Thermal Paste on CPU pin

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Minime313

Minime313

Prominent
Apr 23, 2017
51
0
660
While i was installing a Ryzen 5 1600 in my new system, i got thermal paste on 1 individual CPU pin in the corner of the processor. I was wondering if this would do any harm to my system, currently nothing bad is happening as I am typing on the system now, but this was recently built. Will anything bad happen in the long run.
 
Solution
atomicWAR
Paranoid is good in this situation. It is likely pushed down in the pin whole. Do you remember which pin...exactly? If so you may try to clean the corresponding hole and pin. If you can find a thin metal wire (stiff and no bigger then the pin wire and some rubbing alcohol 90%+). cover the metal wire in it alcohol and insert, gently in the hole. Move it up and down, along the sides of the whole and wipe the socket clean after a few times trying to dilute any paste in there. If you can pull paste out. rinse metal wire and repeat a few times. Then I would let it dry overnight because you can't get much air on in there to ensure the socket is dry. Being alcohol that should be long enough. Also clean the pin on the CPU with alcohol as well...
Sort by date Sort by votes
atomicWAR

atomicWAR

Glorious
Ambassador
Sep 4, 2007
6,590
795
44,490
did you clean it off? If no worst case it will stop working potentially damaging the CPU, responded to a thread last week where this was the case. If you clean the thread off properly it should be fine. If you didn't and already shoved it in since it is running now. Not much you can do but clean it and hope for the best. damage may be done though.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Minime313

Minime313

Prominent
Apr 23, 2017
51
0
660

Can you link this thread please?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hardware Brad

Hardware Brad

Notable
Jul 24, 2017
421
0
960
I would grab a can of contact cleaner to spray those pins off. I'd say the worst thing that could have happened was that paste covered pin went into the pin hole on the motherboard and essentially "clogged" that hole. Thermal paste is not electrically conductive and will stop that pin on the CPU from working worst case scenario.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
atomicWAR

atomicWAR

Glorious
Ambassador
Sep 4, 2007
6,590
795
44,490
Sorry I dug through months of threads, in case i was wrong on the when, but i reply to a lot of threads and I couldn't find a stand out title for it. Wasn't about to manually check each one I be here months. Point being this person got paste on there itnel CPU contact. It discolored it even after removal and it stopped working after a few months. Long story short it had to be replaced. Point being the thermal paste can make the surface of the pin either not conduct (non conductive thermal paste) or too conductive (conductive thermal paste/liquid metal) and the voltages are either to low or shorted out between pins. I have been working on and building PCs for 20 years. I can tell you from experience getting thermal paste in your grid array is not a good thing. If it were an LGA (intel chips/ryzen thread ripper) you could still clean them as they are exposed but since you have PGA the paste that was on the pin was shoved into the pin hole (possibly) and very difficult to remove at this point. Always clean off any thermal paste before socketing your CPU to avoid these kinds of issues. I would probably try to clean it still but your mostly likely stuck with what is in the socket.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Minime313

Minime313

Prominent
Apr 23, 2017
51
0
660

I took my CPU out to look at the pins but there wasn't anything there but i do remember seeing some thermal paste while installing the CPU, I think. There were very small remnants of thermal paste along the the green sides of the CPU. If there was any thermal paste on the pin (which I'm beggining to doubt), what do you think could have happened to it. Or am I just being paranoid?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
atomicWAR

atomicWAR

Glorious
Ambassador
Sep 4, 2007
6,590
795
44,490
Paranoid is good in this situation. It is likely pushed down in the pin whole. Do you remember which pin...exactly? If so you may try to clean the corresponding hole and pin. If you can find a thin metal wire (stiff and no bigger then the pin wire and some rubbing alcohol 90%+). cover the metal wire in it alcohol and insert, gently in the hole. Move it up and down, along the sides of the whole and wipe the socket clean after a few times trying to dilute any paste in there. If you can pull paste out. rinse metal wire and repeat a few times. Then I would let it dry overnight because you can't get much air on in there to ensure the socket is dry. Being alcohol that should be long enough. Also clean the pin on the CPU with alcohol as well and a swap. However if you don't know which pin and therefor hole it was exactly you run more risk doing damage then helping by guessing/ doing a bunch of pin holes/pins so I would leave it alone and hope for the best. The problem is non-conductive paste will act like a rubber insulator if it is in there and potentially screw up the CPU/Socket function. It may be intermittent or it may become a 24/7 issue as the paste heats up and spreads out. Your other option is RMAing your motherboard if under warranty and getting a new one while you still can. Choice is yours unless someone else has a better idea? I am certain the OP is open to options. What every you use should you know the pin and hole, it cannot break nor leave anything behind in the socket or that will be even worse. So no swaps I know of are small enough otherwise I would say do use one very carefully. Wire is your best bet unless some knows where to get mini swaps that would fit.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
Minime313

Minime313

Prominent
Apr 23, 2017
51
0
660
Ok so when I took the processor out and shined my flashlight on the pin hole ( I know it was a corner pin for sure), there was nothing inside either. Is it really worth it, and I can't rma as I don't have the bracket anymore, I'm going to do one more thorough inspection, take pictures and link them in another response so you can see, and if you can see anything let me know, thx. Expect that response in a few hours.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hardware Brad

Hardware Brad

Notable
Jul 24, 2017
421
0
960


At this point if it is working, pretend it never happened. I don't believe you can RMA a motherboard because you got thermal paste in the socket anyways. Hopefully it was never there or if it was it did not cause any damage.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom