[SOLVED] Should I change the internal thermal paste of my processor?

Jacob 51

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Dec 31, 2020
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My PC runs pretty hot and I discovered that intel uses low quality thermal paste, so I was wondering if I should delid it and apply high quality one. Is there a risk?
 
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My PC runs pretty hot and I discovered that intel uses low quality thermal paste, so I was wondering if I should delid it and apply high quality one. Is there a risk?
Which/what processor?

You can send your processor off to the folks at Silicon Lottery (amongst some others) to have it professionally done. Yes, there is a cost (and lost time) for it but it's probably not much more than getting the tool to do it 'safely' and there's much lower risk since they already have the tools and skills appropriate to the task.

And as a point of reference: the 'paste' intel uses isn't necessarily low quality, it's more that it's low(er) performance. The "high" performance paste people generally replace it with is a liquid metal type...

Oasis Curator

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Apr 9, 2019
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There is always a risk but plenty of people do it.
Have you got high temperatures?
Because if they're comfortably within limits, begs the question of why change it?
I've never changed mine. But then I don't change the fan either (which I undedaydn is the reason most people change theirs... when adding an aftermarket fan).
 
My PC runs pretty hot and I discovered that intel uses low quality thermal paste, so I was wondering if I should delid it and apply high quality one. Is there a risk?
Which/what processor?

You can send your processor off to the folks at Silicon Lottery (amongst some others) to have it professionally done. Yes, there is a cost (and lost time) for it but it's probably not much more than getting the tool to do it 'safely' and there's much lower risk since they already have the tools and skills appropriate to the task.

And as a point of reference: the 'paste' intel uses isn't necessarily low quality, it's more that it's low(er) performance. The "high" performance paste people generally replace it with is a liquid metal type.

AMD processors, in contrast, don't use internal thermal paste. They're soldered on using a low-temp solder and so have much better thermal conductivity from the factory, without delidding.
 
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Ajwork

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May 29, 2012
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I wouldn’t do that. I recommend making sure that you’ve got a Hyper 212 quality cooler, good thermal paste between the CPU and the fan, and plenty of Airflow. If your temps are still high, I’d suspect a number of background processes are stressing out your CPU or perhaps even some cpu/ram/motherboard chipset settings in your bios need to be reviewed.

Popping off the lid of your cpu to apply thermal paste for cooling is like nuking a mountain to get rid of a molehill — it might work, but there’s a lot of additional costs and risks involved that make the proposition untenable for not a major benefit when potentially better options are available.
 
I Have A Core i3 3240. The Cooler Is Kinda Like Intel Stock, But It's Third Party And Got Screws
There is no point de-lidding what is a relatively cool running cpu. If you have cooling problems then something else is wrong. Have you tried charging the thermal paste on the cooler? Are you sure the cooler is locked properly and the fan is working correctly?

A cooler like the Hyper 212 suggested above would also help over the stock cooler.
 
Is that even an overclocking CPU? I'm pretty sure the only reason to de-lid is for extreme overclocking of thermally constrained CPU's, further underscoreing how pointlessness it would be to attempt it if it's not.

That is, unless you like science experiments. That can be fun...but only if it's throw-away.