Replaced thermal paste on CPU and temperaturese drastically increased (huh???)

jayssle26 · May 31, 2015

When I first built my PC I used the stock compound that came on the heatsink and I was happy with the results getting low 28- 32 degrees Celsius while idle and a maximum of 50 degrees while intensive gaming. I decided to replace the stock paste with the supposedly much better Arctic Silver 5 because recently I've been idling at 38-40 degrees now and it can go up to 60+ while gaming. I wanted to add a better thermal paste when I first built my PC, but I forgot to purchase it so I let it slide until now. So I decided to go ahead and purchase a better paste to see if it would help lower my temps again, and I thought it would be an upgrade I've should have done in the beginning, what could go wrong? I applied Acritc silver 5 thermal paste on my CPU and I'm getting much hotter temps for some reason.

Attempt 1
-cleaned as best as I could with alcohol and paper coffee cups
method: credit card method. applied a vertical line and spread evenly as I could only on CPU

result: Idles about 5 degrees hotter (44 degrees) and over 10 degrees hotter when gaming (70+ degrees)

Attempt 2
-cleaned as best as I could with alcohol and paper coffee cups...again
method: vertical line. applied a small vertical line just like how they recommend on arctic silver website. I did not spread the paste with a card this time and used a bit less paste.

result: The temperatures literally DOUBLED, idling at 10+ degrees hotter(55 degrees) and over 20 degrees when gaming (80+ degrees)

Seriously wtf???? Why are my temp getting worse as I use the methods people recommend? I use less paste, I do the vertical line, I don't manually spread it with a card, and get WORSE results? I'm getting really frustrated now, this makes no sense. I am being as careful as possible and following the instructions as best as I can but I get worse results. I have no idea whats going on or how to fix it now. My case is properly cooled with over 6+ fans in it, regularly cleaned, and my PC is in a very cool environment. I had a slight heating problem before, but now I'm having an OVERHEATING problem. I don't even want to try to re-paste it again....

HELP???

CPU: Intel I5 4670k
cooler: Corsair H80i (liquid cooler)

getochkn · May 31, 2015

MAybe your bracket standoffs came a bit loose, or your not tightening it right or something. Only thing I can think of. Is your pump plugged back in and running as well.

The paste has a small difference in temps and getting such a big jump either means your pump isn't pumping anymore or your not putting it on tight/right.

McHenryB · May 31, 2015

I wonder if the pump in the H80 is failing? I can't think of any reason why the temperatures should have gone up 10 degrees if nothing was disturbed. And, assuming that you didn't scratch the copper plate on the H80 and have reassembled it correctly, you should certainly get lower temperatures now. I've been running a lesser Corsair cooler (H60) for years now on my i7 and idle temperatures are always below 30; maxed out it won't exceed 65. Can you hear the pump working and if so is it making any unusual noises?

jayssle26 · May 31, 2015

Maybe the pump is broken or the stand is loose, i have considered that. But there is no way for me to tell if the pump has stopped working (as far as I know). Both fans on the rad are still spinning too. And I really don't think the stand is loose because it bolts down pretty solidly from the looks of it (i didn't takeout the mobo when applying paste ,for I didn't see a reason to and it just triples the work. I just don't get it....

getochkn · May 31, 2015

Put your fingers on the CPU block, that is where the pump is and you can feel it. you also should be able to feel fluid moving through the tubes.

jayssle26 · May 31, 2015

I do feel tiny vibrations in the tubes and block but that just may be the fans spinning. And the temps do always idle back down to the mid 50s so I guess that means the pumps are still working and moving heat from the cpu? At this point I haven't got a clue. I guess I'l try one last time and yank out the entire motherborad and do the "X" method. and make sure everything is connecting right. If this doesn't work then oh well. I guess I have to deal with it...

jayssle26 · May 31, 2015

Ok, I have solved it, the paste is working as it should. I am still not sure what the problem was but if I were to take a guess:

1: my first attempt may have failed because of poor application (the credit card method is terrible...) and the heatsink may not have been mounted down properly (after I checked the back plate and found that the screws were somewhat loose and re-tightened them. improper application and possibly a loosely mounted heatsink could have been the reason there was a slight increase in temps.

2: I actually applied TOO LITTLE thermal paste. so yes, this IS possible and there is such a thing as too little paste. This would explain why the temperature actually dramatically increased on this attempt, cause when I lifted the mount, the paste only covered like 1/4th or even 1/5th of the CPU (fail by me...). its also possible that the heatsink could have been improperly mounted here as well too.

Now on my third attempt I added a fair amount (not too much but more than what I did before) in the X shape, and spreaded it on the CPU by wiggling the heatsink instead of using a card, then checking to make sure it was properly spreaded, covering most of the CPU. And I made sure the mount was bolted down properly. And hola! I cut off over 10+ degrees off my temps (idle at 25-28 degrees) I couldn't be happier

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