Should I remove the plastic protective film on the CPU air cooler?

[bobtkjf]

I was wondering if the plastic film would provide good thermal contact with the CPU and CPU cooler.

[Skiiwee29]

Yes, remove it. It hinders thermal transfer, not help it. 

[bobtkjf]

1 minute ago, Skiiwee29 said:

Yes, remove it. It hinders thermal transfer, not help it. 

If it was meant to be taken off, then why wouldn't it be removed beforehand by the manufacturer?

[Middcore]

3 minutes ago, bobtkjf said:

If it was meant to be taken off, then why wouldn't it be removed beforehand by the manufacturer?

It's applied beforehand by the manufacturer to protect the coldplate from scratches, dirt, etc. until it's installed. 

 

Remove it. People wondering why the CPU in their new build is so hot and then realizing they forgot to take the plastic film off is so common it's almost a meme at this point.

[LIGISTX]

23 minutes ago, bobtkjf said:

If it was meant to be taken off, then why wouldn't it be removed beforehand by the manufacturer?

Why don't they remove plastic from the bezzles of monitors, or from appliances, or from your car when you buy them new.

 

Why stop there, why not just remove the styrofoam in the box as well...

 

Better yet, just remove the box. Ship things fully naked. 

[SansVarnic]

36 minutes ago, bobtkjf said:

I was wondering if the plastic film would provide good thermal contact with the CPU and CPU cooler.

33 minutes ago, bobtkjf said:

If it was meant to be taken off, then why wouldn't it be removed beforehand by the manufacturer?

 

I honestly hope you are asking a legitimate question.

Remove the plastic, plastic is not a thermal transfer material, in fact it hinders thermal transfer.

[bobtkjf]

I already installed the cooler with the plastic film and it cools fine with an air cooler, my CPU is an Intel i5-3570

[Eigenvektor]

21 minutes ago, bobtkjf said:

Nah, I'm genuinely saying that it works with the plastic film

Sure, it'll work. But it'll be thermal throttling to prevent itself from dying.

 

Run Cinebench and use CPU-Z to check its temps and clock speed or run a game and use MSI Afterburner to do the same.

[bobtkjf]

Just now, Eigenvektor said:

Sure, it'll work. But it'll be thermal throttling to prevent itself from dying.

 

Run Cinebench and use CPU-Z to check its temps and clock speed or run a game and use MSI Afterburner to do the same.

Oh! alright, thanks! I'll try cinebench and CPU-z, and see if I will need to invest into thermal paste

[LogicalDrm]

1 hour ago, bobtkjf said:

Nah, I'm genuinely saying that it works with the plastic film

 

It does work. But plastic is not great with heat transfers overall. You have pretty cool CPU overall so you probably won't see any high temps ever. Usually people note it to be issue when they are taxing CPU and expecting decent temps instead of high temps.

 

If you are doing something new, like installing cooler yourself, it's best to read instructions. They will show with pictures that film/cover is to be removed before installation.

[Blue4130]

1 hour ago, bobtkjf said:

Oh! alright, thanks! I'll try cinebench and CPU-z, and see if I will need to invest into thermal paste

Yes you need to buy thermal paste. It is a component of PC building like any other. It should be factored into the cost when purchasing parts. Even this $5 paste will be better than the plastic.

 

https://www.amazon.com/BSFF-Compound-Heatsink-Processor-Performance/dp/B09NJM6C1C/ref=sr_1_14?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Cg-nW6nHUMKRUU-5RnvUr1kjBjcekg2VJ2lSdNRtgsxRHPwCZBeWp0eqi5G26mMpx6oPHPIVJ8FvdzNvgHW_0ENMc7LIUNWejpNIYRRJcsMZnnsbnoaJ2zJa5KiWyN7sy-AjUfcemvUgF1aPkJYfOsFfqCYe1b1D0gdLfr6bNaBGF7qLnaUx7i8gY6UGUiGUbCuFEbxYf3PaGJpLYoFePaWj-qeoBn3GX4QRg1vGucs.RWUtrK1lJvwJv8qlMlfNc8kryPcGA4fCFevLHkZaDZI&dib_tag=se&keywords=thermal%2Bpaste&qid=1725946538&sr=8-14&th=1

[LIGISTX]

22 hours ago, bobtkjf said:

and see if I will need to invest into thermal paste

Every cooler comes with thermal paste.....

 

Are you talking about actual plastic, or are you talking about pre-applied thermal paste? Was it clear, or was it grey? If it was grey, it was thermal paste..............