Did I ruin my thermal paste

[realanoymouse]

I accidentally touched my pre applied thermal paste, do I need to reapply

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

No need to reapply . I've done it before.

 

[MCMunroe]

They really glob it on. You should be fine. Unless you literally wiped half of the contact plate perfectly clean or something.

 

[Barty1884]

A slight touch? No big deal.

If you managed to wipe away a decent amount with the 'touch', then I'd reapply.

 

[Solandri]

The role of the paste is to fill in microscopic air gaps between the heat sink and CPU (whose contact surfaces are not perfectly flat). Almost anything conducts heat better than air, and so can fulfill the same role as thermal paste. Denture cream, toothpaste, Nutella, finger oils. They're just slightly less effective. You'll be fine.

 

[delaro]

The role of the paste is to fill in microscopic air gaps between the heat sink and CPU (whose contact surfaces are not perfectly flat). Almost anything conducts heat better than air, and so can fulfill the same role as thermal paste. Denture cream, toothpaste, Nutella, finger oils. They're just slightly less effective. You'll be fine.

The smell of roasting Nutella across my Ryzen CPU... has a Holiday ring to does it?

I've used Zinc Oxide sunscreen and Zinc Oxide diaper rash ointment in a pinch, surprisingly they lasted a few months before the petroleum base got cooked out. As far as touching thermal past goes, as long as you don't have Kentucky Fried Chicken fingers or managed to rub off a huge swath of the paste in the center, then it's not a big deal.