Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing PCs Forum

Scott, I bought the desktop PC I usually use in July of 2011. It has installed. There's an AMD Phemon II X4 CPU installed that runs at 3.2 GHz. No offense, but the person who put the system together may not have utilized TIM between the heat sink and the CPU. I seemed to notice in 2013 that there was no TIM between the heat sink and the CPU. I can't say that I recall seeing any TIM residue on the CPU. I don't feel like opening my system up right now to confirm that there's no TIM involved. In any case, it's 2016 now, and the system in question seems to run OK. Scott, do you think a possible lack of TIM would hurt the system that much? ( is worth checking out.) Also, does the gentleman in use proper procedure when it comes to cleaning TIM off of a CPU?

Without Thermal Interface Material (TIM) the CPU would almost certainly overheat. This might not cause damage but would very likely cause the CPU to throttle down as the temperatures get too high. The result would be a PC running well below normal speed. I recommend removing TIM using alcohol and a lint-free cloth. Cotton swabs should not be used as they can leave conductive lint residue on the motherboard or other components. Scott.

Scott, when it comes to checking whether or not my CPU is overheating, what method do you particularly recommend? Also, is there a brand of TIM that you particularly recommend in this day and age?