TIL that "spray and pray" thermal paste advice from a coworker wrecked a build

A guy I worked with at a repair shop in Austin kept saying to just glob on thermal paste and let the pressure spread it. I tried his method on a client's Ryzen 5600X last month. Temps hit 92 degrees under load after a week. Pulled the cooler off and there was paste all over the pins and socket. Had to spend 45 minutes cleaning it all with isopropyl and a toothbrush. The client was pissed I had their PC for an extra day. Has anyone else had to fix a thermal paste mess that someone swore was the right way?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_reed28d ago

Just clean it up and move on... people act like a little paste in the wrong spot is the end of the world. A dab of isopropyl and some patience fixes it fine, not worth getting this worked up over. Worst case you brick a cheap board, but that's on you for listening to bad advice.

troymorgan28d ago

Bro for real, I've seen people lose their minds over a tiny blob of thermal paste. 99% of the time a little alcohol and a q-tip sorts it out no problem.