure it's working if it came from ebay, never mind
whether it smells.

I'd go with a combination of the other suggestions, the alcohol for the card
itself and I'd try and take the fan apart (if it has one) and give it a good
wash in soapy water, dry well. If the fan is clogged up with nicotine-heavy
dust and residue, it'll just spread the smell even if the rest of the card
is gleaming.

In article , Mentalguy2k8
writes

I'd try it out to make sure it's working if it came from ebay, never mind
whether it smells.

It works, very well in fact. Just stinks

I'd go with a combination of the other suggestions, the alcohol for the card
itself

IPA gets the majority vote. Thanks all. I have some.

and I'd try and take the fan apart (if it has one) and give it a good
wash in soapy water, dry well. If the fan is clogged up with nicotine-heavy
dust and residue, it'll just spread the smell even if the rest of the card
is gleaming.

Ta. The heatsink is easy to remove, I'll bung it in the dishwasher
after removing the fan (3 small screws) and just wipe that over gently
with a cloth and soapy water. Wouldn't put the fan in the dishwasher
as it'll wash the lubrication out of the bearing.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

On Fri, 1 Feb 2013 05:16:07 +0000, Mike Tomlinson
wrote:


Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

From my experience of guitar cases saturated in the by-products of
tobacco smoking, I'd say that vomit is a pretty good neutraliser.

Don't ask.. ...you really don't want to know.

Nick

On 01/02/2013 11:26, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:

I'd try it out to make sure it's working if it came from ebay, never
mind whether it smells.

I don't know why it is that so many people are so down on ebay. I think
used with care (ie to avoid the obvious scams) it's utterly brilliant.
I must have done about 700 trades over 10 years (about 70:30
buying:selling) and reckon the number of those which haven't ended up
100% satisfactory could be counted on one hand.

Eg, couple of weeks ago: I've ripped out our old fireplace and needed
rid of the old slate hearth: it was nothing special at all and weighed a
ton, so was going to have to smash it up just to take it down the dump.
Just thought it was worth trying ebay to see if someone would pay me
99p to save me the hassle - in the end somebody just drove half-way
across the country and paid me £45 (!) for it.

Yesterday: wanted to get my mum a screen protector for the iPad she just
bought at John Lewis. "Don't buy any accessories there", I said.
Couple of mouse clicks later, and the protector arrived via ebay this
morning - cost delivered: £1.49, versus £15 to £19 from John Lewis.

Etc etc. Really, what's not to like?
--
David

On 1 Feb, 05:37, Apellation Controlee wrote:
On Fri, 1 Feb 2013 05:16:07 +0000, Mike Tomlinson
wrote:



Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. *Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. *I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? *Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

Isopropyl Alcohol with an otherwise unused *bristle paint brush?

I keep such a brush for dusting anyway.

But make sure any electro-mechanical components (fans, switches,
connectors) are sealed and suitable for cleaning.

MBQ

On 1 Feb, 12:54, Lobster wrote:
On 01/02/2013 11:26, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:



I'd try it out to make sure it's working if it came from ebay, never
mind whether it smells.

I don't know why it is that so many people are so down on ebay. *I think
used with care (ie to avoid the obvious scams) it's utterly brilliant.
I must have done about 700 trades over 10 years (about 70:30
buying:selling) and reckon the number of those which haven't ended up
100% satisfactory could be counted on one hand.

+1

I had one buyer so guilty at the bargain he got that he sent me an
extra fiver!

MBQ

In article , Lobster davidlobsterpot601@
hotmail.com writes

I don't know why it is that so many people are so down on ebay. I think
used with care (ie to avoid the obvious scams) it's utterly brilliant.

I agree. Hundreds of trades and this is one of the very few that's
been a disappointment. To his credit, the seller has offered a full
refund (including return postage) or a partial refund. I feel a bit
guilty now!

Another one was a piddly little 99p adapter from China which didn't
turn up. They cheerfully sent out another one, which did.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

In article , Lobster davidlobsterpot601@ho
tmail.com writes

Well OK, but that's a whole PC, not just one card?

