After my new system get here should replace the generic thermal paste the builders used with a better one?

[Azurael]

I have gotten a mixed bag of oppinions on this from people I have talked to other places. There were three that I heard the most.

1. Some say that I really should and it will help me get the best performance from the CPU.

2. Others say it will be fine for a while, but I might want to replace it a year or so down the road it I see average gaming temps rise.

3. A third common oppinion that I got was that I should do what ever I felt comfortable with.

(This one is funny considering I was asking because I was uncertain.)

[Dedayog]

3 minutes ago, Azurael said:

I have gotten a mixed bag of oppinions on this from people I have talked to other places. There were three that I heard the most.

1. Some say that I really should and it will help me get the best performance from the CPU.

2. Others say it will be fine for a while, but I might want to replace it a year or so down the road it I see average gaming temps rise.

3. A third common oppinion that I got was that I should do what ever I felt comfortable with.

(This one is funny considering I was asking because I was uncertain.)

No.  Thermal paste for the most part is a degree or two difference.  Unless you suspect they are using some super shit paste, no.

 

Mostly they are using the preapplied paste on the components which is more than fine, most of us use that too.  I do.

[Azurael]

11 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

No.  Thermal paste for the most part is a degree or two difference.  Unless you suspect they are using some super shit paste, no.

 

Mostly they are using the preapplied paste on the components which is more than fine, most of us use that too.  I do.

I bought my PC from iBuypower I do not know there record with thermal paste. 

What exactly do you mean by preapplied paste?

[ThousandBlade]

Unless you have a problem with the current one, then no.

a problems as in it's 15 degrees or more than normally.

 

Unless your CPU is overheating, then don't bother.

if it is overheating, usually a better cooler will give better result. can they come with new paste.

 

If you just wanna tinker, then go ahead. I've gotten a tube of liquid metal and liquid metaled 2 desktops and 2 laptops with great success.

but at the end of the day. only one of them was necessary, because it's overclocked SFF and has to be die cooled.

[Ryuikko]

10 minutes ago, Azurael said:

What exactly do you mean by preapplied paste?

Usually when coolers are shipped they come with preapplied thermal paste Like so

[Alex Atkin UK]

15 minutes ago, ThousandBlade said:

Unless you have a problem with the current one, then no.

a problems as in it's 15 degrees or more than normally.

 

Unless your CPU is overheating, then don't bother.

if it is overheating, usually a better cooler will give better result. can they come with new paste.

But if you ARE having a problem with it, then that negates the whole point of buying a pre-built.  Its their responsibility to make sure it works correctly, not yours, or you might as well build your own.

[ThousandBlade]

8 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

But if you ARE having a problem with it, then that negates the whole point of buying a pre-built.  Its their responsibility to make sure it works correctly, not yours, or you might as well build your own.

I have not bought  iBuypower pre-built before but over the years troubleshooting computer problems for people. I've seen so many pre-built that have thermal problems right from from the get go. alot of times they just sell people sth that works, not sth that works well.

[Azurael]

28 minutes ago, Ryuikko said:

Usually when coolers are shipped they come with preapplied thermal paste Like so

That small ass circle is thermal paste? Jeez

 

The mount for the AIO to be tightned down on the CPU has a proper buff so you can't over crank it right?

[jaslion]

20 minutes ago, Azurael said:

That small ass circle is thermal paste? Jeez

 

The mount for the AIO to be tightned down on the CPU has a proper buff so you can't over crank it right?

Yes normally

 

As for the thermal paste thing.

 

If you would do that why did you decide on a prebuilt?

 

Installing a cooler is literally the most annoying and hardest part of a build

 

And no leave the paste on

[Azurael]

27 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Yes normally

 

As for the thermal paste thing.

 

If you would do that why did you decide on a prebuilt?

 

Installing a cooler is literally the most annoying and hardest part of a build

 

And no leave the paste on

Well I was thonking about it and wanted to know if the thermal paste was okay or if I should bite the bullet and get better stuff. I bought prebuilt because I am not at a place in life where building a PC is a good option for me, dispite actually wanting to have the experiance. 

 

As for the included Thermal Paste it does not look like enough to be able to cover the CPU heat sink.

[SorryBella]

26 minutes ago, Azurael said:

 

As for the included Thermal Paste it does not look like enough to be able to cover the CPU heat sink.

No, you dont need much if at all. Having it on in the first place is a huge upgrade to your cooling.

 

[RevGAM]

Most people here build their own computers, so not many have had experience with the builder you're talking about.  You would need to ask them the brand and model of paste, and/ or look at lots of customer reviews.

 

Contrary to some opinions, older products are generally much worse than new ones, and I'm not talking about expired stuff. 

 

Tom's Hardware compared dozens of them and the gap between the best and most others were as much 10 degrees hotter, with the worst being 22 degrees hotter.

 

So, yeah, their comparison wasn't perfect, but it clearly shows that all compounds are not within 1-2 degrees. There are two reasons companies make new ones - their old ones are no longer relevant. And there's a reason they keep selling the old stuff - they haven't run out, and some people don't know when to abandon a sinking ship.

