Old thermal paste can reduce heatsink cooling performance. Here's how to remove it.

There comes a time when your once glorious CPU starts to kill your buzz—it no longer gets your through those late night gaming sessions.

You’ve finally upgraded and the only sticking point is the left over thermal paste from the junk processor you just tossed away. Yes, you have something new and shiny which makes the old thing junk. Thermal paste can get mighty hard depending on how long it has been applied for. Chances are, if you’ve noticed an increase in temperature over the years, it’s due to the paste drying out.

Before you can remount your cooler and test out your new toys, you are going to need to get rid of the leftovers. You will need only one cleaning wipe to get the job done; or a cloth and rubbing alcohol are also OK.

To remove the thermal paste, first is wiping the surface with the cleaning wipe to remove as much of the big chunks as you can. while not as important when working with the heatsink, it’s still a good idea to avoid making a mess. Wipe the remaining thermal paste and use a new cleaning wipe as needed. It should look as shiny as the day you bought it when you’re done.

And there you have it. Once you've gotten to a mirror-like finish, it's time to apply your own thermal paste. For how to apply thermal paste on CPU, you can learn from-- http://www.halnziye.net/news/60.html