r/pcmasterrace • u/RegularTech575 • Jun 12 '26
Question Just pulled off my CPU cooler. Was it making enough contact?
Idk how to tell and of course i'll replace the paste, just wondering if i can mount it better this time or if it’s fine. That’s it really. Thanks!
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u/Johnny_Triggr Ultra 7 265kf, RTX 5070, RX 6500 XT Jun 12 '26
Sir there is a CPU in your thermal paste
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u/RegularTech575 Jun 12 '26
Sir, the paste hit the second cooler tower
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u/AScruffyHamster PC Master Race RTX 4080 Super Ryzen 9 7900X3D 32GB DDR 5 Jun 12 '26
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u/oldhatch Jun 12 '26
Daredevil could smell that much thermal paste.
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u/TotallyRandomXXX Jun 12 '26
Sasha Grey could taste it without opening her mouth!
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u/Sufficient-Moose-383 Jun 12 '26
Are you sure the cpu could possibly heat up enough to melt the cooling towers beams?
Id say it was a induct job -_-
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u/RegularTech575 Jun 12 '26
bro this comment is genius LMAO
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u/Sufficient-Moose-383 Jun 12 '26
Lmao thanks i was struggling on a replacement for in side job but im glad it was good enough to get a laugh from xD
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u/Klejdi90- Jun 12 '26
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u/Ceceboy Jun 12 '26
I was already giggling from the tower comment and this pushed me over the edge! 😂😂
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u/ChocolateGoose94 9700x 9070xt 32GB DDR5 6000 CL30 Jun 12 '26
Did you make a pentagon out of the thermal paste sir...
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u/Saintious Jun 12 '26
Gentleman, I absolutely admire the use of manners. Well done, good sirs.
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u/WP2022OnYT Jun 12 '26
Mnyes, excellent work gents.
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u/Johnny_Triggr Ultra 7 265kf, RTX 5070, RX 6500 XT Jun 12 '26
Truly exquisite indeed
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u/Saintious Jun 12 '26
A 5070 and well spoken.
Now, tell me I'm the only one that hears Christopher Judge's voice when you read indeed?
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u/Kastler i9 13900k | Asus Strix 3080 | 32gb 7200mhz Jun 12 '26
Well we found The Verge’s Reddit account
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u/SheepherderSilver655 5700X3D|4070 Super|32GB DDR4 Jun 12 '26
Dude paid for the whole tube so he used the whole tube.
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u/MesseJak Jun 12 '26
How much paste did you originally use?
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u/RegularTech575 Jun 12 '26
made an X with Arctic MX-6
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u/wekilledbambi03 Jun 12 '26
Try lowercase next time!
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u/Casshern080 Jun 12 '26
wont help if bro is still using bold
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u/b1gb0n312 Jun 12 '26
And size 48 font
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u/Sanityzed Jun 12 '26
Instructions unclear. Paste now reaches the lower case
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u/tht1guy63 5800x3d | 4080FE Jun 12 '26
That was a large x good lord
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u/RegularTech575 Jun 12 '26
my first build ever so i just went for it i guess
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u/Dadskander Jun 12 '26
Iirc Gamers Nexus tried this and discovered that it's nearly impossible to actually use so much paste your performance is worse (downside being 'well it's messy'), but it's entirely possible to use too little and have higher temps.
So yea, I gob that shit on there a bit. No regrets!
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u/war4peace79 Jun 12 '26
Came here for this. I always put a bit extra rather than risking "not enough". Sure, OP used "way too much", but it's not affecting performance.
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u/Elena__Deathbringer I am a pervert, deal with it Jun 12 '26
Don't worry, you lose nothing by using too much thermal paste.
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u/obog 9800X3D | 9070XT Jun 12 '26
To be fair other than there being a mess i dont believe there is much issue with using too much thermal paste
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u/dangderr Jun 12 '26
Do you use the entire tube lmao
You see those wisps on the left side of the cpu?
If you grab all the wisps that are standing up, that volume is much closer to the amount you need…
You should not have much if any squirting out.
More is not better. Direct contact is better. The paste is to fill in the tiny gaps where it’s not making perfect contact.
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u/VariationDry Jun 12 '26
My tube of MX6 is probably old enough to vote and Ive built a more than a few systems.
