Installed heat sink, removed, installed again. Should I have used aftermarket thermal compound?

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Spacebit

Spacebit

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Aug 16, 2015
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I installed both Intel CPU and stock heat sink correctly, but noticed that the heat sink wire was too long and hanging way too much - so decided to rotate it 180 degrees so the wire looks short. Everything is fine now, but when I removed the heat sink I saw the stock thermal compound sticking to the CPU. I am just wondering if I should have used extra aftermarket thermal compound the second time.

PS: I know I sound dumb. This is my first build.
 
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dfk
How are your current temps? If it doesnt look good I would reapply new thermal paste after cleaning the old compound for best results. Try not to mix different compounds as they could use different material. Also a pea sized amount in the center would be enough. Hope it helps.
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harryfishrules

harryfishrules

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You don't sound dumb at all. It's best to clean all the thermal compound of with Isopropyl Alcohol or CPU Cleaner and apply some new thermal compound whenever you remove the cooler from the CPU.
 
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dfk

dfk

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How are your current temps? If it doesnt look good I would reapply new thermal paste after cleaning the old compound for best results. Try not to mix different compounds as they could use different material. Also a pea sized amount in the center would be enough. Hope it helps.
 
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Spacebit

Spacebit

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Thanks for taking me seriously. Is this isopropyle thing found in any day-to-day-use liquid? Also, I never started the PC - I just got the CPU, installed it, decided that I wanted the fan wire the other way and took fan out and installed it again. I was instantaneous, hehe. Do I still need to clean and stuff?
 
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Spacebit

Spacebit

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I can't start anything now as I still have to receive my new SSD. So far I got
Asus H97M-E
Xeon E3 1245 V3
Seasonic S12G 550W
G.Skill 2x 8GB DDR3

I was thinking once I get the SSD I will plug in everything and fire it up.
Should I use a cloth or earbuds to clean the thermal compound?
 
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dfk

dfk

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Yea, you can if you want, I wouldnt worry about it unless temps are not looking good. Removing the old paste first is always recommended so it doesnt cause air bubbles, the old compound could've hardened creating uneven contact with the heatsink base.

You can use coffee filters / q-tips / microfibre cloth with 90% or better Isopropyl Alcohol / thermal remover like ArctiClean to remove the old paste. Gently wipe the surface of the cpu with a small amount of alchohol and slowly remove the remaining traces. There are many videos on youtube on how to do this in finer detail than I can explain :)
 
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Spacebit

Spacebit

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Thanks! One last thing - the nearest computer shop has CoolerMaster ceramic based and DeepCool liquid metal based thermal pastes. Which one should I get?
 
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dfk

dfk

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I havent tried DeepCool before. I suppose liquid metal based are better than ceramic based but the former might conduct electricity, thus a level of care has to be taken during their use. Personally I dont think it matters as much as application method and mounting the heatsink properly.
 
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Spacebit

Spacebit

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Okay, I will buy ceramic then. But I will wait and see if I actually need it. Thanks for all the help.
 
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