Trust me, it smells. Do you smoke? If you do, you aren't aware how
unpleasant the residual smell is to non-smokers.

The card's in the PC at the moment, it's coming out tonight for an IPA
wash!

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

On 01/02/2013 11:03, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article , Mike Tomlinson
wrote:
Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker.
Sticky with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the
air flowing through the case propelled by the fans will stink out
the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know
I'm not happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage,
but the card is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be
de-stinked.

Wash the entire thing with warm water and washing up liquid. All the
fag smoke artifacts are water soluble.

Rinse well, and dry in a warm place for a couple of days.


I use to clean TV chassis the same way. Very cheap and easy to do. I'd
use a paint brush to get into all the nooks and crannies.

I used to leave them on the boiler for a few days. But perhaps now with
colder boiler cases, the airing cupboard might be a better bet.
Alternatively an oven on simmer??

On Fri, 1 Feb 2013 06:05:29 -0800 (PST), Owain
wrote:

On Feb 1, 12:54*pm, Lobster wrote:
Etc etc. Really, what's not to like?

My "BNIB" speaker [1] turned out to be "BNIB but with the bottom
bashed so hard the paint is peeling off".

But as they're £50 new and I paid £15 incl P&P I won't send it back.
In fairness to the seller, it could have been bashed by Hermes.

In equal fairness to the seller (and of course, Hermes), most damage
in transit is due to inadequate packaging.

On 01/02/2013 14:01, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
In article , Lobster davidlobsterpot601@ho
tmail.com writes

Well OK, but that's a whole PC, not just one card?

Trust me, it smells. Do you smoke? If you do, you aren't aware how
unpleasant the residual smell is to non-smokers.

Nope; and certainly I hate 2nd-hand smoke as much as anybody! Just
surprised that a single PC card contained within a PC (albeit with fan)
would stink a whole room out; and personally would think it worth trying
out before going any further...

But the IPA solution does sound a good bet (hope the card still works
afterwards !--
David

Lobster wrote:
On 01/02/2013 14:01, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
In article , Lobster davidlobsterpot601@ho
tmail.com writes

Well OK, but that's a whole PC, not just one card?

Trust me, it smells. Do you smoke? If you do, you aren't aware how
unpleasant the residual smell is to non-smokers.

Nope; and certainly I hate 2nd-hand smoke as much as anybody! Just
surprised that a single PC card contained within a PC (albeit with fan)
would stink a whole room out; and personally would think it worth trying
out before going any further...

I have an occasional visitor who is a smoker, and even if he doesn't
smoke in the house, I can smell the tobacco residue for a good couple of
hours after he leaves.

Tobacco residue has a very persistent odour. If someone has smoked in a
hotel room, the smell persists for days, unless the hotel use the
specialist products (whatever they are) to clear the whiff.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

En el artículo , Lobster davidlobsterp
escribió:

But the IPA solution does sound a good bet (hope the card still works
afterwards !--

It did

* took it out of PC
* removed heatsink (tricky, it had glued itself to the chip)
* washed board with IPA from spray can & put on rad to dry
* removed fan from heatsink
* washed heatsink in sink with washing up liquid - turned water brown
* cleaned fan with baby wipes
* oiled fan
* refitted fan to heatsink
* refitted heatsink with fresh thermal compound
* returned to PC, tested OK. Using it now as I type.
* smell from PC exhaust gone!

Thanks all for the help.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

En el artículo , Nick Odell
escribió:

From my experience of guitar cases saturated in the by-products of
tobacco smoking, I'd say that vomit is a pretty good neutraliser.

Isn't that just replacing one bad smell with another?

Don't ask.. ...you really don't want to know.

Is this one for the FAQ?

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

In article , Dave Plowman (News)
writes
In article ,
Mike Tomlinson wrote:
Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

Wash the entire thing with warm water and washing up liquid. All the fag
smoke artifacts are water soluble.

