coworker gave me a "broken" computer

[subtract30]

Hey all,
A coworker gave me a computer that was "broken". It has a core i7 9xx series CPU and a gigabyte mobo. As I was toting it home, I guess I knocked the heatsink loose, these breaking the thermal paste seal. Can I reattatch the heatsink just to run the computer long enough to see if there's actually anything wrong with it and possibly install an OS on it? Or should I wait to get some thermal compound?

 

[Gam3r01]

You CAN do that, chances are it will overheat before you can do anything useful with it.

 

[USAFRet]

New paste first. Installing an OS or just checking it out will easily bring the CPU to over temp.

 

[Wolfshadw]

New paste first.

-Wolf sends

 

[subtract30]

Alright, I'll stave off my impatience. Thanks guys!