Question Can I boot into a bios without thermal paste on the CPU ?

[Zakya]

I'm building a pc and need to check my bios version. Can I boot it up for a minute without applying thermal paste? I'll have a coller of course.

 

[vishvajit]

It is not recommended to boot into BIOS without thermal paste, as the thermal paste is essential for efficient heat transfer from the CPU to the heatsink. Without thermal paste, the CPU may overheat and cause permanent damage to the system. It is important to apply thermal paste properly to ensure efficient heat transfer and prevent overheating. If you do not have a thermal paste, it is recommended to purchase some before attempting to boot into BIOS.

 

[USAFRet]

I'm building a pc and need to check my bios version. Can I boot it up for a minute without applying thermal paste? I'll have a coller of course.

No, do not do this.

 

[TerryLaze]

Depends on the mobo and the CPU, if you have a heavy overclocking mobo that has all settings at 11 by default then no, don't do it.

If you have a normal mobo and a mid/low CPU sure you can do it, the whole thing is to not have the CPU running at too high a temp for too long but since CPUs shut down automatically if they get too hot it's very difficult for you to do any harm.
The only bad thing is that the PC can shut down too fast for you to do anything in the bios.

I had a i5-4460 running without paste for two days (weekend) before I could buy some and I had it running cinebench and other tests and the highest it got was 91 degrees and it never even throttled, let alone shut down.

 

[DRagor]

I agree that it was doable with old CPUs but not anymore. Current CPUs heat up so much and so aggressively that trying it without paste is like asking for damage. Besides, for most manufacturers you do not need to boot the board to check what BIOS version it has (assuming it is new board from shop of course).

 

[Zakya]

I agree that it was doable with old CPUs but not anymore. Current CPUs heat up so much and so aggressively that trying it without paste is like asking for damage. Besides, for most manufacturers you do not need to boot the board to check what BIOS version it has (assuming it is new board from shop of course).

How can I check it without booting? The shop I bought it from didn't mention it.

 

[DRagor]

How can I check it without booting? The shop I bought it from didn't mention it.

Depends on manufacturer. It has been a while since I checked but for example ASUS (if I'm remembering correctly) boards would have it coded somewhere on one of the stickers on the board. You'll need to Google it for the board you have to find out what method the manufacturer used (if any, because not all of them do so).

 

[SkyNetRising]

I'm building a pc and need to check my bios version.
Can I boot it up for a minute without applying thermal paste? I'll have a coller of course.

For a short duration you can use alternatives to thermal paste.
Tooth paste will work too.
It will dry out very soon though. But for checking BIOS version it's perfectly fine.

 

[geofelt]

What is the urgency?
Why do you need to know the bios level?
If the cpu is incompatible, you will not get to boot into the bios and see the bios level anyway.

Best to get some paste and install the cooler the right way.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Get thermal paste. It’s only a few dollars and usually a tube under 10 dollars should give you 4-5 or more applications depending what you buy. But booting without paste is not good.

As it was stated above if your cpu isn’t compatible then you likely won’t have any display.

 

[punkncat]

Honestly, probably be fine. Modern chips are built with thermal protections that will have it throttle and then just shut down when it overheats. I have seen various YT tech channels power a PC both without a cooler or with it just sitting on top of the CPU in order to verify operation as well as to check BIOS.

The aspect that I would warn about is NOT to touch the CPU when doing so. It is going to climb up to its thermal limits quickly and those temps are enough to burn you to blister almost instantly. Afterward, give it a bit to cool down before trying to do anything with it.

Safe bet is to follow the advice given above and just use the cooler and paste properly.

 

[JohnMGotts]

Just do it, check it, and shut it down. C’mon guys!

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Imo telling the op to boot without paste is bad advice. But op do what you want. Personally as I said above paste is relatively cheap as opposed to the price of a new cpu or board, so safe bet is use paste.

