is thermal cpu paste that big a deal?

[thrak114]

i dont have any cpu thermal paste specific for a cpu, and heat sink. i mean what is thermal cpu paste made out of? is it the same as the stuff i have? can i use somthing else? like a conair lubricating oil. for my hair clippers. it contains mostly mineral oil, or even a multi-duty complex grease witch is for car engines and gears. it handles extreme pressure, and hi-temperatures. its made out of mostly paraffinic oil, mineral oil, and lithium soap.

 

[PistolPaul]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_grease

 

[JamesSneed]

i dont have any cpu thermal paste specific for a cpu, and heat sink. i mean what is thermal cpu paste made out of? is it the same as the stuff i have? can i use somthing else? like a conair lubricating oil. for my hair clippers. it contains mostly mineral oil, or even a multi-duty complex grease witch is for car engines and gears. it handles extreme pressure, and hi-temperatures. its made out of mostly paraffinic oil, mineral oil, and lithium soap.

I'm sure you could use lots of things but thermal paste has some very specific properties that none of what you mention has. It doesn't dry out and flake after being repeatedly heated, it conducts heat very well, its structure is fairly small so it creates the thinnest layer when pressed between two pieces of metal, and most(not all) pastes are electrically non conductive to prevent any shorts.

I have seen a ton of wacky things tested and the short answer is just use thermal paste it doesn't matter a whole lot which kind but do pick one that is electrically non-conductive.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-comparison,5108.html

 

[thrak114]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_grease

thanx

 

[thrak114]

i dont have any cpu thermal paste specific for a cpu, and heat sink. i mean what is thermal cpu paste made out of? is it the same as the stuff i have? can i use somthing else? like a conair lubricating oil. for my hair clippers. it contains mostly mineral oil, or even a multi-duty complex grease witch is for car engines and gears. it handles extreme pressure, and hi-temperatures. its made out of mostly paraffinic oil, mineral oil, and lithium soap.

I'm sure you could use lots of things but thermal paste has some very specific properties that none of what you mention has. It doesn't dry out and flake after being repeatedly heated, it conducts heat very well, its structure is fairly small so it creates the thinnest layer when pressed between two pieces of metal, and most(not all) pastes are electrically non conductive to prevent any shorts.

I have seen a ton of wacky things tested and the short answer is just use thermal paste it doesn't matter a whole lot which kind but do pick one that is electrically non-conductive.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-comparison,5108.html

thanx for your reply. ill get the proper paste, its just going to take a bit longer to fix. have to wait till the place opens.

 

[NoelsTech]

I agree with the wiki since without thermal paste your CPU will heat up and not work anymore... 😉