Thermal Paste? My build parts come tomorrow and I don't know what this is. I didn't order any!

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HeroponLuigi

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Nov 4, 2013
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I'm reading that every time I install a CPU, heatsink, or GPU that I should apply thermal paste. Doing some research I learned that my cpu will come with thermal paste already applied on the fan that comes with it. Others make it sound like I need to apply it, also I didn't buy any for my GPU.
 
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DaleNobody
PC Cooling under the Articles & News Section right here on Tom's Hardware has all kinds of excellent articles on the subject.

Getting back to your original question there is one specific article called Thermal Paste Comparison that starts off by explaining the basics of CPU thermals and then recommends various products based on different types of CPU's and cooler combinations.

It is easy to understand with lots of pictures. Read and comprehend the entire article before making a "Hasty Decision". If you pick something difficult to use, You'll regret it. Pay attention when they talk about VISCOSITY or you'll end up trying to figure out how to heat thermal paste without ruining it (like me).

I didn't take the...
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chairsgotoschool

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thermal paste is the paste that goes between the cpu and the heatsink/cooler. its there to provide a clean constant heat flow off the cpu to the heatsink. most cpus come with it pre applied on the heatsink just be sure not to touch it and put the heatsink on like normal.

gpus have their coolers more custom made than cpus and therefore have the coolers pre applied along with the thermal paste.
 
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JOHNN93

JOHNN93

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The thermal paste on the stock heat sink will do the job.
with aftermarcket thermal grease you might get better tempereture.so do not worry.
as for te gpu it has a heatsink and the manufacture has aplied thermal grease.
taking apart the gpu will void waranty.so you do not need to worry about the gpu.
if you have a problem with the gpu you simply return it so they can give you a new one.
 
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cats_Paw

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Oct 19, 2007
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As an advice (and considering the prices of thermal paste), id say its a good idea to order thermal paste and change it in both the CPU and GPU (Its not rocket science, but make sure you know what you are doing).

The reason for this is not that the thermal paste that is on the CPU / GPU by default is bad, but it might be old.
In my case, i change my thermal paste moreless each 2 years. The price diference in the CPU is not huge (maybe 5 C at tops), but on the GPU its actually weirdly over 30 C sometimes.

This happened to me with my old ATI 4850 where the temperatures droped from 65 to 35 in Idle, and from 89 to 67 in LOAD.

So, for now, it will do, but personally id wait with the PC untill you change the thermal paste (assuming you can be patient).

About what one to use, I use Arctic Silver 5 becouse its a decent paste and its rather easy to buy (price is not the best, but these things are cheap anyway).
 
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DaleNobody

DaleNobody

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Jan 30, 2013
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PC Cooling under the Articles & News Section right here on Tom's Hardware has all kinds of excellent articles on the subject.

Getting back to your original question there is one specific article called Thermal Paste Comparison that starts off by explaining the basics of CPU thermals and then recommends various products based on different types of CPU's and cooler combinations.

It is easy to understand with lots of pictures. Read and comprehend the entire article before making a "Hasty Decision". If you pick something difficult to use, You'll regret it. Pay attention when they talk about VISCOSITY or you'll end up trying to figure out how to heat thermal paste without ruining it (like me).

I didn't take the time to understand full article because I was in a rush to buy. I (unwittingly) purchased a thicker thermal paste (called Prolimatech PK-3) recommended for experts because thicker pastes are very difficult to apply. After reading a little further, I realized what I did and was able to cancel the order only to replace it with another difficult to use (XIGMATEK PTI-G4512). This time I am stuck with it.

The application hints section in the Thermal Paste Comparison article says "The paste can be spread more easily if you warm it to 100-120 degrees Fahrenheit in a pot of water, sealed in a water-tight pouch" I have never applied paste before. I have to learn how the professionals do it because I was in a hurry to buy something fast.



"Before you start down this path, read the assembly instructions carefully!" quoted from article linked below.

Fixing The Radeon R9 290: Assembly and Operation


To help find answers in the future try the article sorting features:

Tom's Hardware articles & news section also has sorting features (in a shaded box to the left side of the webpage) called tags that let you decide where to start (I'd never be able to relocate information without the filtering tools)
 
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