Help! CPU temperatures spiking after application of thermal paste???????

[UNDRCVR]

Is it weird that after doing a better job of applying thermal paste on my cpu the temperatures seem to have gotten worse? I was building a new computer and I hastily put in the cpu with some thermal paste on it (it was in another computer) installing the heat sink and all. I started to play some League of Legends after everything was done and checked the temperatures every now and then in game to check out the system. The temperatures hovered around 45-50. I realized later on that I forgot all about the paste and decided to reapply. Funny thing is..the temperatures got worse! It could go up to 50 degrees playing League of Legends and once even when I was on youtube running some minor applications that could not have gotten the cpu to run near that temperature.
Here is my setup
CPU: i7 4770
CPU Cooler: Deepcool Gammaxx 200
Thermal paste: Arctic Silver 5
Even in an air conditioned room the idle temperatures are about 37 degrees celsius and it can spike up to 45 when I just open a program. What could be the problem?

 

[wildnaughtygamerboy007]

50°c is safe. You should also allow it a few days of use to make sure the paste sets. Just to make sure, you're only using a pea-sized dot on the center and letting the heatsink spread it on its own, right?

 

[Carbongrip]

Lol your temps are safe. I run my i7 3770k @ 4.2ghz, while under full load max temp is 68°C on air. You only start to wonder whats wrong when you get over 79°C.

 

[Kenneth Barker]

Yes,

As stated, give it about 40-50 hours of run time for the paste to cure. If you continue to see heat issues, re-apply the paste, and ensure you use the right amount.

Is your CPU OCed?

 

[wildnaughtygamerboy007]

Yes,

As stated, give it about 40-50 hours of run time for the paste to cure. If you continue to see heat issues, re-apply the paste, and ensure you use the right amount.

Is your CPU OCed?

He's got a non-k with locked multipliers and voltages.

 

[Kenneth Barker]

Yes,

As stated, give it about 40-50 hours of run time for the paste to cure. If you continue to see heat issues, re-apply the paste, and ensure you use the right amount.

Is your CPU OCed?

He's got a non-k with locked multipliers and voltages.

Good point. I looked over that.

 

[UNDRCVR]

50°c is safe. You should also allow it a few days of use to make sure the paste sets. Just to make sure, you're only using a pea-sized dot on the center and letting the heatsink spread it on its own, right?

Right now I applied it in a vertical line because going over to the website the manufacturers recommended it so I changed it again even though I have reapplied it many times to get a good spread. Temperatures have spiked to 64 during a league game too? I'm starting to wonder if this has got anything to do at all with the cooling system

 

[wildnaughtygamerboy007]

50°c is safe. You should also allow it a few days of use to make sure the paste sets. Just to make sure, you're only using a pea-sized dot on the center and letting the heatsink spread it on its own, right?

Right now I applied it in a vertical line because going over to the website the manufacturers recommended it so I changed it again even though I have reapplied it many times to get a good spread. Temperatures have spiked to 64 during a league game too? I'm starting to wonder if this has got anything to do at all with the cooling system

64°c is perfectly safe operating temperature. Intel's recommended max IHS/Package temp is 71°c, so as long as it doesn't spike (and hold) at a temperature above that it's perfectly fine/normal. I don't have any experience with that cooler specifically but it could be the issue. I'd recommend just using it for a few days to make sure your TIM cures. I know Intel may recommend applying paste in a vertical line but it really wont matter too much as long as you aren't putting a lot on. If you can try and pick up a different cooler and get yourself some different paste. I've heard great things about the Cryorig H7 and Arctic MX-4 TIM works great. Best of luck =)

 

[Fulghn]

On modern high end parts thermal paste may have become more of a hindrance than a benefit. Tom's Hardware should really take this up and put it to the test with varied types of modern coolers with and without thermal paste. Experience and reality no longer match up with conventional wisdom.

I've been running an I5 3570K with a large Zalman all copper heatsink/fan for over a year with no thermal paste between the two. Normal idle core temps are 31 to 34C. Running Fallout 4 or online mmorpgs normal temps are 45 to 55C with maximum recorded temps using Core Temp 1.1 not exceeding 64C.

I've been building my own computers for over 20 years, 18 of which I always used thermal paste cause that's just what everyone did - but now that really may have become along the lines of 'Don't sail too far from shore or you'll fall off the Earth.' My computer hasn't been cooling itself with magic fairy breezes - the heatsink by itself is effectively transferring heat form the chip to the radiating fins.

Is thermal paste needed? It's recommended

 

[Kenneth Barker]

On modern high end parts thermal paste may have become more of a hindrance than a benefit. Tom's Hardware should really take this up and put it to the test with varied types of modern coolers with and without thermal paste. Experience and reality no longer match up with conventional wisdom.

I've been running an I5 3570K with a large Zalman all copper heatsink/fan for over a year with no thermal paste between the two. Normal idle core temps are 31 to 34C. Running Fallout 4 or online mmorpgs normal temps are 45 to 55C with maximum recorded temps using Core Temp 1.1 not exceeding 64C.

I've been building my own computers for over 20 years, 18 of which I always used thermal paste cause that's just what everyone did - but now that really may have become along the lines of 'Don't sail too far from shore or you'll fall off the Earth.' My computer hasn't been cooling itself with magic fairy breezes - the heatsink by itself is effectively transferring heat form the chip to the radiating fins.

Is thermal paste needed? It's recommended

Of course a heatsink will "work" without some thermal paste. But it won't be nearly as effective. The purpose of thermal paste is its binding of the contact surfaces for heat transfer. Thermal paste does not magically increase the thermal output of the metal surfaces, it does however create a full contact bond between the two surfaces. Creating a more complete heat transfer area. Filling any small micro gaps or spaces in direct contact between the two surfaces.

Some heat sinks for example have small scratches in the contact plate (increases surface area) and some CPU dies have a textured surface. One a very small scale those surfaces are not smooth, and are rather bumpy. Thermal paste fills all those grooves and gaps creating a bond between the two surfaces with often times greatly increased surface contact area than simply touching the two surfaces together.

The thermal dissipation properties of the materials at play of course play a part here though. If the contact surface area between the two is enough to dissipate the effective energy that the materials are designed for, increasing surface area at the contact point will only do so much.

Thermal paste is highly recommended for good reasons.