i think i ruined the thermal pasting...

[breadisfunny]

so i was cleaning my computer and decided to clean the cpu fan/heatsink. i think i may have damaged the thermal pasting when i tried removing the fan because now the tempature results read 49-54c when idling while the other tempatures are around what they should be(30-38c). what can i do to keep the cpu cool while i wait for the new thermal paste to arrive? when gaming it climbs to 70 celcius

[Lilbruz]

As long as you dont have it overclocked, and dont run any huge programs, you should be fine. About 50c isnt bad, but keep your eyes on the temp. But if it gets crazy, most likely your PC will shut itself down

[yurano]

It costs <$10 to redo the thermal paste. All you need is some rubbing alcohol (isopropyl, $3), q-tips, and a small tube of new paste ($5).

[Kezotar]

It costs <$10 to redo the thermal paste. All you need is some rubbing alcohol (isopropyl, $3), q-tips, and a small tube of new paste ($5).

Oh, only in the US.
Buying "Thermal Paste" costs about 20 USDs where I live, it will probably cost another 10 USDs in shipping and take 3-5 days.
Moreoever, the "Rubbing Alcohol..." Let's not bother with that.

Honestly, it will cost you the same amount as the CPU cooler itself, unless you have those things. Or .. clean it with a tissue. Which probably works just the same

[Deleted]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Silve...ords=articlean

Dunno which bit of EU you are from, but this is a complete kit and less then 20 USD.

[Remilia]

I think he has already ordered it. Just asking what to do while waiting for it to come, unless you mean Kezotar then /shrug.

[breadisfunny]

okay my cpu is starting to kind of scare me it's giving readings of 70-100c+ while running games. looks like i will have to wait to play tera again. would using programs like hulu put any strain on the cpu?

[Realign]

You can actually use tooth paste as a replacement for short time.Should hold you over till you get thermal paste.

[breadisfunny]

You can actually use tooth paste as a replacement for short time.Should hold you over till you get thermal paste.

would running one of those small plug in fans help with cooling the inside? the tower itself has air holes for cold air to circulate in and out.
also i'm not sure if the sensors are broke or not but they seem to be flucuating wildly with the cpu whenever i run a program. it will go up and down between 50-70c+ within the space of about 10 seconds.

[chazus]

If you can't wait, just go out and buy a $5 tube of stuff. Don't use toothpaste -_-

[Remilia]

I think you can run open case for a bit, well the side door open. Of course if you have little kids or pets running around maybe not a good idea.

I wouldn't use toothpaste. Once it drys off it becomes very hard and a pain to clean off. It's also an abrasive and while the purpose of thermal paste is to bridge the gap between these imperfections, having less potential contact is a bad idea. Exception would be if you're using liquid metal thermal paste, which from what I've read is a gigantic pain in the ass.

[breadisfunny]

If you can't wait, just go out and buy a $5 tube of stuff. Don't use toothpaste -_-

what do you mean stuff?

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I think you can run open case for a bit, well the side door open. Of course if you have little kids or pets running around maybe not a good idea.

I wouldn't use toothpaste. Once it drys off it becomes very hard and a pain to clean off. It's also an abrasive and while the purpose of thermal paste is to bridge the gap between these imperfections, having less potential contact is a bad idea. Exception would be if you're using liquid metal thermal paste, which from what I've read is a gigantic pain in the ass.

can't really leave the side door open as we have kids running around.

[chazus]

what do you mean stuff?.

Thermal paste. You can get it at best buy or probably even walmart.

[breadisfunny]

Thermal paste. You can get it at best buy or probably even walmart.

well i already ordered it so....our wal mart doesnt carry thermal paste.

[chazus]

I'm just saying.... If its a big deal, its only $5.

[Cheze]

don't use toothpaste

if going out and spending 5-10 bucks on a tube is not an option for whatever reason I would just not use the PC for the next few days, at least not for anything processor intensive. You can probably get away with it, but why expose expensive components to unnecessary wear?

one you get the new paste, clean both contact points with an alcohol swab before you re-apply

[fixx]

Are you perhaps using stock Intel fan? It's really easy for one of the corners to pop out without you noticing if you twist it and the cooler doesnt touch the CPU properly. Fixing it back to full contact should take care of your overheating problems and allow light gaming on the computer.

[Deleted]

NEVER remove the heatsink unless you plan to replace the paste. Why would you do something so dumb?

[Deleted]

Normally Thermalpaste comes with your CPU cooler. Just put new paste on it...

[Lathais]

Exception would be if you're using liquid metal thermal paste, which from what I've read is a gigantic pain in the ass.

I used the Coolaboratory Liquid Pro on this last build which is a liquid metal. It's a little more of a pain then regular thermal paste, but not much. It comes with an abrasive pad to basically lightly sand the top of the CPU and then you place a small dot, about half the size what I typically used with "normal" pastes and then you have to spread it around with a Q-Tip until in completely covers the surface, then put another layer on the heat sink itself. It does take a little longer but it's not too much of a pain and it does make like a 5 degree difference over Arctic Silver.