I applied AS5 to an A64 X2 3800 CPU and spread it into a thin layer and then put a lapped heatsink that came with the CPU onto it and it was running for a few weeks.
Today, I decided to try a different thermal paste and when I removed the heatsink, I saw that the center of the CPU was not making contact at all with the heatsink. Only the edges of the CPU made a mark on the heatsink.
Could this have done any damage to the CPU or shortened its life? When I ran prime95 during this time, HWMonitor reported a max temperature of 47C and idle temperatures in the low 30s which I thought was normal. Could this have been inaccurate since the center of the CPU was making 0 contact?
Today, I decided to try a different thermal paste and when I removed the heatsink, I saw that the center of the CPU was not making contact at all with the heatsink. Only the edges of the CPU made a mark on the heatsink.
Could this have done any damage to the CPU or shortened its life? When I ran prime95 during this time, HWMonitor reported a max temperature of 47C and idle temperatures in the low 30s which I thought was normal. Could this have been inaccurate since the center of the CPU was making 0 contact?