Ok so I'm trying to open up my Y410p and replacing the paste with Artic Silver 5. What must I be careful of when opening up my comp?

How to remove the old paste? Best way to apply the new one?

My CPU temps get a bit high so Turbo boost doesn't get upto the GHz I want to play Dolphin Xenoblade at optimum speed.

Play it on Wii.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hNgFNH7zhQ

Also remember to ground urself and make sure not to have water or liquid near ur pc

Turbo boost works by cores, Dolphin needs 2-3 cores. For example, I have a 3570k (3.4 Ghz, 3.8 turbo boost).
However, turbo for my CPU is 3.8Ghz only when one core is being used. It's 3.7 with 2, 3.6, with 3, and finally, 3.5Ghz when all 4 cores are in use.

Yours should be @3.2Ghz when the boost kicks in. Being a laptop, there isn't much you can do about this.

Acetone + Q-tip to remove the old paste.

Only things to really worry about when opening it up is forgetting where shit goes that you have to remove.

To lay down new paste, I always put a little dot of new paste on each corner, then take an old credit/grocery store card, and spread it in towards the center. You want a thin layer, but not so thin that it offers no protection.

Exactly the video I was going to post. It was even shown in my first PC class

thanks.  i just happened to have the same question and saw this. I've replaced my thermal paste twice, both times with a drop the size of rice, and my pc is still 45º C sitting idle.  It's time i tried the credit card method.

Actually your method is (almost) the correct one, not the one seen in this ridiculous video. The best way would be:

Have a conducting surface ready (alu foil will do). Remove the processor and put it onto the conducting surface. Clean the processor and the copper cooler surface. The amount of paste you need depends on how "clean" the surfaces are (really good copper surfaces are like mirrors). If you actually see scratches, you're in trouble in any case. Do as J_Allard wrote but apply as minimal paste as possible. The role of the paste is not to form a nice white (or gray, whatever the color of the paste is) thick layer onto the processor. The role of the paste is to fill the scratches you probably don't see. This requires probably a fifth to a tenth of the paste as in that silly video - the paste should almost look transparent. If you use too much paste bubbles will either form right now or later, once the processor has been heated up a few times. Put the processor back onto the mb (removing the porcessor prevents any spilling of paste onto the mb/socket, and excess paste is easier to remove. Connect the cooler and you should be fine. Don't slide the cooler around or reseat it.

Should I take the CPU out of the socket?

Huh. And all this time I thought you had to put enough to cover the entire thing without even accounting for heat. Glad I saw that before I swapped out my first CPU, LOL. :p