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AmeerAlly91

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#1 AmeerAlly91
Member since 2017 • 2 Posts

Hey guys,

So long story short, was moving my PC parts from an old case to a shiny new one...decided to take off the cpu cooler, then decided to wipe and re-apply thermal paste.

Fudged it up with too much thermal paste - wiped and repeated 3 times. Eventually some of it spilled out over the edge of the CPU onto some of the motherboard cpu pins on the border.

Got my loupes out (I'm a dentist) and CAREFULLY picked away at the extra bits, but started getting worried about screwing up the pins as my wipe cloth kept catch on the cpu pins like velcro. So I left it with a few bits of dry thermal paste still on there. Remounted the CPU and installed everything.

Turned on PC, no issues, temps seem fine.

Now I'm a bit paranoid. I've been using the PC fine for the past 24 hours. But my questions are as follows:

- Could a short circuit still happen

- Could this excess paste around the pins hypothetically reduce the CPU performance

- Would I be wise to get remove all the cpu components again and thoroughly clean the cpu pins, or should I just leave it alone seeing as it's all currently working.

Thank you in advance for any advice guys.

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GTR12

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#2 GTR12
Member since 2006 • 13490 Posts

@ameerally91: Short answer, its perfectly fine, just leave it alone and forget about it.

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FelipeInside

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#3 FelipeInside
Member since 2003 • 28548 Posts

@ameerally91 said:

Shouldn't cause an issue, but up to you if you want to remove everything and clean out the leftover.

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PfizersaurusRex

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#4 PfizersaurusRex
Member since 2012 • 1503 Posts

You can google your thermal paste to see if it's non-conductive, just to feel better about it if it is. I wouldn't touch the pins unless necessary.

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RoleplayGaming

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#6 RoleplayGaming
Member since 2016 • 52 Posts

Since everything turned on just fine then its safe to say you didnt cause any damage; however, each individual pin has a different use and functionality. This means you may not know if there was any damage until later on. @Yams1980 suggestion to stress test the system is wise. Just run quick benchmarks testing every part of the PC to be safe.

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deactivated-642321fb121ca

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#7 deactivated-642321fb121ca
Member since 2013 • 7142 Posts

Should use a diameter ruler (Cannot remember what they are actually called).

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KOD

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#8  Edited By KOD
Member since 2016 • 2754 Posts

@ameerally91 said:

- Would I be wise to get remove all the cpu components again and thoroughly clean the cpu pins, or should I just leave it alone seeing as it's all currently working.

Thank you in advance for any advice guys.

Do that.

you dont want thermal paste leaking on your board or pins, conductive or not. When you reapply it simply add a little dab in the middle of the processor and thats it. Dont use too much, even that amount in the picture might be a bit too much. You dont have to spread it out, you dont have to make an X or lines or dots all over. Just one tiny dab in the middle, put the heat sink on and twist it a bit, then lock it down.