Reapply Thermal Paste

[idont]

Hello,

When I built my PC, I made a mistake by applying to much thermal paste (OCZ Freeze thermal paste) thinking the excess will be pushed from the CPU by the pressure of the heat sink (and so it did a little bit).

Recently I've OC'd my 4800+ Brisbane from 2.5GHz to 3.0GHz (at 1.3V Vcore) and it gets with Prime95 about 49~50 or 53~54 degrees, depending on the room temperature.

Now my question is: is it worth to wipe off the thermal paste and reapply it the way it should be and by how much will the temperature decrease?

I've got this question after I've read an article about lapping your heatsink/CPU, telling a too smooth surface was bad as the thermal paste will actually prevent the metal of the heatsink touching the CPU.

Thanks in advance,
-iDont

 

[aziraphale]

Use the search function please. There are at least a dozen or so SOP's out there...

 

[halcyon]

aziraphale is correct, no reason for us to re-write what's been written since the beginning to time (almost). Cheers.

 

[idont]

Yes, but those topics I have found, are simply awnsered by how to apply the thermal paste correctly.

I need to know the difference in temperature when too much thermal paste is applied. From the topics I've found, there isn't one that tells me by how much the temperature will decrease when applied properly instead of too much (I have found the difference in temperature between normal applied and too little thermal paste). I also have found some topics that tell you the difference in temperatures when you replace the stock thermal paste, but that too isn't relevant to me.

I'm sorry for the trouble,
-iDont

 

[Evilonigiri]

If the cooler is difficult to remove and too much of a hassle to do, simply put, it's not worth reapplying at all. Generally, most cpus can handle 65C, which you are well within the limit.

Unless you want to overclock some more, I wouldn't bother. Just keep your eyes out on the temps just in case it overheats sometime in the future.

 

[halcyon]

iDont, I don't think you'll find such a guide. If you put way too much TIM on your processor it will insulate it and thus temps will increase, but I don't think there's a guide that says if you put 1 ounce of TIM on it will increase by 28.7C, if you put 2 ounces of TIM on it will increase by 52.3C, etc.

Such a guide would depend on several factors, including the kind of TIM. Perhaps, if someone gets extremely bored they'll take a crack at it, but my advice would be to follow the guides/manufacturer's instructions on TIM application and you should find yourself and your processor completely safe.

 

[shadowthor]

I would follow the manufacturer's instructions to apply TIM, as it is usually the best method since I tried others and the manufacturer's works best.

 

[iluvgillgill]

just leave the excess thermal paste that leaked to the side. its not going to harm the performance or your OC or will damage the motherboard. and it might actually give more contact area between the CPU and the heatsink. but of course the conductiveness will be much less.