Question Thermal Paste In Ryzen AM4 Socket

markib

Distinguished
Feb 2, 2013
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0
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Hi guys,
I have just upgraded my Ryzen system to gen 3!
I have listed the processor and memory on eBay.
I was going to list the Gigabyte 370x Gaming K5 motherboard.
The problem I have it seems that a small amount thermal paste has got into a few of the socket hole,
I don't want to sell it and destroy the buyers CPU if there is more thermal paste that I can see!
Any advice please!
 
Hi guys,
I have just upgraded my Ryzen system to gen 3!
I have listed the processor and memory on eBay.
I was going to list the Gigabyte 370x Gaming K5 motherboard.
The problem I have it seems that a small amount thermal paste has got into a few of the socket hole,
I don't want to sell it and destroy the buyers CPU if there is more thermal paste that I can see!
Any advice please!

In truth, it's not going to do any harm unless it's packed in the sockets enough to prevent the CPU pins from making reliable connection with the socket contacts. You just won't know that until using it and even then pumping the lever a few times (carefully) will probably force a reliable contact anyway. But the thing is, buyers won't understand all that so they may steer clear of it ...or if they do understand hit you for steep discount anyway..

The only thing that would avoid any questions at sale is to clean it safely...so then how. Get a couple cans of a good electronics spray cleaner and spray clean only the area of the socket. Then wash the board off with it and let it thoroughly dry.
 
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ssbaraskar99

Prominent
Oct 29, 2020
69
3
565
In truth, it's not going to do any harm unless it's packed in the sockets enough to prevent the CPU pins from making reliable connection with the socket contacts. You just won't know that until using it and even then pumping the lever a few times (carefully) will probably force a reliable contact anyway. But the thing is, buyers won't understand all that so they may steer clear of it ...or if they do understand hit you for steep discount anyway..

The only thing that would avoid any questions at sale is to clean it safely...so then how. Get a couple cans of a good electronics spray cleaner and spray clean only the area of the socket. Then wash the board off with it and let it thoroughly dry.
Yes you are EXACTLY RIGHT, it will prevent proper electrical connection between socket & contacts. Clean the socket !!
 
Hi guys,
I have just upgraded my Ryzen system to gen 3!
I have listed the processor and memory on eBay.
I was going to list the Gigabyte 370x Gaming K5 motherboard.
The problem I have it seems that a small amount thermal paste has got into a few of the socket hole,
I don't want to sell it and destroy the buyers CPU if there is more thermal paste that I can see!
Any advice please!
3rd gen Ryzen is Zen3 and those are 5000 series Ryzen, that MB doesn't support it.
 
The way that AMD has chosen to classify these CPU is boggling.
I have to imagine there's a good story behind it all, doubtlessly rooted in the desperate condition of the company at the time. I can imagine Engineering never wanted to take Summit Ridge CPU's to market and really wanted to start with Pinnacle Ridge. But they had to have something to stay alive and keep investors interested as it wasn't ready so they went with Summit Ridge mainly to show they had a marketable architecture.

Evidence for it was the incredibly rushed way that B350/X370 boards came to the board partners with half-way ready BIOS's that couldn't even reliably initialize the CPU's or train memory. They were famous for 'cold-bricking' until refinements came in the form of better AGESA from AMD.

I'd love to read an insider's account of the discussions between engineering and marketing and how the final decisions came down. It would probably make for some excellent MBA case study material.
 
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Actually...Gen 3 are Ryzen 3000 CPU's.

Gen 1 = Zen 1 = Summit Ridge 1000 CPU's
Gen 2 = Zen 1+ = Pinnacle Ridge 2000 CPU's
Gen 3 = Zen 2 = Matisse 3000 CPU's
Gen 4 = Zen 3 = Vermeer 5000 CPU's

Then there's the APU's....even stranger still. Wonky but that's the way it came out.
Those are just names of some cores, there are more but don't define generation, only Zen numbers do.
 
Those are just names of some cores, there are more but don't define generation, only Zen numbers do.

They are the CPU cores and what most people seem to have.

The APU core codenames are different and don't exactly follow logical Zen sequencing any better than the Gen numbers do. And wow it gets even more confusing...like a 2200G APU is "Zen 1", "Gen 1", "Raven Ridge". It just gets worse with 4000 series APU's; there are no 4000 series CPU's that I know of.

And then throw in odd-ball CPU's like the "AF" 1600x built using a 2600x core so it's Zen1+, Gen 1 (because it's still 1000 series numbering), Pinnacle Ridge.

There are no hard-and-fast rules I guess. AMD's kind of done what they needed to so you really have to go look at CPU specifications, especially with mobile processors.
 
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