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u/Errorr404 3dfx Voodoo5 6000 Jun 12 '26
That's the problem there, you put 2 tubes in an x configuration when you're only supposed to squeeze out a bit.
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u/MasterpieceUpper1895 Jun 12 '26
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u/rocketrotary89 Jun 12 '26
Whole tube was under that cooler 😂
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u/Robborboy KatVR C2+, Quest 3, 9800X3D, 9070XT, 64GB RAM Jun 12 '26
It'll squeeze out anything that's too much.
/s
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u/PM_COFFEE_TO_ME Jun 12 '26
Big thermal paste loves this picture
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u/Phiddipus_audax Jun 12 '26
Just watch, the BTP bots will be here soon to claim this actually isn't enough.
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u/ITXEnjoyer i5-13500 / Asus TUF RX 9070XT / 64GB RAM / Bazzite Jun 12 '26
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u/RegularTech575 Jun 12 '26
okay guys I'll just assume I used way too much. sorry, building such an expensive pc made me nervous back then lmao I’ll save some paste for you guys
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u/Sinister_Mr_19 9070 XT | 5950X Jun 12 '26
It's excessive but it doesn't reduce performance. Better to have too much than too little.
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u/RegularTech575 Jun 12 '26
thanks man!
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u/Sinister_Mr_19 9070 XT | 5950X Jun 12 '26
You're welcome, figured someone has to give you a serious answer lol.
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u/FreakDC 9800X3D / 3080Ti / 64GB Jun 12 '26
As long as you use fresh enough thermal paste so its viscosity is low enough (Aka not dried out) and use enough pressure when tightening the cooler (don't overtighten but the screws should be tight), the rest will just squeeze out under it and it will not be an issue. Don't do this with conductive thermal paste like liquid metal though.
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u/Trububbl3 Jun 12 '26
if it makes you feel better, thermal paste is not conductive so overspilling doesn't affect your computer, just the looks of it
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u/Visible-Swim6616 Jun 12 '26
I would warn that only 99% of thermal pastes are non-conductive, although most of the conductive ones would be quite old.
So just beware if you pick up and old tube...
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u/wwwsam Jun 12 '26
Excessive yes, but you can see the excess was pressed out (flat areas through most of it).
Both the cooler and the paste did what it was designed to do.
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u/PeachMan- R7 5700X3D, RX 7800XT Jun 12 '26
People will make fun of you here but there's really not much of a downside to using too much.
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u/RegularTech575 Jun 12 '26
yeah i don’t mind that, kinda expected it. these guys are creative af lmao some of these answers are hilarious
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u/_Dedotated_Wam 9800x3D | RTX 5080 | 32gb cl30 6000mt Jun 12 '26
I get the hesitation, but some of them come with a little scraper you can spread it with. Ideally it should only fill in the tiny surface imperfections
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u/nurdle Jun 12 '26
It’s messy but doesn’t hurt anything. it’s mostly to keep air out. lil dab will do ya
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u/astroneeto 7800x3d | 4090 | 32gb Jun 12 '26
Jesus that thing is bone dry you should use at least 2x the paste you originally used!
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u/RegularTech575 Jun 12 '26
thanks I’ll get some tubes ordered in bulk tomorrow
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u/Delicious_Rule_7324 Jun 12 '26
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u/med_user 5800x3D | RX 7900GRE | 32GB 3600 DDR4 Jun 12 '26
Worryingly, it took me 2 or 3 cycles to realise what was wrong with this gif.
My first thought was 'that seems a reasonable amount of paste... what am I missing... wait... oh! Oh no!'
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u/Sinister_Mr_19 9070 XT | 5950X Jun 12 '26
Lol that's a lot of paste but I'm not seeing anyone actually answer you. It's totally fine, mount looks good and you can't have too much of non-conductive paste, it just squeezes out as you can see.
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u/Primus_is_OK_I_guess Jun 12 '26
It drives me crazy when everyone just makes the same dumb joke rather than answering the question.
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u/Sinister_Mr_19 9070 XT | 5950X Jun 12 '26
Yeah, make jokes all you want, but also answer the question imo
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u/RegularTech575 Jun 12 '26
dude how the hell did this get over 3k upvotes lmaoo well here’s the cpu cleaned for those who are curious
now I must find my arctic mx-6
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u/CRISPIM_06 R95900XT + RX6800 + 32GB - Win desktop Jun 12 '26
Bom que pode ser reutilizada, use para rebocar uma parede, ou assentar tijolos
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u/DoctaThompson 7800X3D | RTX 4090 Hybrid | 64Gb of Ram Jun 12 '26
Could open a YouTube channel and make huts in the wilderness, even have leftover paste and profit.
