Reapplying thermal paste to A10 6800k

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
A

apav

Distinguished
May 20, 2010
333
1
18,795
Hey guys,

I built a desktop with an A10 6800k for a friend recently, but noticed that the cpu was running really hot, like 50-60C average, with spikes up to 80C on idle. I just used the stock heatsink with this build. So after pulling the heatsink off, I discovered that the square of thermal paste that was on the heatsink isn't large enough to entirely cover the cpu. Of course, I have only ever built my computer, so this may be fine, but I was told to spread a thin layer over the entire cpu, and my i5 2500k never breaks 69C under full load overclocked to 4.5ghz with my Hyper 212 EVO. I don't know if AMD differs.

Would it make a difference if I removed the stock thermal paste and reapplied it with the Cooler Master paste I got from my Hyper 212 EVO? But it's almost two years old, so I don't know if I should get some Arctic Silver instead. I'll still be using the stock heatsink, just different paste and reapplied directly onto the CPU instead of onto the heatsink.

If you recommend changing the paste, I'll remove it with some isopropyl alcohol and a q-tip, but how should I reapply it onto the CPU?

Thanks!
 
Solution
C
The center of the CPU is what gets hottest, so while having the heatsink (and thermal compound) cover most of the CPU is nice, it's not necessary. That is why a small dot in the center pretty much is the best way to do it; it makes sure the paste is where it needs to be, and minimizes the chance of any air bubbles.

I would download several third-party temperature monitoring programs, and cross-reference them to make sure you are getting the right thermal readings. Apparently, it can sometimes be difficult to read the thermals on some APUs. (Also, max safe temperature is 74C.)

As for aftermarker thermal compound, it's always a good idea, and never really a bad investment. It has a long shelf-life, and it's better to have it than to...
Sort by date Sort by votes
mauller07

mauller07

Splendid
Mar 28, 2010
2,801
0
21,960
dont spread, just place a rice grain amount in the middle of the cpu and place the heatsink down square and press down and give it a few slight twists then immediately clamp it without lifting it.

if you lift it at any point its best to clean and redo the paste for best results.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

apav

Distinguished
May 20, 2010
333
1
18,795
So you guys think I should reapply with aftermarket thermal paste though?

And if I were to go with an aftermarket cooler, what would you recommend? I'm not sure if a Hyper 212 EVO can fit in the case, it's a Bitfenix Shinobi. I need something that would be low profile and whisper quiet.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

Calculatron

Honorable
Apr 3, 2013
2,240
0
12,460
The center of the CPU is what gets hottest, so while having the heatsink (and thermal compound) cover most of the CPU is nice, it's not necessary. That is why a small dot in the center pretty much is the best way to do it; it makes sure the paste is where it needs to be, and minimizes the chance of any air bubbles.

I would download several third-party temperature monitoring programs, and cross-reference them to make sure you are getting the right thermal readings. Apparently, it can sometimes be difficult to read the thermals on some APUs. (Also, max safe temperature is 74C.)

As for aftermarker thermal compound, it's always a good idea, and never really a bad investment. It has a long shelf-life, and it's better to have it than to not have it. I highly recommend Arctic Cooling MX-4; it's cheap, plentiful, and works great. No worries about cure time, or being electrically capacitive either. In this day and age, though, really, you'll see more difference with how well you can mount your heatsink over different brands of paste.

I am a huge advocate for aftermarket cooling, so if you want to replace that stock heatsink, by all means, go ahead. Anything will be better than that hunk of aluminum with a tiny fan.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
S

SoulOfAton

Honorable
Sep 30, 2013
2
0
10,510
I have this APU in my current rig and have been through quite a few different programs trying to get accurate readings for my cpu and system temps. Read a lot of suggestions from a lot of sources and the most accurate ones I found were AMD Overdrive, but ONLY if your system is under load, if it's idling it'll spit out crazy lower numbers like sub 10 C, and for idling I'd use the BIOS readings but that's inconvenient so the alternative to that is hwmonitor. hwmonitor seems to give the most accurate readings (next to overdrive for readings taken while under heavy load but the difference is just a degree or two off). Don't look at the package temp, that's not calculated correctly for the APU. TMPIN0, TMPIN1, and TMPIN2 are where to look. It seems that for different people the temps for the cpu, system and ambient differ in which of the "TMPIN0, TMPIN1, TMPIN2" option they're assigned to, so instead of telling you what mine are just look at yours and the hottest one will be your CPU, second hottest will be your system temp, and the lowest one should be your ambient temp (mosfet read). Some people only have two of those so if you do then you may not have an ambient temp, but just use your judgement. My PC was idling around 60 C and jumping up to 90 just from browsing the internet and I thought there was something seriously wrong considering it was a new build. Bought new thermal paste but got it figured out before it even got here, will probably still re-apply b/c it sits around 33 C which is still slightly warmer than I'd like though is within the safe idle range.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom