Is it bad I do this?

[RileyTheFox]

I'm just wondering if it is bad if I don't rub off the thermal paste and replace it again after I've taken off the CPU heatsink to clean and stuff.

[mpsparrow]

I would think so. Why would you take your heatsink off though to clean your computer?

[Xaring]

Its not "bad", it will do the job, but if you want the best performance, then make sure to apply new one, or if you are overclocking, then put some new one on!

 

Edit: You can always go and test the temperatures. Run Prime95 stresstest for 5 minutes and check if the temperature is 85ºC or more. If it is, you will need to reapply the paste.

[RadiatingLight]

7 minutes ago, Xaring said:

Its not "bad", it will do the job, but if you want the best performance, then make sure to apply new one, or if you are overclocking, then put some new one on!

 

Edit: You can always go and test the temperatures. Run Prime95 stresstest for 5 minutes and check if the temperature is 85ºC or more. If it is, you will need to reapply the paste.

I wouldn't recommend Prime95 unless you explicitly know that the person you're recommending it to doesn't have a haswell CPU simply because it doesn't work well with some Haswell CPUs.

About 2 years back, someone recommended I use prime95 to stress test my CPU (4770k) and I didn't know that some haswell CPUs didn't handle prine95 well. my CPU's temps skyrocketed to 105c and my computer shutdown to protect itself from heat.

 

instead, I would recommend the Intel burn test, or Aida64 in general as they both stress test the CPU, but pose no danger to Haswell

[AlwaysFSX]

It doesn't make as much of a difference as people make it out to be.

[Xaring]

2 minutes ago, RadiatingLight said:

I wouldn't recommend Prime95 unless you explicitly know that the person you're recommending it to doesn't have a haswell CPU simply because it doesn't work well with some Haswell CPUs.

About 2 years back, someone recommended I use prime95 to stress test my CPU (4770k) and I didn't know that some haswell CPUs didn't handle prine95 well. my CPU's temps skyrocketed to 105c and my computer shutdown to protect itself from heat.

 

instead, I would recommend the Intel burn test, or Aida64 in general as they both stress test the CPU, but pose no danger to Haswell

Thats exactly why I said to run for "5 minutes". No damage should be dealt in that time. Stress testing is supposed to be done for long periods of time to check stability, and if prime95 makes the voltage to skyrocket it might damage your CPU, but on a 5-minute test it will do no harm. Also you need to a)tune down your OC, or b)Get a better CPU heatsink. 105ºC isnt in any way good for your chip, and if you see that temperature you should stop it right away

[RadiatingLight]

6 minutes ago, Xaring said:

Thats exactly why I said to run for "5 minutes". No damage should be dealt in that time. Stress testing is supposed to be done for long periods of time to check stability, and if prime95 makes the voltage to skyrocket it might damage your CPU, but on a 5-minute test it will do no harm. Also you need to a)tune down your OC, or b)Get a better CPU heatsink. 105ºC isnt in any way good for your chip, and if you see that temperature you should stop it right away

Well at the time I was using a stock cooler with stock clocks.

5 minutes still might damage a CPU in a case like mine, where my PC shut down within about 20 seconds of starting the test due to temps.

I'm not saying that P95 is the end of the world, but just in general it's better to recommend something which does the same thing as prime95 (aida64 or intel burn test) without the risk of Haswell