Do you have to let Thermal paste dry?

By Nikv
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Nikv

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I have just brought Thermal paste for my CPU. I applied properly so that you can't see the surface. I didn't let it dry. When I turned on my computer, It worked for about 6 minutes then shutdown due to it being too hot (100+C). The CPU itself is fine, and I had just brought a new motherboard, RAM, GPU, PSU etc.

Do I need to let the Paste dry before working my computer?

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Nikv

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We do have a heatsink/fan on.

How much should I have put on? I put on most of the tube..Would it really make a difference?

After letting it cool down, I booted the comp and it already was in the 100's C for the CPU temp..

It wouldn't take that long to heat up would it? The CPU itself is pretty hot though.

Grand Master

Jeston Veteran

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It makes a huge difference, too much paste and the heat will not get transferred to the heatsink to be dissipated. Normally, we use a dot in the middle about the size of a bb, or a line in the middle about the size of a grain of rice. It just needs to cover the processor with a very thin layer.

Read these instructions (even if you're not using the same brand of paste.)

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Nikv

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It makes a huge difference, too much paste and the heat will not get transferred to the heatsink to be dissipated. Normally, we use a dot in the middle about the size of a bb, or a line in the middle about the size of a grain of rice. It just needs to cover the processor with a very thin layer.

Read these instructions (even if you're not using the same brand of paste.)

Thanks.

Shall we use the scraper tool they gave me to clean it off?

Grand Master

The_Decryptor Veteran

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We do have a heatsink/fan on.

How much should I have put on? I put on most of the tube..Would it really make a difference?

...

:|

You're supposed to put a small amount on, like the size of a grain of rice, too much and it turns into an insulator (so it keeps the heat in the CPU)

Grand Master

Shof

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I have put too much on myself and it got stuck like glue between the cpu and the cooler, when I removed the cooler the cpu got pulled out of the sockets. :lol:

then the fun part is getting the heatstink and the processor unstuck. One time, i used a small flathead to pry it loose, when someone else happen :pinch:

Grand Master

kylejn

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then the fun part is getting the heatstink and the processor unstuck. One time, i used a small flathead to pry it loose, when someone else happen :pinch:

That's what I did once. Took a flathead screwdriver, stuck it between the two, and popped the processor off. Except it sounds like yours didn't work afterwords, whereas mine worked fine.

For my current computer, I probably applied too much thermal paste, since I'd never done it before, but the machine is running rock solid, so I guess it turned out OK. I just made a light spiral from the outside in, so the weight from the heatsink would spread it out evenly. Now I know to put a BB sized dollop on there and use a credit card or something to manually spread it out across the surface of the CPU.

Grand Master

Shof

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That's what I did once. Took a flathead screwdriver, stuck it between the two, and popped the processor off. Except it sounds like yours didn't work afterwords, whereas mine worked fine.

Well, i applied too much pressure on the flathead. When i pry it off, i wasnt that careful that much, which made the processor fly a bit. Lucky the processor survive its flight in the air

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revvo

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How much should I have put on? I put on most of the tube..Would it really make a difference?
Most of the tube? Whichever tube it may be, you shouldn't need to put most of a brand new thermal paste tube that's WAYYYYYYY too much.

The key is make it as thin as possible.

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