Thermal paste? How necessary is it?

[Battaglia]

So im about to put together my new rig once the parts arrive, one thing i didnt get was thermal paste and im wondering how important it is. I'm planning on overclocking for the first time. I have an Intel E8500 cpu, i bought a xigmatek 120mm fan and retention bracket for that cpu. Is thermal paste a must have? Or will the Xigmatek be sufficent?

 

[Shadow703793]

Yes! Thermalpaste fills in the small imperfect gaps. So yeah it's needed.

 

[dirtmountain]

a must have.

 

[orangegator]

Yes, it's a must have. Most heatsinks come with thermal paste (usually cheap stuff) pre-applied to the bottom. If you remove the heatsink, you need to clean off the old paste and apply new stuff. Thermal paste like AS5 and Arctic Ceramic work much better than the stuff that come pre-applied

 

[eklipz330]

no, you could use your spit. makes sure its nice and thick


im kinda surprised you want to OC, but you can't answer a question of this caliber

 

[smartel7070]

Good point eklipz330. Indeed thermal paste is part of basic oc 101 !

 

[doomturkey]

You do need it. I recommend Arctic Cooling MX-2, its a little better than AS5 and doesn't need to settle in.

 

[Silverion77]

^^lol but sadly agreed (eklipz)

Arctic Cooling MX-2 = better than AS5, no curing time, AND NO CONDUCTIVITY

Edit: didnt see doomturkey's post

 

[Battaglia]

no, you could use your spit. makes sure its nice and thick


im kinda surprised you want to OC, but you can't answer a question of this caliber

Well you could've ignored the question rather than do your best to be the smart ass. Thanks to the rest of you who actually gave me an answer.

 

[grieve]

Remember when applying the MX-2 a little goes a long way. This is one place where "less is more" is actually true.

 

[Talon]

Agree with above that it is a must.

My Xigmatech came with some white "goo" in a small bag. I have no idea what brand it is etc but you could use it and not purchase extra thermal paste. It should be sufficient for your needs, even OCing unless you want to push for every extra Mhz possible.

Now if you want to get the very best get you some Shin-Etsu. Been using it for years and usually get 2-3C minimum advantage over AS5 (Arctic Silver 5).

 

[hypocrisyforever]

nah, clearly you guys don't know the key to overclocking, you squeeze the WHOLE tube out onto the processor......

and if you want to take it to that next level, buy 2 full tubes.

It also makes a good after shave.

 

[PDO]

nah, clearly you guys don't know the key to overclocking, you squeeze the WHOLE tube out onto the processor......

and if you want to take it to that next level, buy 2 full tubes.

It also makes a good after shave.

So thats where I screwed up. I should have stopped after the second tube?

 

[V3NOM]

oh cmon guys stop being so sarcastic and just type a quick response to him. we were all noobs at one stage even though we might have tried a little harder to find info out. there is something called GOOGLE mate! OCZ Freeze is top dog at the moment by a few degrees, but MX-2, AS 5 and the like are still much better than stock paste..

 

[cobra5000]

When you first start something, the easiest way can be most efficient. Go to the website of your cooling product or processor, check the links for installation instructions (some even hv videos) and just use the paste they sent you. These are baby steps here, no need to go off and buy super dynamic mega freezer past. This is your first time, go ahead and use what you've got, be careful and you will be fine.

 

[Ananan]

uh - yeah.

needed.

 

[V3NOM]

although... look at this post:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/254000-28-compound#t1863418
- 52 degrees without thermal paste? :O

 

[halcyon]

Thermal paste...waaaaaay, overrated.

Seriously, I would not recommend overclocking anything until you can write at least 2 sentences about why thermal compound is necessary. However, its your gear, as long as you can afford to replace it, have fun. That's not meant to be a smart@$$ answer either. A limited understanding of the fundementals is recommended before attempting overclocking and I think many would agree that cooling and all related to it are part of those fundementals.

Good luck.

 

[fruees]

yeah I agree halcyon, I've been reading on overclocking for the past week and only got to doing my first overclock today!! 1.39vcore 3.2ghz on aQ6660 with arctic freezer pro 7, 4870x2 and antec 1200....well chuffed with myself!!!!

 

[seboj]

I read the title of the post, and LOL'ed in the middle of my databasing class.

+1 to the OP for making my day.

 

[V3NOM]

lawl

 

[belo]

What a bunch of dicks. Glad there's a few decent guys to answer his question.

 

[tcrgtv]

What a bunch of dicks. Glad there's a few decent guys to answer his question.

NO doubt! Yes it is importatant. Here ya go this might help www.tomshardware.com/forum/59320-28-thermal-paste-application