 

Unless you can confirm that they use an inferior product (>=5 degrees worse than the best), or you have heat problems, you don't need to replace it. 

[BlaineBug]

Is pre-applied paste good?  I've always followed the "pea" sized recommendation being placed at the center of the processor to ensure a good uniform air-bubble free smooshing.  How do pre-applied pastes avoid air bubbles that commonly occur when pastes are smoothed out on mating surfaces?

[Azurael]

2 hours ago, RevGAM said:

Most people here build their own computers, so not many have had experience with the builder you're talking about.  You would need to ask them the brand and model of paste, and/ or look at lots of customer reviews.

 

Contrary to some opinions, older products are generally much worse than new ones, and I'm not talking about expired stuff. 

 

Tom's Hardware compared dozens of them and the gap between the best and most others were as much 10 degrees hotter, with the worst being 22 degrees hotter.

 

So, yeah, their comparison wasn't perfect, but it clearly shows that all compounds are not within 1-2 degrees. There are two reasons companies make new ones - their old ones are no longer relevant. And there's a reason they keep selling the old stuff - they haven't run out, and some people don't know when to abandon a sinking ship.

 

Unless you can confirm that they use an inferior product (>=5 degrees worse than the best), or you have heat problems, you don't need to replace it. 

So, I should probably get the PC up and running, put it through its paces and check the temps. If it is to high for comfort then I replace the paste and see if that helps. 

 

Is there any programs you recomend for monitoring temps over a stretch of time?

[RevGAM]

There are a lot of programs for that.  HwInfo is often suggested. 

[Blue4130]

On 5/13/2023 at 11:41 PM, BlaineBug said:

Is pre-applied paste good?  I've always followed the "pea" sized recommendation being placed at the center of the processor to ensure a good uniform air-bubble free smooshing.  How do pre-applied pastes avoid air bubbles that commonly occur when pastes are smoothed out on mating surfaces?

It's overblown YouTuber fear mongering. Air bubbles rarely cause issue. Paste is viscous enough and pressure high enough to squeeze bubbles out.

 

Can't recall who did it, but there was a video using a clear plate to show what happens when you tighten the cooler. They did small pea, spreading and even a doughnut shape with a circle of air in the middle. End result was always the same. Full airfree coverage.

[BlaineBug]

8 hours ago, Blue4130 said:

It's overblown YouTuber fear mongering. Air bubbles rarely cause issue. Paste is viscous enough and pressure high enough to squeeze bubbles out.

 

Can't recall who did it, but there was a video using a clear plate to show what happens when you tighten the cooler. They did small pea, spreading and even a doughnut shape with a circle of air in the middle. End result was always the same. Full airfree coverage.

Interesting, that's good to know I suppose.  I was hearing "air bubbles" over 10 years ago.  But you're right I never had a problem.  One of first systems I ever built I ran for years with thermal compound that I smeared myself.  Never had an issue that I could tell.  I still removed it and reapplied after hearing the warnings from online.

[Dedayog]

19 hours ago, Blue4130 said:

It's overblown YouTuber fear mongering. Air bubbles rarely cause issue. Paste is viscous enough and pressure high enough to squeeze bubbles out.

 

Can't recall who did it, but there was a video using a clear plate to show what happens when you tighten the cooler. They did small pea, spreading and even a doughnut shape with a circle of air in the middle. End result was always the same. Full airfree coverage.

May have been this or similar:

 

 

[BlaineBug]

27 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

May have been this or similar:

 

 

Interesting.  Although I'll still use the dollop in the center, although perhaps I'll start using more than a pea sized dollup.

[Blue4130]

1 hour ago, BlaineBug said:

Interesting.  Although I'll still use the dollop in the center, although perhaps I'll start using more than a pea sized dollup.

Yea, still the best method, but the key takeaway is that it's much more forgiving that many youtube videos makes out.people have this crazy fear that they will screw it up, which is pretty difficult to do.

[BlaineBug]

38 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

Yea, still the best method, but the key takeaway is that it's much more forgiving that many youtube videos makes out.people have this crazy fear that they will screw it up, which is pretty difficult to do.

A long, long time ago I recall removing a heatsink and applying new compound after reading the comments about air bubbles.

[Blue4130]

5 minutes ago, BlaineBug said:

A long, long time ago I recall removing a heatsink and applying new compound after reading the comments about air bubbles.

And let me guess, there was no change (or it was margin of error)

[BlaineBug]

6 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

And let me guess, there was no change (or it was margin of error)

No clue in all honesty, but my OCD self slept better with no pending task to complete

[RevGAM]

Theoretically, there is a slim chance that more is sometimes better than less. This depend on the shape of the CPU's top and the cooler's plate. If they match perfectly, even a small amount is enough. If they mismatch for any reason, you may need just a tiny bit more, or even a comparatively large amount. For example, if the IHS is convex, and the cooler plate is convex, too, you'll need a lot to fill in around the edges. Conversely, if both are concave, you'll need a lot to fill in the middle.

 

By "a lot", of course, I mean in a comparative sense.