 

[JohnMGotts]

Imo telling the op to boot without paste is bad advice. But op do what you want. Personally as I said above paste is relatively cheap as opposed to the price of a new cpu or board, so safe bet is use paste.

Ever check your processor heat during bios bootup? Even graphics aren’t involved. C’mon guys!

 

[BFG-9000]

Thermal compound is just silicone oil in some thickener that prevents it from being pumped out with thermal cycling. Something like wheel bearing grease or antiseize will pretty much do exactly the same thing.

If you substitute a drop of oil, it will work just as well for about a week until it all gets pumped out. Mineral oil (including motor oil, baby oil or sewing machine oil) would temporarily work just fine, you'd just have to replace it often. If you don't have mineral oil then vegetable oil would work too--but if you leave that on there too long it will oxidize into a hard-to-clean sticky brown mess.

Look, even if you mix eggs into your vegetable oil it will still perform as well as real thermal pastes:

I do not suggest something water based like the toothpaste shown above as it dries out. And the chocolate burns into insulating carbon.

 

[sonofjesse]

Why would you do this, I"m missing the point.

your building a PC, you put the CPU/ram/cooler in, then BOOT.

I see zero reason of booting up before. If you have a new fancy MB, you can just flash without a CPU or CPU cooler in it to be on the latest..........

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Unless they've got a situation like they've got a 600 series board and 13th gen cpu and don't want to put the cooler on before they know if it will boot or not. As I said, if it was mine, I'd put the paste on there.

 

[Mandark]

He feels like taking a walk on the wild side

 

[Nighthawk117]

No don't be lazy. If it's a high end board though like a Z690 then you might find you can boot without the CPU and RAM in anyway.

 

[letmepicyou]

No don't be lazy. If it's a high end board though like a Z690 then you might find you can boot without the CPU and RAM in anyway.

Yes, exactly. My Z690 Asrock Steel Legend can boot to BIOS w/o a cpu or ram installed.

 

[CelicaGT]

Just do it, check it, and shut it down. C’mon guys!

Because we don't want to be responsible for any issues that may arise however unlikely. This particular case is minor but I've seen some pretty shady advise given in regards to PSU's etc, and then to have the individual argue their point with only the desire to be right, and without considering any risks to the OP. I've seen advice given that will very likely be the cause of a house fire (not on Tom's) and was argued into the ground by some rando who saw a thing on Tik Tok ffs. So generally I'll offer some advice and then back off unless I see a safety issue. Is there a risk in this case? Unlikely, but still a greater than zero chance of damage. Would I do it? No, probably not. But if I did do it, and something happened at least It's ONLY my fault and I knew the risks however minimal, going in. Patience is a virtue and in this case that is my advice to the OP. Wait, get the correct supplies and do the job correctly the first time.

 

[JohnMGotts]

Because we don't want to be responsible for any issues that may arise however unlikely. This particular case is minor but I've seen some pretty shady advise given in regards to PSU's etc, and then to have the individual argue their point with only the desire to be right, and without considering any risks to the OP. I've seen advice given that will very likely be the cause of a house fire (not on Tom's) and was argued into the ground by some rando who saw a thing on Tik Tok ffs. So generally I'll offer some advice and then back off unless I see a safety issue. Is there a risk in this case? Unlikely, but still a greater than zero chance of damage. Would I do it? No, probably not. But if I did do it, and something happened at least It's ONLY my fault and I knew the risks however minimal, going in. Patience is a virtue and in this case that is my advice to the OP. Wait, get the correct supplies and do the job correctly the first time.

Absolutely right. And if he cared that much, wouldn’t be asking the question to begin with. Just sayin 👍🏻

 

[cadder]

He has a motherboard and cpu, it is easy enough to put something on there even if he doesn't have the appropriate paste. Maybe he needs to know the bios version before going ahead, we don't know the circumstances or the reason for the question. If he didn't have a cooler and had to go out and buy one that would be a different question.

The chart with mayo is pretty funny- the mayo worked better than many commercial compounds. I wonder why they didn't test mustard.