Arctic Silver 5 application question

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Timmmaahh

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Apr 19, 2016
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So i am putting together my first computer. I have a Gigabyte x99 SLI motherboard, the broadwell-e 6850k hex core processor, and a corsair h100i v2 water cooling system.

I applied AS5 (after wiping off the pre-existing compound on the H100i) and the first two times were too much. However the third time i felt like it was better, but my concern is i still used too much. Is it ok if the thermal compound slightly leaks over the heat spreader on the top of the CPU? its not going over too much, but it being my first build and my CPU being over 600 dollars you can see where i would be a bit worried, I do not have a GPU yet (waiting for the 1080) so it isnt operational yet.

My question is: Is slight spillage of thermal compound over the top of the CPU ok?

I know its not easy to make the application perfect. And i know its really the socket that would have the issue and essentially break if it had thermal compound get in there.

ALSO: when the computer is under heavy load (possibly during benchmarking) does the thermal paste expand at all when in contact with excessive heat?


Thank you community of Tom's Hardware.
 
Solution
iRon_Man22
I would reapply it. I don't think it's likely to cause issues, but as you say if it somehow gets into the cpu socket on the motherboard you will need to replace it. You do not need to put a lot on there, the size of a dime right in the middle will do it. Apply a drop about the size of a grain of rice of AS5 to your CPU and then gently attach the CPU cooler to in and evenly screw in the four mounting screws: tighten top left -> bottom right -> top right -> bottom left and hand tighten until firm, but not too much.

Also the thermal paste does not expand or contract. Air bubbles can get trapped in there over time, but that's only if you install it improperly and use a lesser quality paste.
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iRon_Man22

iRon_Man22

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I would reapply it. I don't think it's likely to cause issues, but as you say if it somehow gets into the cpu socket on the motherboard you will need to replace it. You do not need to put a lot on there, the size of a dime right in the middle will do it. Apply a drop about the size of a grain of rice of AS5 to your CPU and then gently attach the CPU cooler to in and evenly screw in the four mounting screws: tighten top left -> bottom right -> top right -> bottom left and hand tighten until firm, but not too much.

Also the thermal paste does not expand or contract. Air bubbles can get trapped in there over time, but that's only if you install it improperly and use a lesser quality paste.
 
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Rookie_MIB

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Jul 27, 2013
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A little overspill isn't uncommon - and it won't hurt anything. Generally, you put a small drop in the middle about the size of grain of rice, then put the cooler on and tighten it down.

If you have a bit more overspill than you'd like or feel comfortable with, a q-tip and some rubbing alcohol will clean it right up.
 
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Timmmaahh

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Apr 19, 2016
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If I take it off can I reuse the same thermal paste that's on there? Or would I have to reapply?
 
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Timmmaahh

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So my cpu looks basically like the one below, thermal paste and all (spillage wise), should i still reapply?


Cpu thermal paste application

 
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