Did running my Pc without putting thermal paste on the CPU actually damage it?!

EgonM

Commendable
Aug 5, 2017
20
0
1,510
Hey Guys!,
im running a used parts budget built and I was testing it since yesterday when I today discovered there was no thermal paste on the CPU!!!!!

I monitored Temps over 90 Degrees Celsius in games...
Guess this ran yesterday at the same level for about two hours or so.
My PC didnt turn off or lost performance in game or on desktop.

Now I´m a bit afraid I damaged my CPU (i5 2400)

What do you think.....did I damage it :S
 
Solution
a new tube of thermal compound costs $4-$5....

In the words of the chopper door gunner wiht the M60 from Full Metal Jacket....

"Get some...!"

EgonM

Commendable
Aug 5, 2017
20
0
1,510
I was hoping to get an answer like this =)
What makes you be so sure in this case
Dont get me wrong...im not an expert in this topic

I know that CPU´s shut themselves down if they run too hot but in some other forums and even on posts here in the forum I red that it might have damaged the CPU
 

salerhino

Reputable
Mar 16, 2016
1,264
0
5,660
If it works - it works.
And bad case airflow can`t make such impact on CPU;
Incorrectly installed cooler can I agree, which is probably the mistake here.
Change thermal compound as soon as possible and be sure to mount that cooler right!
 

EgonM

Commendable
Aug 5, 2017
20
0
1,510
Is there a way to OC the i5 2400?
Im not really in to this topic so I dont know
As I said
I bought this CPU used and also the Motherboard and the RAM
Only new part is the GPU

Regarding the airflow I cant really tell
There is a fan on the back of the case pulling the air out and on the front I can realize that air is beeing sucked in
So I dont really think thats the point

 

EgonM

Commendable
Aug 5, 2017
20
0
1,510
I thought it might have been a bad mount but I remounted the cooler at least 5 times to check this fact out
It still might be I did sth wrong but I cant figure out it might be

I pulled the scewrs diagonale bit by bit until it was thight
Of course I didnt pulled them until I heard a crack or so but I really cant figure out any mistake
 

EgonM

Commendable
Aug 5, 2017
20
0
1,510
Yah im using the stock one...probably
I dont know for sure

The cooler is mounted with 4 spring screws on the motherboard

So what am I doing wrong

I´m really pissed by this issue

Nevertheless I will probably have to wait until monday to get some thermal paste...and probably a new cooler
 
This is what I'm talking about.
Correctly installed cooler:
install1155_DSCF3483.jpg

Unlocked cooler, prepared for removal. If push-pins are in this position, it will result in bad contact:
install1155_DSCF3485.jpg
 

EgonM

Commendable
Aug 5, 2017
20
0
1,510
Ok ok I get ya
Just watched a video about that topic
In fact I got sth different than this....wish I would have this cooler -_-

I got a cooler wich looks like this

https://www.google.de/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_deDE717DE717&biw=1517&bih=735&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=hp+elite+8000+cpu+cooler&oq=hp+elite+8000+cpu+cooler&gs_l=psy-ab.3...8578.10124.0.10175.11.11.0.0.0.0.107.599.9j1.10.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..1.3.225...0j0i30k1j0i19k1j0i8i30i19k1j0i8i13i30k1.xJ4LbvwyMOw#imgrc=clWHFywBmTVBdM:
 
Are you sure it had none? It doesn't make sense why someone would clean it off and assemble it. No thermal pad? No dried up paste?

The cpu is concave but the cooler maybe flat. It's very minute so you probably won't notice it. This could easily cause temp issues with no paste. You should always use thermal paste. Even toothpaste could be a temporary solution.

The i5 2400 can be overclocked 400mhz above turbo so 3.8ghz without changing bclk but you still need a p or z mobo.
 

EgonM

Commendable
Aug 5, 2017
20
0
1,510
Well...no thermal paste at all isnt true at all^^

There were signs of ancient paste remains on the cpu and on the heat sink
but they more or less fell off emediately when I inspected the CPU

Hmm regarding the OC I was a bit suspicious too because I red about the core voltage of the CPU and while mine was in idle also about more than 1.2v sometimes I also thought about the pre owner OC´d it but in the BIOS are no settings for changing voltage or clock speeds or sth like this at all

I even did a bios reset and things didnt change
 
Even if the paste was dry, it would have done better than none at all. I assume it's gone now that you said it fell off. There was no need to inspect the cpu especially just screwing yourself when you have no new paste. You could just turn the pc on and knew it was fine. Never remove the heatsink without new paste.

You can check cpu speed in cpuz to be sure. Unless it's an asus mobo, I'm sure it's still stock.
 

EgonM

Commendable
Aug 5, 2017
20
0
1,510
Ok thx a lot for the good advice
Guess youre right and I screwed myselfe when I pulled the heat sink off the CPU
I did that because you never know whats going on in this used office rigs

So Im going to the store tomorrow and get an aftermarket cooler and new paste

I will post my results here


Still I´m a bit concirned about the vcore of the CPU
Its between 0.9v and 1.25v where the second is a bit to high i guess although I red here (http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/44339-intel-core-i3-2120-core-i5-2400-lga1155-processors-review-2.html) that it might be finde

What do you think about this
 
If it's an office pc, it was never even opened other than to take the hdd out (possibly not even that.) You could open the case just to see how clean it is and nothing is burnt or broken but there is no reason to take anything apart. It's like taking a car apart because you never know what's going on in a used car. You could just use it and know if there was a problem. Run stress test software if you wanted to run it harder but you'd know exactly what was happening with all components or under them by normal usage. The dried up paste was proof it was never even taken off and probably the stock paste from 6 years ago.

Vcore is a little high for stock but hardly. 1.2-1.22 for sandy i5 turbo is normal. You may go up a few degrees from it but that'll still be within 55c with a cheap cm 212 or similar cooler.
 

EgonM

Commendable
Aug 5, 2017
20
0
1,510
Yah it was probably a bit stupid to open take away the cooler but I was a little curious
But I guess I learned from my mistake =)

What could cause this vcore "issue"?
Is there sth wrong with the chip or the mobo oO?
Or should I just turn off the Turbo in Bios as this is the only option I actually have to maybe decrease the voltage since there is no option to adjust the vcore otherwise

I´ve red that on other boards this should actually be changed
But as I said I cant ^^

Is there any unlocked Bios for the stock HP Boards

Its an HP 611835-001 Motherboard as I can say from the sticker on the board

 

EgonM

Commendable
Aug 5, 2017
20
0
1,510
Well Guys after a weak of testing and playing around with some varibles im back to report my results.

Since I couldnt upgrade to an aftermarket cooler due to my super cool HP Motherboard whose mounting holes for an cooler aren´t in a sqaure pattern but in a rectangular...im still around with my stock cooler.

Nevertheless, after aplying new thermal grease onto my CPU and experimenting with the different methods of aplying it I now reach, for an stock cooler, pretty fair results.

In Idle my temps stay around the mid 30´s while they go up to around 60-65 in game with cpu loads on all cores in a range from 90 to 100%

Since the weather changed and also the temps in my apartment went down also the issue that the temps dindnt fall under the 30 degrees mark after gaming is no longer an issue.

So thanks everybody for your great help and the good answers
You saved my day =)