Sage-Tips

Does touching thermal paste ruin it?

Not best, but you should be OK. Paste spreads out under heat and pressure. Not to worry. The cpu will monitor temperatures and will slow down or shut off if it detects a dangerous level.

Is it OK if thermal paste smears?

You should have a thin layer of the thermal paste over the entire surface of the CPU. It sounds like you may have put too much on. If there is any doubt in your mind take it off and reapply the thermal paste correctly. Better safe then sorry and you won’t have that doubt in the back of your mind eating at you.

What happens if thermal paste is exposed to air?

Clean it all off and reapply the paste you bought. Its not bad that it was exposed to air, its bad because you picked it off the CPU and then put it back on. You now have tons of air bubbles between the heatsink and CPU. Air is good at keeping heat IN so your temps will go up.

What happens if you put too little thermal paste on CPU?

“Putting too much paste on a socket generally won’t hurt thermal performance, because the act of tightening down the cooler squeezes out the excess. Too little paste is bad, but anything above the minimum threshold will have the same effect once the cooler is tightened down.

Is thermal paste supposed to touch the CPU?

Before we get started: thermal paste is applied to the top of the CPU, not the bottom. It should applied to the smooth metal plate (where the manufacturer and model information is printed), not to to the hundreds of squares or pins on the underside. Thermal paste does not go on the motherboard’s CPU socket directly.

Is thermal paste supposed to be thick?

If it is a non-conductive paste that is even better I was worried a bit about the paste touching the “outside” too much and possibly being conductive, but if it is non-conductive then it really comes down to being an aesthetic problem if the paste spreads too far. Probably generally a non-issue more or less.

Why is my thermal paste liquid?

Cheap or bad quality compound sometimes has its ingredients inside its tube separate into its components. You know this because when you squeeze the tube an oil-like liquid may come out first before the rest of the compound does. If you apply it in this manner its function is useless.

Can I leave my CPU exposed?

“No danger to your health but your computer components might not get sufficient cooling. The case is designed to move air through the front, past the hot components and out the back(generally). It’s not going to cause a problem is every case, but it might.

How little is too little thermal paste?

But there’s one exception, and it can get messy. When it comes to applying thermal paste, less is more: a small, pea-sized drop is all you need. Don’t spread it around, either—the heatsink will spread it out evenly as you screw it in.

How do I know if I have too much thermal paste?

Starts here20:58“Too Much Thermal Paste” – Benchmark of Thermal Paste QuantityYouTube