Rinse well, and dry in a warm place for a couple of days.

I'd avoid washing up liquid, v likely to have salt as a thickener which
you don't want around if the rinse doesn't clear all the residue from
under the surface mount chips.

IPA sounds safer.
--
fred
it's a ba-na-na . . . .

On Fri, 1 Feb 2013 05:37:37 -0800 (PST), "Man at B&Q"
wrote:

On 1 Feb, 12:54, Lobster wrote:
On 01/02/2013 11:26, Mentalguy2k8 wrote:



I'd try it out to make sure it's working if it came from ebay, never
mind whether it smells.

I don't know why it is that so many people are so down on ebay. *I think
used with care (ie to avoid the obvious scams) it's utterly brilliant.
I must have done about 700 trades over 10 years (about 70:30
buying:selling) and reckon the number of those which haven't ended up
100% satisfactory could be counted on one hand.

+1

I had one buyer so guilty at the bargain he got that he sent me an
extra fiver!

MBQ

I've done that twice! Both collect in person.

First time was a wirless access point that went for 99p. It was
practically new in box and I gave him a fiver.

Second time was a PC PSU, can't remember how much but it was very
cheap. I gave him a bag of surplus goodies from my boot. 6 way power
strip and a few USB cables IIRC.

I'm a soft touch!

On Friday, 1 February 2013 05:16:07 UTC, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky

with nicotine and stinks.

Brake Cleaner Aerosol. Non-flammable, solvent OK for electronics, fast evaporation.

"Lobster" wrote in message
...
On 01/02/2013 05:16, Mike Tomlinson wrote:

Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

Is it worth trying it out before assuming that's what will happen? And if
it does - I wonder how long a PC card can keep emanating the smell - eg if
you left it switched on in the garage for a couple of days might that sort
it?

No it does, the stink is there forever.

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Apellation Controlee writes:
On Fri, 1 Feb 2013 09:48:40 +0000 (UTC),
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
Mike Tomlinson writes:

Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker.
Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm
not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the
card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

I would use an air duster to blast the dust off it.
If the heatsink and fan are demountable, I might also take them
off to clean under, and possbly to wash the heatsink if the air
duster can't clean it up. Obviously, any of this risks breaking
the card, and if you do break it, it's not reasonable to expect
to return it afterwards.

Nicotine doesn't lie like dust, it builds up a tar-like coating.

The smell comes from the looser stuff (ash, soot) which can blow
away, not the stuff stuck firmly to the card.

That's not right. Quite a bit of the stink comes from
the tar and that sticks very firmly indeed to the card.

Lobster wrote
Mentalguy2k8 wrote

I'd try it out to make sure it's working if it came from ebay, never mind
whether it smells.

I don't know why it is that so many people are so down on ebay.

They're the sort of fool that uses very simplistic
rules to simplify their choices, like those who
wont buy anything from a foreigner etc.

I think used with care (ie to avoid the obvious scams) it's utterly
brilliant.

Yeah, tho I was a bit surprised at how much more choice I had with
those relatively new weighing spoons with amazon rather than ebay.

Presumably that's because of the different costs for those selling
stuff and other detail like how whats on offer shows up to buyers.

Amazon has some massive downsides over ebay tho, particularly
with the lousy search system which doesn't even allow you to see
JUST the specific items you are interested in even with such a specific
search term like those weighing spoons or say ultrasonic cleaners.

And you cant even order the search hits by price for all the hits
either, you have to specify the category before you can do that.

And you cant see the shipping price you will actually pay on the
sorted list of hits either, particularly when the supplier isnt in the
same country as you are.

I must have done about 700 trades over 10 years (about 70:30
buying:selling) and reckon the number of those which haven't ended up 100%
satisfactory could be counted on one hand.

Yeah, me too, and some of those it was just me not being careful
enough to look at the description of what was on offer.

