Too Much Thermal Paste = Dead CPU?

Original Message

Name: marf
Date: May 16, 2005 at 10:56:17 Pacific
Subject: Too Much Thermal Paste = Dead CPU?
OS: Win2k SP4
CPU/Ram: 3.2Ghz P4 HT 1mb

Comment:

Hi,
Can too much thermal grease kill a processor?
Thanks
Sam

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Response Number 1

Name: jam
Date: May 16, 2005 at 12:06:46 Pacific
Subject: Too Much Thermal Paste = Dead CPU?

Reply: (edit)

If it's a P4, NO. It's thermally protected & cannot overheat & fry. Believe it or not, a P4 will run with NO heatsink installed & it won't burnout (don't try it...lol).
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/editorials/article/1278.8/
As for the paste, you should use only a small dab, about the size of a grain of rice, then spread it out thinly & evenly over the core.

Asus A7N8X-X
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Response Number 2

Name: marf
Date: May 16, 2005 at 13:01:24 Pacific
Subject: Too Much Thermal Paste = Dead CPU?

Reply: (edit)

Thanks, so that hasnt killed my P4 then.
I had gone a little overboard on the grease then read somewhere that it can be bad.

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Response Number 3

Name: jam
Date: May 16, 2005 at 14:07:51 Pacific
Subject: Too Much Thermal Paste = Dead CPU?

Reply: (edit)

If you're sure you used too much, remove the heatsink & remove the excess paste...then apply a fresh layer, but this time do it correctly. Follow these instructions:
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm
Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8 x 210MHz
768MB PC3200
Asus A9550 128MB/128-bit
Gamer Edition
WinME/WinXP Pro

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Response Number 4

Name: Badboy
Date: May 16, 2005 at 15:22:44 Pacific
Subject: Too Much Thermal Paste = Dead CPU?

Reply: (edit)

If you've used too much Arctic Silver, you can short out pins and bridges on your CPU and MOBO.
You CAN kill a CPU with a conductive thermal paste like Arctic Silver.

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Response Number 5

Name: marf
Date: May 18, 2005 at 10:37:57 Pacific
Subject: Too Much Thermal Paste = Dead CPU?

Reply: (edit)

Already tried cleaning it and reapplying, no joy.
It was just cheap silicone based thermal grease, £1.50 a tube.
I checked for any on the motherboard and underside of the chip but there was none.
What about the grease getting into the hole in the corner of the P4?
http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040201/images/prescott-1.jpg

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Response Number 6

Name: Badboy
Date: May 18, 2005 at 13:54:24 Pacific
Subject: Too Much Thermal Paste = Dead CPU?

Reply: (edit)

The silicone based stuff is pretty inert.
I use it exclusively but I live close to Dow Corning corporate HQ and I know who else uses it: NASA, military, etc.
I don't think that would cook a CPU or MOBO if you slathered all over it.

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