Question Is it ok for the cooler not to fully cover CPU ihs?

[OldHwOverclocker]

Hi! I was taking apart my old pc and noticed that my cooler has much smaller contact area than the CPU integrated heat spreader. Is this normal?

The CPU is FX8320 and I was using this random unknown cooler.

https://imgur.com/a/c92caUH

View: https://imgur.com/a/c92caUH

 

[SkyNetRising]

noticed that my cooler has much smaller contact area than the CPU integrated heat spreader. Is this normal?

Not preferred but still acceptable.
It still covers ~90% of heat spreader.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Yes, it's fine. Even my cooler doesn't completely cover the IHS.

Contrary to what its name might suggest, the heat spreader is there mostly for mechanical load distribution, not heat distribution. Most of the heat is going to be concentrated over where the dies are.

 

[Avro Arrow]

You already know the answer. Your old PC worked just fine like that so it's not a problem.