I used too much thermal paste

[Rook0r3]

I applied the whole tube of thermal paste I got with my coolermaster hyper 212 EVO. I then read many threads and it seems like I definitely applied too much.

However, in the BIOS menu my CPU temp is only 23 degrees. Do I need to re-apply thermal paste?

 

[GhislainG]

23°C in the BIOS after several minutes is possible only if your system is in a very cold room. Presuming you have an Intel CPU, what are they at full load? If AMD, what are the thermal margins in AMD Overdrive?

 

[Rook0r3]

23°C in the BIOS after several minutes is possible only if your system is in a very cold room. Presuming you have an Intel CPU, what are they at full load? If AMD, what are the thermal margins in AMD Overdrive?

Sorry it took so long to reply. I hadn't installed the OS or anything yet which I've now done.

I did an hour or so stress test with Prime95 and it was reaching a maximum of 52°C with a minimum at idle of 22°C

 

[Pr0tEN]

It's common to get AMD CPUs idling at 14°C,and load at 45°C with that cooler.
I would recommend cleanning the thermal paste and appling it again,
You need just a little pea in the middle of the CPU and seat the cooler on it and that's it.
But your temps are still OK.

 

[Gam3r01]

Again, what processor?
Those temps are safe for AMD or Intel (could be on the upper range for AMD)
Luckily the tube for the EVO is relatively small, but I would recommend a proper application (you dont want that seeping into the socket)

 

[GhislainG]

If it works fine, then I'd leave it alone. To reinstall the cooler new paste is required.

 

[Gam3r01]

Works, vs works well are two different things.
55C under an EVO? Thats a bit much (depending on the processor)

 

[GhislainG]

I may be wrong, but I don't think there's a significant difference between "works fine" and "works well". If it's an Intel, then 55°C is great. If it's an AMD, then the temperatures can't be read accurately; therefore 55°C doesn't really means much.

 

[Nymical]

It's definitely not going to have maximum thermal conductivity and efficiency, but hey, if it works it works. TIM varies by about that much in efficiency anyways. You can probably pull your temps down by ~10% if you reapply and you are using an AMD CPU. Intel temps probably won't change by as large a portion but they should still decrease. Make sure that if you do reapply the paste you read a step-by-step guide, as it is a slightly different process from the first application. Make sure, in any case, that you remove ALL of the old paste before reapplying.

 

[Rook0r3]

It's common to get AMD CPUs idling at 14°C,and load at 45°C with that cooler.
I would recommend cleanning the thermal paste and appling it again,
You need just a little pea in the middle of the CPU and seat the cooler on it and that's it.
But your temps are still OK.

I've got an Intel cpu if that makes a difference - i5-6600k

Thank you for replying. I've cleaned off the thermal paste that I had put on and reapplied a better amount of arctic mx-2 paste. Getting similar temps but I'm a bit happier that the paste is installed properly this time!