Is thermal compound/paste really really needed?

[IsaacDaGrazin]

well you see i have a pre-built pc (upgrading! just keeping the cpu, hdd and maybe the fan) and it is pretty bada$$

and the cpu has thermal compound/paste and it is literally 99% dust  i don’t even know what brand it is, i have had the pc for about 1-2 years and i haven’t changed the compound ONCE

and since it is literally dust can i just wipe it off? i don’t see any point in it, i have a really REALLY good fan (again some $hitty brand like sunond or something like that) 17-20 degrees Celsius on idle (40-50 under load heh)  so shouldn’t that handle the temps?

or do i really need the thermal compound/paste and without it my house would go on fire?

thanks!

specs below!:

ms-7869 mobo (pre built $hiet mobo)

i5-4440 (pretty gewd)

igpu Intel 4440 graphics (also pretty gewd can run games on medium to high (and i don’t mean fucking crysis graphics/cpu killer or the witcher pc murderer, games like tf2, cs:go, gmod, unturned etc...))

2tb no brand hdd (eh reliable alright runs pretty good, speed okay, had MULTIPLE windows installs (i mean like 10-15 fresh reinstalls) then a failed Ubuntu 15.10 install then a Ubuntu 14.04 install (im using that now) so overall: pretty gewd!)

some absolute SHIET psu 'Chiicony 200w)

noice monitor

 

also one more thing (ik this is completely unrelated to anything in this post but there really would be no point making an entire thread for this) but ive saw this on alot of mobos what is it?

i think i know what the blue thing is,  is it a pcie slot thingy?

and the square thing i dont know what the fuck that is

anyways thanks everyone!

one more thing!

is it okay to clean a heatsink? and is it okay to touch it?

i promise last time thanks!

[r1Ns3]

17° on idle, what the fk? I think there is something wrong with your system

 

[IsaacDaGrazin]

Just now, r1Ns3 said:

17° on idle, what the fk? I think there is something wrong with your system

 

wait wot?

[Ryoku]

its needed, otherwise your heatsink won't make proper contact and won't get proper cooling.

[IsaacDaGrazin]

Just now, Ryoku said:

its needed, otherwise your heatsink won't make proper contact and won't get proper cooling.

ohhh okay thanks!

[Dan Q]

 

Not 100% relevant but an interesting watch.  

[runit3]

1. Yes, thermal paste is really needed. You bought a $200 proc, spend the $5-10 to keep it cool.

2. The blue thing is a PCIe x16 slot

3. The grey box is a chipset heatsink.

 

Yes you can clean the board. Canned air should get a majority of the crap off it, if anything is left microfiber cloth. Do not use solvents or water.

[MeDownYou]

100% needed or you'll overheat in seconds.

[,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

Do NOT go with out it!

 

I have tested this before, and the idle temps were around 50 degress, load was over 90 degrees. Do NOT do it, you need the compound.

[MattShnoop]

2 minutes ago, IsaacDaGrazin said:

wait wot?

Unless you have a really good cooling solution, I don't think it's really normal to get 17 degrees on idle. 

[IsaacDaGrazin]

1 minute ago, Reece Leu said:

snip

 

1 minute ago, MeDownYou said:

snip

 

1 minute ago, runit3 said:

snip

okay thanks!

[IsaacDaGrazin]

Just now, MattShnoop said:

Unless you have a really good cooling solution, I don't think it's really normal to get 17 degrees on idle. 

it isnt? i normally get around that?

[Enderman]

1) yes you need thermal paste

it was doing its job until you removed the cooler

even if its dry, it still works as long as you dont separate the cooler from the CPU, which you just did, and you you need to buy new paste because it will no longer work properly

 

2) yes that blue thing is a PCIe slot

 

3) that square is called a heatsink, and its used to cool down the chipset

[MattShnoop]

Just now, IsaacDaGrazin said:

it isnt? i normally get around that?

I'm no expert, but 17 degrees is below the average room temperature, so it seems unusual.

[runit3]

Just now, IsaacDaGrazin said:

it isnt? i normally get around that?

Are you living in an igloo? CPU temps cannot be lower than ambient temp w/out DICE/LN2/a bucket of ice and a radiator.

[IsaacDaGrazin]

Just now, MattShnoop said:

I'm no expert, but 17 degrees is below the average room temperature, so it seems unusual.

i do keep my room quite cold  (i like it :3) so maybe that could be it?

[swordsm3n]

Thats like 63F. It is definitely below room temp. Do you chill with the thermostat set to 50F or something?

[Wingfan]

i keep my place around that temp during the winter, i like the cold.

[IsaacDaGrazin]

1 minute ago, runit3 said:

snip

 

Just now, swordsm3n said:

snip

i have a temp monitor and on idle it says around that ? 

and i dont know wtf my thermostat thingy is on

[IsaacDaGrazin]

Just now, Wingfan said:

i keep my place around that temp during the winter, i like the cold.

yas!

[Wingfan]

about 18c in here right now. if i get chilly i just stress test my PC and it heats me fine lol

[DominicNikon]

14 minutes ago, MattShnoop said:

Unless you have a really good cooling solution, I don't think it's really normal to get 17 degrees on idle. 

18-25C at idle with my corsair h105 at 1.345V (4.5ghz)

[Wingfan]

H105...much love

[Enderman]

6 minutes ago, MattShnoop said:

I'm no expert, but 17 degrees is below the average room temperature, so it seems unusual.

 

5 minutes ago, runit3 said:

Are you living in an igloo? CPU temps cannot be lower than ambient temp w/out DICE/LN2/a bucket of ice and a radiator.

hes probably using an AMD CPU

[IsaacDaGrazin]

Just now, Wingfan said:

about 18c in here right now. if i get chilly i just stress test my PC and it heats me fine lol

x3

idk waht it is here

it just feels nice and cold and i keep it like that alot until my brother comes and gets a blow torch and lights my walls on fire to heat the room up