Computer Love Juice (Akasa TIM Clean)

Member Name: Wheelchair-Wiz

Product:	Akasa TIM Clean
Date:	11/03/09 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does exactly what it is suppose to do, makes cleaning effortless.

Disadvantages: Could be a pound or so cheaper.

.......:::: - Introduction

Computers are often hated by the people who use them; random crashes, strange noises and funny smells being just a few things that often make us worried and angry at our little beige boxes. People don't respect or love their computer; they merely see it as a tool that should work and when it doesn't it deserves verbal abuse and sometimes a swift kick.

I am going to let you in on a little secret... Loving your computer and respecting it not only makes it run better, it makes it respect you, your documents and everything you are doing.

The history of the computer is very different from your normal run of the mill appliance. The computer has always had a massive fan club, referred to globally as 'geeks' and inside the computer world as 'enthusiasts'. These people love their computers and have done for years and years, long before many of you even knew how to turn one on.

These enthusiasts have and are still having a huge effect on computers today, many products are specifically designed to what the enthusiasts need and want. Computer hardware is often built for the enthusiasts to love and understand, to tweak and play with, to caress and care for instead of it just being simple for everyone to understand.

This is where the problem begins. If computers are designed from the start around a community of individuals who automatically respect and love their complex beige boxes... That means you out there, the people who don't love, understand or respect computers need to start to because the computer knows and responds to your feelings.

The product I am about to review should hopefully bring you closer to understanding just how far us enthusiasts have gone to make sure our computers know we love them.


.......:::: - The Product

Akasa TIM Clean is a CPU and Heatsink Cleaner - Removes thermal pads and silver base thermal grease.

This product is designed to clean the processor (central processing unit) and can also be used to clean the heatsink. The heatsink is a little block of metal (aluminium/copper) that sits on top of the processor to help transfer the heat away. The heat travels into the block of metal which is then cooled by a fan.


.......:::: - Instructions

The instructions to use this product can be found on the back of the plastic container;

HOW TO USE
- Scrape most of the TIM off with a piece of stiff plastic
- Apply solution with a clean dry cloth
- Leave for 1-2 minutes
- Wipe clean with a dry cloth

TIM stands for "Thermal Interface Materials" and it basically means the material found on the processor and the heatsink which helps the transfer of the heat. TIM has many names, here are most of them; thermal compound, heat paste, heat transfer compound, thermal paste, or heat sink compound.

The paste is thermally conductive and sits between the processor and the heatsink aiding the cooling process. Without paste any gaps between the processor and the heatsink will be filled with air that is considered 8000 times less thermally conductive than a paste.


.......:::: - Why?

There are several types of thermal paste, ranging in price and performance. The reason why you need Akasa TIM Clean is to remove the old paste or thermal pad when applying a new thermal compound. The cleaner the surface of the processor and heatsink, the less old thermal paste will be on there. This means your new paste will not have to mix with the old paste which could possibly make it become less conductive.

Many enthusiasts believe that once the seal is broken between a processor and heatsink, new thermal paste should be applied. So you can often see yourself getting a lot of use out of a product like this if you are constantly switching hardware or testing heatsinks.

The most common type of thermal paste is Ceramic-based which is generally good but probably the most common and least conductive. Metal-based is what I personally use, it contains solid metal particles of silver to increase thermal conductivity. The other two are Carbon-based and Liquid Metal based which I have not come across yet.

These materials are not easy to clean off of a processor and heatsink, using water is obviously not going to work and is not a good idea so close to electrical products. Processors are quite hardy but they are still very fragile so applying to much pressure could be fatal. Heatsinks are manufactured to have a flat and smooth surface, so any strange cleaning techniques can leave an adverse effect on thermal conductivity if you happen to scratch or misshape the base.

Using Akasa TIM Clean makes the thermal paste just slide off, no excessive rubbing or pressure is required as the contents of the liquid breakdown the thermal paste with ease. It is much safer and easier spending a few pounds on a little tub of this (that will likely last many years) than to use other cleaning methods.


.......:::: - Ingredients and Label information

Contains amongst ingredients Aliphatic hydrocarbon > 30%, BHT.

Harmful material.

Made in the UK. Non-caustic. Non-inflammable.


.......:::: - Conclusion

Using the TIM Clean solution makes removing and reapplying thermal paste simple, quick and very very easy. It is a lot less messy than using other cleaners and works a lot better than just general elbow-grease. You can literally see your heatsink shine again as if it was new when you have cleaned it with this liquid, it truly is a simple yet amazingly effective product.

Hopefully you can now understand just how far we enthusiasts have gone. Not only do we have silver-based thermal compounds for our home computers, we also have special fluid to clean it off. We truly have thought of everything and use everything to make sure our computers know we love them.

So if you have geek in your family who plays with computer parts, buy them some Akasa TIM Clean. It will be the best present you will ever get them and it may make computers crash less often on you lol.


.......:::: - Final Ratings

Smell :: 5/5 (Mmm.. Orangey)
Ease of use :: 5/5
Price :: 4/5
Product life :: 5/5
Instructions :: 5/5
Overall :: 96/100

Summary: Great stocking filler for an enthustiast.

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