Damaged CPU after re-seating and applying thermal paste? Computer acting erratic

AncientToaster_X

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Feb 1, 2016
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I've had my current build for 3 years, it's been absolutely rock solid...well until yesterday.

i5-3570k OC'd to 3.8ghz
8 GB Patriot Viper Ram
ASrock Extreme MOBO
AMD Radeon HD7970
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
Samsung 850 SSD Windows 10 Installed
Seagate 1TB HDD Storage
Corsair 650W PSU

I decided on a whim that I'd reapply my thermal paste and cooler because...well I don't really know. It's been fine, I was bored I guess. I was cleaning out the tower, blowing out dust and decided to do it. I used my wife's nail polish remover (blue stuff with acetone) to remove the paste. I reapplied a blob...probably too much because some got on the front side of the CPU board itself (not underneath but on the green part of the board)

After reassembling, I ran Prime95 for 20 minutes and my temps were getting into the high 80c. I wasn't happy with this, but while gaming my temps never exceeded 65c so I thought it was ok. I was playing a match of Heroes of the Storm when the problems started. The computer had two lock ups, and then I lost both of my monitor signals while the computer was still on. Power was still being supplied to all components. I manually shut down, and then hit the power button to start it back up, not only does the monitor signal still not show, I cannot go to BIOS nor boot to Windows. Also, the computer will start up, shut down, then start up again and keep doing a cycle of starting up, shutting down, starting up over and over again.

My first thought is, oh crap I messed up my CPU somehow. Then I'm thinking it might be my PSU? Maybe MOBO? Who knows! I'm totally not technical enough to troubleshoot this on my own. I wanted to upgrade eventually but I was happy with my build, it ran all the games I wanted to play flawlessly and never gave me any problems until last night.

Any thoughts?
 
Solution
right so reseating a cooler and thermal compound wouldn't do that more than likely the OC thermal paste doesnt matter too much as long as you dont put too little on and don't get it every where to get thermal paste on the green of the cpu is fine and make sure dont add a blob then put the cooler - add a blob then spread it otherwise cooling is not going to be very good and can potentially damage the cpu

Milheim

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Sep 2, 2015
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Double-check that your CPU reseated correctly. I'd also reapply thermal paste (again). If you use too much it doesn't transfer heat effectively. Some people will say put a blob on it and smash your heatsink on top. I prefer to spread a thin layer using a drivers license or credit card. The idea behind thermal paste isn't to create a barrier between the CPU and heatsink, but rather to fill in minor imperfections to produce the best mating surface between the two.

Considering the power consumption of that machine and that it's 3 years old, your PSU might be causing you issues and the timing may be coincidental. PSUs do become less efficient as they age, and I can't promise yours has seen the end of its run, but an upgrade might save you from damaged hardware in the future.
 

KyleTheCat

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Oct 19, 2015
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right so reseating a cooler and thermal compound wouldn't do that more than likely the OC thermal paste doesnt matter too much as long as you dont put too little on and don't get it every where to get thermal paste on the green of the cpu is fine and make sure dont add a blob then put the cooler - add a blob then spread it otherwise cooling is not going to be very good and can potentially damage the cpu
 
Solution

andycal

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Oct 14, 2012
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With thermal paste, too much can actually cause problems as well. You generally don't want a blob on top of your processor. The size of a grain of rice is perfect amount of thermal paste. I use Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste and always used only the size of a grain of rice. Never had any issues with overclocking. My i5-4670K is at 4.6GHz @ 1.25 V with a Cooler Master Geminii S524. You might want to check the pins under the cpu to make sure none are bent and touching another pin. Don't feel bad, I dismantled my pc as well this past weekend to clean the dust out and to rerun cables. I too was bored and had nothing constructive to do with my free time.
 

KyleTheCat

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Oct 19, 2015
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Hi yeah I didn't know how to describe it but yes a grain of rice hits it right there also the amount required might depend on what type of thermal paste you use? just reading from my memory will do some research tomorow for you