Thermal paste strips on new Intel heat sinks.

[Picard]

I'm about to assemble my new PC. I see on the Intel i5 2500K's standard heat sink there's already 3 thermal paste strips.

Should I still add thermal paste? I've got Coolermaster Thermalfusion 400.

 

[locutis]

The pre-applied paste should be fine.

If you want use your own then I would remove intels to avoid poor contact due to too much paste.

 

[Gnome]

You should never add thermal paste. You also cannot reuse (according to Intel specifications) those heat pads (so you either need a new heat sink or you need to remove the old strips completely and replace them).

Generally I don't use them because those strips on the heat sink (heat pad) melts and getting it off of your CPU if you want to upgrade it is a mission (most sites suggest getting it off completely is impossible, micro particles will always remain that inhibit the heat transfer).

Some here will say that needing a new heat sink is excessive but I've seen it with our servers. Once you've removed the Intel heat sink and re-seated it once or twice the CPU starts overheating.

IMHO, just get after market (R400 extra) and get it over with.

 

[d0b33]

You should never add thermal paste. You also cannot reuse (according to Intel specifications) those heat pads (so you either need a new heat sink or you need to remove the old strips completely and replace them).

Generally I don't use them because those strips on the heat sink (heat pad) melts and getting it off of your CPU if you want to upgrade it is a mission (most sites suggest getting it off completely is impossible, micro particles will always remain that inhibit the heat transfer).

acetone and a microfiber cloth works fine.