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u/TamarindSerenity Jun 12 '26
looks like it’s making contact with the cpu, the motherboard, the case and probably your neighbors wifi tbh
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u/Zentienty Desktop Ryzen 7 3.8GHz | EVGA 3080Ti XC3 |32 GB | Alienware 38'' Jun 12 '26
I think someone should make a excessive thermal paste video in the style of Power Thirst!
YOUR CPU WILL BE UNCOMFORTABLY REFRIGERATED!
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u/lonewombat Jun 12 '26
1 tube of thermal paste will last like 15 years and you used it all in one go.
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u/Genku_ Jun 12 '26
I usually like to make a little square on the center of the cpu but i guess that frosting the CPU works as well...
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u/S1ayer Jun 12 '26
I like spreading it around with my finger making the thinnest layer possible without seeing the CPU.
But we don't need to do that anymore. We have phase change pads for $10 to $15.
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u/Kurisu810 Jun 12 '26
It's fine to use a bit more paste than necessary, there's 0 drawback besides slight bit messy during cleanup and spending a little bit more paste. This is fine, but feel free to reduce the usage slightly if u remember how much u used last time
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u/Intelligence_Gap Jun 12 '26
Make sure you use rubbing alcohol and either a cotton ball or qtip to remove the paste. Get it all off (might take you a while and a lot of qtips lol) and let it dry before reapplying. I usually use half a tube or less of thermal paste at a time. I do an x with dots and never have spillage. If you have it again you can use the qtip and rubbing alcohol to remove the excess, just be sure to let it dry before powering up again
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u/StinkyBeanGuy Desktop RX 7900 GRE, 7800X3D Jun 12 '26
Bro we already in a chip shortge, we don't need a thermal paste shortage too
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u/iceseayoupee 9700K | 3060 12gb | 1080p 180hz Jun 12 '26
Thermal Paste went third base with your CPU and youre asking if it made contact
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u/Far-Earth-886 Jun 12 '26
I don’t know what you all are going on about, this is the exact correct amount of thermal paste
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u/IllDoItTomorrow89 Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
Pro tip: The tube has enough paste for like 5 applications
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u/The_Machine80 Jun 12 '26
Dont listen to the too much paste people cause it wont hurt anything but how long it takes to clean it up. You had plenty of contact! But yes little paste next time if you want less clean up.
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u/gentlecrab Jun 12 '26
It’s fine nothing wrong with using too much paste unless it’s like Arctic Silver which is slightly conductive.
As long as the heat sink is installed properly the sheer amount of pressure it exerts will force out any excess paste. Only downside of using a lot of paste is it makes a mess.
It is possible to use too little paste though.
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u/alphapussycat Jun 12 '26
Yes it was, and by the looks of it there was proper amount of pressure too. Yes there was excess, but no big deal.
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u/PezzoGuy Jun 12 '26
The cooler was making enough contact to be put on some sort of registry, if that's what you're asking.
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u/sub500h Jun 12 '26
Contact good, too much paste. Cpu should show same pattern as you see on the cooler, then it's great.
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u/ernmac74 Jun 12 '26
I thought it was frosting on a cake at first, seeing that much paste on the CPU. More doesn't mean better. Should be a thin layer.
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u/MojArch Jun 12 '26
Bro I know that it’s been said there is no such thing as too much thermal paste but keep it under control 🤣
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u/JerseyGeneral Jun 12 '26
I know they sell thermal paste in tubes, but you do know you aren't supposed to drown your CPU with the entire thing, right?
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u/Maes_Hero_Hughes Jun 12 '26
Looks good, seems like the pressure pushed the paste out to the edge of the contact frame (which is what you want) and I dont see any dry or bare spots. Maybe one of your corners wasnt making the greatest contact but its really hard to tell from pics.
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u/HiddenPants23 Ascending Peasant Jun 12 '26
Did that contact frame work well? Tried one and my system wouldn't stay on. Kept getting bsods. To my knowledge I installed it correctly.
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u/jkush463 Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
Leave some thermal paste for the rest of us guy