But since air is a notoriously poor conductor of heat.
Clean heatsink thermal paste.
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However if you use a spudger to scrape the old paste away only use a plastic one to reduce the chance of scratching or otherwise damaging parts.
Avoid using rubbing alcohol which is just 70 ipa.
Note that if you remove your cpu cooler for any reason you should always apply new thermal paste.
Looks like you have no ventilation.
I usually keep the heatsink as level as possible when i put it back on and tighten the screws little by little in a star pattern like lugnuts on a car.
Macbook pro 15 unibody early 2011.
Thermal paste can get mighty hard depending on how long it has been applied for.
I like to use kimwipes as they leave very little lint.
Inspect it for any thermal paste where it came into contact with the heatsink.
Clean out the heatsink and cpu then apply a very thin even coat of thermal paste on the cpu.
If this is the case you will need to remove the old thermal paste clean the surfaces and then re apply new thermal paste.
Chances are if you ve noticed an increase in temperature over the years it s due to the paste drying out.
Replace the heatsink careful to put it straight down on the cpu.
Wipe away most of the thermal paste that you can and then use 99 pure ipa to clean away any residue.
Ipa 90 concentration or greater to clean the thermal paste residue off the thermal contact surface of your heat sink.
Thermal paste or some oily thermal interface material is necessary because it fills in the microscopic imperfections that otherwise trap air particles between the cpu and the heatsink preventing the cpu from properly cooling heat radiates outward from the cpu to the heatsink before eventually making its way to a fan where it disperses.
Use a coffee filter or a lint free cloth and a little isopropyl alcohol a k a.
Thermal paste can sometimes harden which greatly reduces its effectiveness.
If you find any use the same steps to clean the surface.
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