Question Mounting a CPU fan

[Thespian0757]

I am in the process of restoring an old PC, and it's functioning well. Currently, my main task is to upgrade the HDD to an SSD. However, when I opened it up, I discovered that it is extremely dirty, with a significant amount of dust on all the components. While the PC continues to work fine, I decided to clean the fan and the heatsink since they were clogged with dust and grime. It was a relatively simple procedure, and I didn't encounter much risk of damaging anything. However, I noticed that the fan was attached to the CPU with some adhesive, and when I removed it, I saw marks on both the fan and the CPU. Should I reattach these two components using glue? I've watched some videos where people apply a type of paste or glue between the fan and the processor, but is it necessary?

If it is indeed essential, what kind of glue should I use?

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

That paste is thermal interface material (TIM) also known as thermal paste or thermal compound. It fills in microscopic gaps in between the CPU (actually the CPU's heat spreader) and the CPU cooler in order to maximize the transfer of heat and provide optimal cooling. It is typically considered necessary, otherwise you would experience overheating. You will need to clean that old compound off both the CPU and the cooler. Isopropyl alcohol and cotton balls work well enough.

There are several different ways to apply the thermal paste; however, in my dozens upon dozens of thermal paste applications, I have found that a single pea-sized glob in the center of the CPU works best and spreads out evenly enough to efficiently cool the CPU.

Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5 g Thermal Paste ($6.95 @ Amazon)
Thermal Compound: Noctua NT-H1 3.5 g Thermal Paste ($8.94 @ Amazon)
Thermal Compound: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut 1 g Thermal Paste ($8.99 @ Amazon)
Thermal Compound: ARCTIC MX-4 2019 Edition 4 g Thermal Paste ($5.21 @ Amazon)

How to Apply Thermal Paste to a CPU? [2023 Step-by-Step Beginner Guide] — Kooling Monster

Most of the time, our first introduction to thermal paste is taking apart a pre-build or laptop. And when we see a tub of dried thermal paste oozing out of a processor, our first question probably isn’t “gee I wonder how that got there”. And if you didn’t start on a prebuild, well… you’re one of

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