Thinkpads Forum

I'm going to upgrade my wife's 8897 with a faster CPU. What do I need besides some Arctic Silver 5 paste? do I need a cleaner such as ArctiClean, or Akasa (or something else) to clean of the two surfaces before applying the AS5?

Any hints on separating the CPU from the heatsink before removing the CPU from the motherboard?

Isopropyl alcohol (91% or better) works just fine for cleanup in my experience.

I've never had an issue separating the heatsink on a T61/unit, unlike the battles I had fought with their T4x siblings.

Happy upgrading.

The easiest/most used/cheapest cleaning solution is Isopropyl Alcohol of 90% or better.
Available in any supermarket or pharmacy.
Take all the screws out (4 around the CPU and 2 at the end of the metal brackets) and disconnect the fan from the mobo, before you gently lift it.

I've got plenty of Isopropyl 91%.

When the CPU & Fan combo come out, do I need to slice them apart with a razor blade or something? I just don't want to repeat the process where I FUBAR'd the CPU in my best T30.

Normally the fan comes off easily if thermal paste was used.
Only if somebody used thermal glue instead (like in your T30), do you have problems.