Hey everyone! I'm relocating to another country and while I was taking apart my massive Noctua NH-D15 cooler, some thermal paste managed to get around the edges. It's been three years since I last replaced it, so I'm looking for tips on how to clean the old paste from both the cooler and the lid. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
For cleaning that residue, isopropyl alcohol is your best bet! It works really well for removing old thermal paste. You might want to check out this FAQ on how to clean Noctua products: https://www.noctua.at/en/support/faqs/how-should-i-clean-my-noctua-product.
Honestly, you probably don’t need to stress about it too much. Even if some thermal paste is lingering, it usually won’t spread around and cause issues. I’ve heard stories of people moving their rigs with worse cases and everything still works fine. Just keep your setup upright during the move!
Exactly! When I moved, I just took out my GPU and it all survived without a hitch. The CPU is pretty secure if everything is packed right.
Exactly what I was thinking! It should be fine as long as the cooler remains secure.

Thanks for the tip! I’m a big fan of Noctua too and I’ll definitely give it a look!