7700K Thermal Paste on Contacts Temperature Performance Impact

NnocPC

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Nov 16, 2016
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While reapplying new thermal paste (Thermal Grizzly Kryo) on my I7 7700K I accidentally got some of the old paste I was cleaning off on the back of the CPU. I know, leave the CPU in the socket while cleaning...I'm dumb but there was some that got over the side and I couldn't get it when it was locked in so I decided to remove. The paste on the back was just a small amount near the outer rim but did get on some of the outer contacts (5-10 total). I cleaned it off to the best of my abilities and put in back in the mobo. I couldn't visibly see any paste but there is a high likelihood there was some microscopic amounts of paste on there still. It was never in the mobo prior to cleaning. The previous paste was Arctic Silver 5.

No performance changes as far as I can tell but the two following changes happened to my temps. My idle and load temps are down 10-12 degrees C which seemed like more than I would expect AND I am now seeing half second jumps of 15-25 degrees C. These jumps never happen at full load and only happen when loading programs as far as I can tell. At Idle they seem random but I assume its Windows loading something. For instance I load Rocket League and hit 83 C but then while playing never above 60 C. Then I finish a game and load main screen again and cause another jump then back to normal. This 20 C range happens on seemingly all file types. So at idle it goes from 30 to 50 and at load it goes from 60 to 80. These max temps only last a half second and go right back to what I would expect and I'm not sure what to think. These are higher max temps than I had previously but idle and load as I said are much lower. I have tried multiple measuring programs and see this across them all. The jumps in temps did not happen with the old paste set up. CPU Cooler is the same, NZXT Kraken 62, everything in the comp is the same except I added an M2 SSD (I will laugh if that is it). No I don't use the CAM software to measure temps. Everything is at stock speeds on my comp.

Could the thermal paste cause this if there is almost none on the contacts? What would consequences be if you get paste on the contacts? Could I have incorrectly done my original thermal paste and been hiding these jumps? I know the 7700K has been known to have the massive jumps but having owned it for a few years and not seeing them, I want to make sure it wasn't something that is wrong. Does this thermal paste take a few days of use to set? I am worried to use the computer but maybe that is the solution. I hope I covered any questions but I'll be here to answer anything else if needed. Thanks for the help!
 
I think that if you caused an issue by having paste on the contacts that you would know about it already because I think you would have bigger problems than you have.

As far as the spikes...maybe pull up Task Manager and sort the CPu usage column and see if you can tell what program is using the CPU when you see the spike.
 

NnocPC

Commendable
Nov 16, 2016
8
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1,510


The spikes occur during any loading program. If I load Chrome, a game, a PDF file or Windows does a background load it seems to occur. It is for sure related to the CPU usage ramping, I just want to make sure that is the correct reaction as it seems a bit much. Not sure if that helps. Also thanks for the reply, that is starting to put me at ease.
 

jjspelen

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Nov 1, 2018
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which m.2 is it?
The m.2 could poor a lot of information to the cpu than it's a easy way to find that out (if the m.2 is in a easy place to get to atleast).
Is this m.2 the only storage device you have in the system?
Is the OS on it the m.2 (if this is not the only storrgae device ofcourse)?
If it is the only storage device is there any way for you to get a other storage device like a ssd or hdd to put your data on?
wait simple question (hopefully) what are the specs on your pc list as follows:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Memory:
Storage:
Storage:
GPU:
Case:
PSU
CPU kooling:
(if you have more gpu's or anything pleace list them as wel ofcourse)
I hope that i can help you with the problem!
 

NnocPC

Commendable
Nov 16, 2016
8
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1,510
Thanks again for the help! It seems to happen on files that are on all storage devices. For reference I left it idle for about 45 min yesterday and was getting temps near 30c on average but the max showed 78c. No one touched the computer during that time. That max was only a brief second or so and right back to 30s.

Spec list:
CPU: i7-7700k(stock speeds)
Motherboard: MSI z270 Gaming M3 (stock voltages)
Memory: 2x8 GB Ballistix
Storage: 500 GB Samsung 970 EVO m.2 (only contains games, literally no other files)
Storage: 240 San Disc SSD Plus (SATA) (OS on this drive, with other small apps)
Storage: 2 TB WD HHD (non frequent storage)
GPU: EVGA 1080 TI FTW3 Elite
Case: NZXT H700i
PSU: Corsair 750 RMx
CPU cooling: NZXT Kraken x62, Thermal Grizzly Kryo Thermal paste


 

jjspelen

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Nov 1, 2018
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Solution

NnocPC

Commendable
Nov 16, 2016
8
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1,510


None that I can see.

I did some other testing last night. I had auto voltage on in the MOBO which i messed around with yesterday. When I set VCore to a lower base number that is stable, BIOS Set to 1.200 but VCore was getting 1.248. No idea why it was getting extra but i assume its because I have the voltage as "Adaptive" in the BIOS. I can save quite a few degrees although i did see some minor stuttering in games but i think that is due to the voltage changing constantly with Intel C States doing their thing and the Adaptive profile. If i could ever get constant voltage it worked like a charm. I was getting absolute max of 75 even on spikes (previously this was 85) which is entirely reasonable and gaming load was low to mid 60s.

 

jjspelen

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Nov 1, 2018
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soo, what needs fixing now i'm a bit ofcourse and switching some things up, with this new info, what needs fixing?
 

NnocPC

Commendable
Nov 16, 2016
8
0
1,510
I guess nothing. Just seems weird that the CPU changed behavior so drastically after changing to a better CPU cooler and paste but it would seem it is performing as expected and in looking at other threads nothing seems out of the norm for this CPU and it actually seems like it is working more "normal" now than before. I think this will come down to a classic case of changing too much so I can't be sure what caused the new behavior. Thanks for the help!

 

jjspelen

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Nov 1, 2018
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I think by swapping the cpu the bios changed automaticly or something or that the thermal paste did something to the bios that is on the mbo itself or something it's just a strange behavior, and i'm glad it's fixed (mostly I guess), if something showes up just send a message then i can respond the fastest or put a answer on this trheat will also work.
Have a nice day!