Leaving cpu on motherboard in the open

[bl4ke360]

I'm in the process of building my pc, and right now my motherboard, psu, and cpu is sitting in the open air on a wood table and has been for the past day. I already applied thermal paste but not the heat sink, and I'm wondering if the thermal paste will dry up to the point where it is no longer effective. Should I be worried about this? And is it okay to leave these components in the open like they have been? One other thing, is it okay to have my laptop running right beside my motherboard, or will some type of electrical interference damage it?

 

[plasmastorm]

Shouldnt harm the parts but why not put them in an anti static bag on a shelf out of the way.
Is it really worth taking a chance like that for 2 seconds work?

 

[IH8U]

About the only thing I'd do is clean off the thermal paste (it collects dust and other things, and dries). Re-apply once you put the HS on.

 

[bl4ke360]

Well I don't have any anti static bags but would putting a card board box on top of the motherboard be fine? And about the thermal paste issue, will it dry up or not?

 

[IH8U]

The drying would depend more on the type of TIM (some dry out fast). I'd recommend putting the MB back into it's box (you can leave the CPU in).

 

[Atolsammeek]

It might or might not dry up but Any Dust that collect on it. Like others seid. Dust and such get on that cpu and thermal paste will prevent the heatsink from Cooling the cpu right.

 

[bl4ke360]

It's what ever kind that comes with the hyper 212+ cooler, and I just installed the cooler ontop of the cpu anyway so was that a bad idea lol? I guess I could uninstall it and reapply the paste but that would be a pain I think.

 

[spookyman]

You can leave components out. Though I always used copier paper on top of the table to save it from scratches and paper does not conduct electricity or static


If you left the components out then spray off the dust and re apply the heat sink paste.

 

[djackson_dba]

As mentioned above, remove the current paste and reapply as part of attaching the HS. I would also recommend keeping components in their anti-static packaging until you are ready to actually build out your computer. It is find to put the motherboard back in its packaging with the CPU installed. Objects around the board that do not touch should not cause any issues... unless you have a tesla coil next to it. DO NOT run the motherboard without the HS installed. The CPU has a very small surface area for dissapating heat compared to the HS as the HS has the area of all of its cooling fins combined.