Exposed Thermal Paste

em28

Commendable
Sep 27, 2016
7
0
1,520
Hello,

I am building a new pc, for which I recently purchased an Intel Core i5 CPU. On opening the box I found a part missing.
The thermal compound on the heat sink was shipped WITHOUT the protective plastic covering it.
From watching Intel cpu unboxing videos I understand that there SHOULD BE A protective plastic covering the thermal compound on the heat sink.

The thermal compound was pretty much exposed to the air in side the box all this while... until the day opened it.
Is this going to be a problem?
Can the thermal paste dry out due to exposurer or be contaminated by dust? (thereby reducing the efficiency of heat transfer)

To be safe I decided not to install the cpu for now as this might cause heating issues. The cpu along with the heatsink are safely stored away inside the box (minus the plastic covering)
 
Solution
If you are unsure about the pre applied paste, you can just get rid of it and use an aftermarket thermal paste.

Use some isopropyl alcohol & q tips to get rid of the pre applied thermal paste first.

Then get an aftermarket thermal paste - a tube of Noctua NT-H1 won't be more than a few dollars and would probably do a better job than the default TIM.


You should have no problem using this paste. If everything is still mixed which I don't see why it wouldn't, you're golden and if you are worried about dust or particle contamination just squeeze the first bit out and carry on .
 


Sir, Intel did not provide a tube. I'm referring to the pre-applied past on the bottom of the heat sink (the 3 Grey strips)
 
My apologies I thought you were referring to a tube of thermal paste without the end cap on it. I would suggesting just using cotton and alcohol to remove the old paste and then go to your local electronics store and get a quality paste to apply during installation.
 


Okay, that's a good suggestion, thank you!
Would using the current pre applied paste be harmful to the cpu? I feat it might have dried a bit (if that's possible) or accumulated dust over time
 
If you are unsure about the pre applied paste, you can just get rid of it and use an aftermarket thermal paste.

Use some isopropyl alcohol & q tips to get rid of the pre applied thermal paste first.

Then get an aftermarket thermal paste - a tube of Noctua NT-H1 won't be more than a few dollars and would probably do a better job than the default TIM.


 
Solution
It might not do it's job... At all. And if it has dried won't spread properly when applied or may restrict heat transfer ausing higher temps on your cpu....I'd just replace it with somethig of quality and you'll be better off than with the pre applied stuff anyway.