Help, PC Overheating After Cleaning Fan Filter

[Arsynic]

This weekend as I was playing a game on my PC I consistently smelled that "hot PC" odor. I use an old Corsair H50 in a pull configuration with a front case fan pushing and a top case fan in pull mode. So I shut her down and noticed that the radiator exhaust fan filter was caked with dust and that maybe this was causing the heat issues as the air flow out was blocked. The radiator itself was hot to the touch.

So I unscrewed everything and washed out the filter and when I turn the PC back on it shuts off after a few minutes. I reboot and I get a high temperature warning. I then quickly boot into the BIOS and load up the HW Monitor to see the temps in real time. The temperature was rising 1 deg per second! So I shut everything down and lo and behold, the H50 had somehow come loose from the CPU. Caked-on thermal paste was all over the motherboard. So I twist the H50 back in place and tighten the bracket to the MB as tight as it could go thinking that this would solve the problem. No dice. Temps were still rising 1 deg per minute up to 70C when I finally shut it down. So I'm at a loss here.

The H50 is in good contact with the CPU but it's behaving like there's no heat sink at all. I could feel the H50 pump working when I turned it on, so I believe its still working. The only clue I have is the caked on thermal pad that peeled off. There was still a layer on the H50 and the CPU heat spreader so I assumed that this was good enough. Will cleaning and applying a new layer of thermal paste solve my issue?

This is odd, I thought that at least with a heat sink on the CPU, bare minimum the temps would stabilize. But the temps keep rising like there's nothing on the CPU at all. Can this be due to a lack of thermal paste? A rudimentary understanding of thermal dynamics says no, but I thought I'd ask anyways since I've never applied a heat sink to a CPU without thermal paste/pad before.

 

[Freddy1765]

Will cleaning and applying a new layer of thermal paste solve my issue?

Yes, I'll bet that's all you need to do. If the old, dried-up thermal paste is scattered all over your motherboard, well then it's not conducting the heat from the CPU and therefore needs to be replaced.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

ALWAYS (re)apply NEW thermal paste when you fiddle with a cooler of any kind. If the pump is working, it definitely sounds like there is poor contact between the IHS and cooler.

If you need to get some, Arctic MX-2 or MX-4 is pretty good. Also make sure that the old thermal paste is 100% removed from both cooler and IHS, before you apply the new. Otherwise its impossible to get proper contact.

 

[Arsynic]

I have the Arctic Silver kit (removal and re-application) coming from Amazon right now. I just want to make sure I'm not throwing good money after bad.

So what's new to me is that if you don't use TIM, you might as well not use a HS at all. I usually build once every 4-5 years so I need my info refreshed from time to time. Thanks guys.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

You're welcome... 🙂

So what's new to me is that if you don't use TIM, you might as well not use a HS at all. I usually build once every 4-5 years so I need my info refreshed from time to time. Thanks guys.

Its required for efficient heat transfer between IHS and heatsink. You could theoretically run without, but both surfaces would need to be mirror smooth. Even then you're likely to see high temperatures, but at least you don't run the risk of frying the CPU, unlike the old Athlons...

I have the Arctic Silver kit (removal and re-application) coming from Amazon right now. I just want to make sure I'm not throwing good money after bad.

Just remember the usual caveat with AS-5:

Important Reminder:
Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours and several thermal cycles to achieve maximum particle to particle thermal conduction and for the heatsink to CPU interface to reach maximum conductivity. (This period will be longer in a system without a fan on the heatsink or with a low speed fan on the heatsink.) On systems measuring actual internal core temperatures via the CPU's internal diode, the measured temperature will often drop 2C to 5C over this "break-in" period. This break-in will occur during the normal use of the computer as long as the computer is turned off from time to time and the interface is allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the break-in is complete, the computer can be left on if desired.

 

[mfenn]

Once the thermal paste has dried out and pressure has been removed, air pockets will form between the HSF and the CPU. Needless to say, air is an excellent insulator and will negate the heat transfer properties of the thermal paste. As others in this thread have said, always apply a fresh batch of thermal paste!

Also, if you have thermal paste caked onto your motherboard, that means you've used too much. You don't need much, just a bead the size of a grain of rice. The pressure of mounting the HSF will spread it out for you.

 

[Arsynic]

Once the thermal paste has dried out and pressure has been removed, air pockets will form between the HSF and the CPU. Needless to say, air is an excellent insulator and will negate the heat transfer properties of the thermal paste. As others in this thread have said, always apply a fresh batch of thermal paste!

Also, if you have thermal paste caked onto your motherboard, that means you've used too much. You don't need much, just a bead the size of a grain of rice. The pressure of mounting the HSF will spread it out for you.

The caked pieces of TIM are from the disintegrated stock thermal paste that came with the H50.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I feel liked "Caked Pieces of TIM" would be a pretty solid band name 🙂