But since air is a notoriously poor conductor of heat.
Clean heatsink thermal paste.
6 5w m k thermal paste cpu paste heatsink past thermal compound.
Replace the heatsink careful to put it straight down on the cpu.
Ipa 90 concentration or greater to clean the thermal paste residue off the thermal contact surface of your heat sink.
Clean out the heatsink and cpu then apply a very thin even coat of thermal paste on the cpu.
Carbon based high performance heatsink paste thermal compound cpu for all coolers 4 grams limited time offer ends 09 25.
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.
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.
If it isn t clean it reapply thermal paste and make sure it is now connected much more stable to the cpu.
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.
Thermal paste can sometimes harden which greatly reduces its effectiveness.
If this is the case you will need to remove the old thermal paste clean the surfaces and then re apply new thermal paste.
Looks like you have no ventilation.
If you find any use the same steps to clean the surface.
Macbook pro 15 unibody early 2011.
Thermal paste can get mighty hard depending on how long it has been applied for.
Note that if you remove your cpu cooler for any reason you should always apply new thermal paste.
Inspect it for any thermal paste where it came into contact with the heatsink.
Arctic mx 4 4 grams thermal compound paste carbon based high performance heatsink paste thermal compound cpu for all coolers thermal interface material 4 8 out of 5 stars 12 029 1 best seller in silicon grease.
Remove the heatsink depending on what kind of heatsink you have flip the latch or release the retention clips that keep the heatsink attached to the cpu.
Chances are if you ve noticed an increase in temperature over the years it s due to the paste drying out.
Avoid using rubbing alcohol which is just 70 ipa.