[SOLVED] Messed up with thermal paste

[BunnyKraken]

Okey, im ''building'' or rather messing up my PC at the moment. I tried to install the Noctua NH D-15S and it required a lot more force than I anticipated, so I struggled to get it tighten for about 15minutes. I moved the cooler quite a bit around so the thermal paste moved also. I looked with flashlight and I see that there is some spillage to the sides, not a lot just like 1-2mm or so. Will this spill more when the PC is heated up ?

Would this be an issue, or should I wipe it clean completely and try again ?



Secondly I have no idea how some thermal paste got on to the CPU Fan headers/socket basically also underneath it, and Fan header/socket. I think I didn't spill at all. So my question is the motherboard or the sockets now ruined, or can I try to clear them with toothpaste or alcohol or what ?



The paste I used was NT-H1, also how tight should the cooler be, feels like it required a lot of twist to get it tighten. Can it be too tighten I have no idea how to tell ?

https://imgur.com/A4ma6xA

View: https://imgur.com/A4ma6xA

https://imgur.com/a/YqiO4hW

View: https://imgur.com/a/YqiO4hW

https://imgur.com/a/mZu95ek

View: https://imgur.com/a/mZu95ek

 

[Nemesia]

Hi BunnyKraken.

Everything looks ok. The NT-H1 is not electrically conductive so you're safe there It won't cause short or anything.

And the spilling on the side of the CPU doesn't look bad so you're ok there too. It's just the excess being squished out to the sides. If you reapply thermal paste in the future just put a little bit less.

 

[Nemesia]

Don't overtighten the screws. You don't have to put HULK force until the motherboard crack. You stop when you feel it's tight enough. You test the system and if the temperatures are ok you probably tighten it good enough.

 

[BunnyKraken]

Hi BunnyKraken.

Everything looks ok. The NT-H1 is not electrically conductive so you're safe there It won't cause short or anything.

And the spilling on the side of the CPU doesn't look bad so you're ok there too. It's just the excess being squished out to the sides. If you reapply thermal paste in the future just put a little bit less

Wow thank you, this is a relief to hear. So the thermal paste will be solid from here on, even if it gets hot, and won't spill more down the sides, than it already has ?

As for the motherboard spillage, I have no idea how I was able to do that, looks more like glue underneath the Pump Fan1 and its so evenly underneath the whole socket. But I doubt they would have it like that after the factory so must be my thermal paste, and I was just too sloppy.

This is how much I used thermal paste, seems like with the wiggle with the cooler it was a little too much.

https://imgur.com/XQhHLuC

View: https://imgur.com/XQhHLuC

 

[Nemesia]

That's an ok amount. Maybe a bit less but that's still ok. Like you said wiggling it a bit probably made it spill a bit like you have but don't worry about it and if you really want you can just clean the paste from CPU and cooler and reapply it but you don't have to.

Even if there is a small amount that drops on your GPU or anything it won't damage anything. The paste is not conductive.

By the way it's the same on my 3900X. The paste is the same around the CPU but it never spilled more than this and it's been 5 months.

Can you remove that stuff around the header with a microfiber cloth or something? It just look like something on the board that won't really affect anything.

 

[BunnyKraken]

That's an ok amount. Maybe a bit less but that's still ok. Like you said wiggling it a bit probably made it spill a bit like you have but don't worry about it and if you really want you can just clean the paste from CPU and cooler and reapply it but you don't have to.

Even if there is a small amount that drops on your GPU or anything it won't damage anything. The paste is not conductive.

By the way it's the same on my 3900X. The paste is the same around the CPU but it never spilled more than this and it's been 5 months.

Can you remove that stuff around the header with a microfiber cloth or something? It just look like something on the board that won't really affect anything.

Thanks a lot for your time and great advice/knowledge. 😊
I will leave the thermal paste like that for the CPU for now, maybe I will mess up something even more if I try to clean it and re-install the cooler. Good to know it won't damage anything like that

I will try to clean the header a little bit, but I noticed it more on the pump header that I won't use so I should be fine.

 

[Nemesia]

Thanks a lot for your time and great advice/knowledge. 😊
I will leave the thermal paste like that for the CPU for now, maybe I will mess up something even more if I try to clean it and re-install the cooler. Good to know it won't damage anything like that

I will try to clean the header a little bit, but I noticed it more on the pump header that I won't use so I should be fine.

Be at peace and start that system up

 

[BunnyKraken]

Be at peace and start that system up

Couple questions that I still have, When I installed the cooler and it wiggled, it also lifted of from the CPU a couple of times, because of the tricky screws, is this a reason to clean the old thermal paste.

Secondly it took about 20minutes to get the cooler loosely tightened, and then I asked if I should tighten the screws all the way. Made the final tightening from the loose installation after that. Could this slow installation cause problems. If the thermal paste did already hardened in the early installation, and after that it was rock solid with the final tightening. Installation was about 45-60min overall.

Im afraid its now unevenly separated, or it was bad idea to tighten the cooler with the hard thermal paste. Same time im afraid to unmount the cooler and clear the processor, and maybe bend the pins etc.

 

[Nemesia]

The thermal paste do not go hard like that inside an hour. You're totally fine. Yes maybe the thermal paste application is not even or there might be an issue with it but I will say this. Do not panic. A CPU with some or too much paste or paste not even will still work. A temperature issue will be visible inside the BIOS or Windows for the CPU temp.

What you should do now is just start the system. Install Windows and softwares like HWINFO and check the temperatures. If the temp is ok than everything is fine. If you see the temp being a lil bit too high don't worry the CPU won't explode. At that point you will know that you need to redo the thermal paste.

Normally when you remove the cooler and lift it up from the CPU you should clean and repaste. Not everyone do it. It doesn't mean the temperature will be bad. It's just good practice and it could cause a temp issue especially because of air bubble and a lack of paste at a certain spot. This will not make a system not boot or CPU melt. So take it easy and don't sweat too much

 

[BunnyKraken]

The thermal paste do not go hard like that inside an hour. You're totally fine. Yes maybe the thermal paste application is not even or there might be an issue with it but I will say this. Do not panic. A CPU with some or too much paste or paste not even will still work. A temperature issue will be visible inside the BIOS or Windows for the CPU temp.

What you should do now is just start the system. Install Windows and softwares like HWINFO and check the temperatures. If the temp is ok than everything is fine. If you see the temp being a lil bit too high don't worry the CPU won't explode. At that point you will know that you need to redo the thermal paste.

Normally when you remove the cooler and lift it up from the CPU you should clean and repaste. Not everyone do it. It doesn't mean the temperature will be bad. It's just good practice and it could cause a temp issue especially because of air bubble and a lack of paste at a certain spot. This will not make a system not boot or CPU melt. So take it easy and don't sweat too much

Thanks, again. I will install and check the temperatures.

If it turns out its running a little too hot, and I remove the processor from the socket, does this mean I also have to reinstall windows and all the software/bios etc. Basically will removing CPU reset everything, or can CPU be removed, cleaned, reaply paste and then just continue normally ?

 

[Nemesia]

Thanks, again. I will install and check the temperatures.

If it turns out its running a little too hot, and I remove the processor from the socket, does this mean I also have to reinstall windows and all the software/bios etc. Basically will removing CPU reset everything, or can CPU be removed, cleaned, reaply paste and then just continue normally ?

You won't need to reinstall Windows.