cpu - Do third party cooler's T.I.M. contain adheasive?

05
2014-04
  • Annonomus Person

    I'm building my first computer, and I purchased a cheap Thermaltake CL-P0503 cooler in a bundle. I was originally going to grab some high quality thermal paste, but I forgot to purchase some. My cooler has a pre-applied T.I.M. (thermal inference material: a pad of thermal paste type gunk) and I want to use that until I can get some Arctic Silver paste shipped to me (that is without paying $500 for overnight shipping). I also need to finish building my computer in the next few days to verify that it works with warranties... not to mention I can't wait for my new computer!

    My main concern with using the pre-applied paste is that it is going to have some adhesive in in, since my box mentions nothing about the paste. Is it possible to get it off? I would assume that it wouldn't be adheasive since it would be exposed to air, but I'm concerned that it's heat activated. Is there any way to tell?

    • Answers
  • tbenz9

    No it will not be adhesive. In fact, it might be more effective than something like Arctic Silver, since it's already evenly distributed and the right amount for the chip. Many people put too much Arctic Silver on their CPU and it spills out which is not very good for the computer.

    I would not worry about the thermal pad, it's not a glue, and it will most likely work just as well if not better than Actic Silver thermal compound.

    Good luck on the build!


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  • David Oneill

    I'm in the midst of building a computer (this is my first time).

    When I first put the heatsink on the CPU, I was a little off center. Some of the thermal compound came off, so when I re-centered it, it isn't completely evenly distributed. So here's my question: how picky are CPUs in terms of how evenly the thermal compound is? Should I take it apart, clean it, and apply a new layer of compound? Or can I just keep an eye on the CPU temperature? (I'm not overclocking or anything, if that matters)


    • Related Answers
  • ChrisF

    Ideally you need a good uniform layer of thermal compound between the CPU and heat sink.

    If not too much came away you might be OK.

    Get the machine built and then just turn it on to monitor the temperature from the BIOS screen. If it settles down at roughly the correct idle temperature then you're probably OK. If it keeps rising (don't leave it too long) then you'll need to reapply the paste.

  • Satanicpuppy

    The whole point of thermal grease is to make sure there is no air between the CPU and the heat sink. That's it, the whole reason. Air is an insulator, and you don't want any insulator between your CPU and your conducting heat sink.

    You only need a tiny tiny amount of thermal goo. As long as it's evenly distributed, you're fine.

    The symptoms of incorrectly applied thermal grease are pretty obvious: your processor will run slightly hotter if you have too little or too much. So if your fan seems to be running too often or too loud, that's what you're going to need to check.

  • Area 51

    Over 50% application of the thermal compound should be fine as long as it's distributed all across the CPU.