Eg, couple of weeks ago: I've ripped out our old fireplace and needed rid
of the old slate hearth: it was nothing special at all and weighed a ton,
so was going to have to smash it up just to take it down the dump. Just
thought it was worth trying ebay to see if someone would pay me 99p to
save me the hassle - in the end somebody just drove half-way across the
country and paid me £45 (!) for it.

There are other alternatives to ebay for stuff like that tho.

Yesterday: wanted to get my mum a screen protector for the iPad she just
bought at John Lewis. "Don't buy any accessories there", I said. Couple
of mouse clicks later, and the protector arrived via ebay this morning -
cost delivered: £1.49, versus £15 to £19 from John Lewis.

Yeah, ebay and amazon are very handy ways to buy stuff direct from china
etc.

Etc etc. Really, what's not to like?

Some of the sellers do complain that the way ebay does its best match
sorting leaves a hell of a lot to be desired for some types of sellers.
Presumably it must be stuff like that that's at least part of the reason
why you can get a lot more on offer on amazon than ebay.

On 01/02/2013 18:25, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
* removed heatsink (tricky, it had glued itself to the chip)

You will of course put new heat transfer compound between the chip and
the sink...

This stuff is good. You only need a drop.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Silver-3-5g-Thermal-Paste/dp/B0002VFXFE

Andy

In article ,
fred wrote:
Wash the entire thing with warm water and washing up liquid. All the
fag smoke artifacts are water soluble.

Rinse well, and dry in a warm place for a couple of days.

I'd avoid washing up liquid, v likely to have salt as a thickener which
you don't want around if the rinse doesn't clear all the residue from
under the surface mount chips.

That's why I said rinse well.

IPA sounds safer.

Perhaps if you can flood it with it. Too expensive here - I've used my
method many times with success. Although more usually for spilt coffee,
etc.

--
*Does fuzzy logic tickle? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 01/02/2013 05:16, Mike Tomlinson wrote:

Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

Return it. Remaining residue from the smoke will attack the materials
used in the manufacture of the video card and cause early failure.
Dave
--
Blow my nose to email me

En el artículo , Andy
Champ escribió:

You will of course put new heat transfer compound between the chip and
the sink...

from my last post...

"* refitted heatsink with fresh thermal compound"

:-)

This stuff is good. You only need a drop.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Silver-3-5g-Thermal-Paste/dp/B0002VFXFE

Yes, I had some in. A small tube goes a very long way.

--
(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

In article ,
snot wrote:
Return it. Remaining residue from the smoke will attack the materials
used in the manufacture of the video card and cause early failure.

********.

--
*Okay, who stopped the payment on my reality check? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Owain wrote:
On Feb 2, 9:09 am, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
This stuff is good. You only need a drop.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Silver-3-5g-Thermal-Paste/dp/B0002VFXFE
Yes, I had some in. A small tube goes a very long way.

Is it possible to use too much?

Yes, the ideal is the thinnest possible continuous layer between the
item to be cooled and the heatsink. More reduces the rate of heat transfer.

I changed a CPU fan and used the whole tube.

Apart from the mess, a thick layer is less effective at transferring the
heat.The idea is to just fill the (normally invisible to the naked eye)
roughness in both surfaces for best heat transfer.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

In article
,
Owain wrote:
On Feb 2, 9:09 am, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
This stuff is good. You only need a drop.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Silver-3-5g-Thermal-Paste/dp/B0002VFXFE
Yes, I had some in. A small tube goes a very long way.

Is it possible to use too much?

I changed a CPU fan and used the whole tube.

If it's properly clamped, any excess should just squirt out the sides.

--
*The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In message , Mike Tomlinson
writes

Got a video card off fleabay, but it's come from a heavy smoker. Sticky
with nicotine and stinks. I know if I put it in the PC the air flowing
through the case propelled by the fans will stink out the room.

How can I best clean it? Have mailed the seller to let him know I'm not
happy, he's offered a full refund including return postage, but the card
is a decent one and I'd like to keep it if it can be de-stinked.

Stick a dead rat in the case, it'll soon mask the smell


--
geoff