Thermal paste is an important compound that increases the conductivity of your heatsink and reduces the chances of your CPU overheating.
Thermal paste is used in gaming desktops and laptops along with CPU coolers, fans, undervolting, etc. to reduce the amount of heat generated under heavy usage.
What if you want to buy thermal paste? Does thermal paste come with a CPU? The short answer is no.
Does the CPU cooler come with thermal paste?
No. Heatsink and fan come with a small amount of thermal paste to spread on the cooler. You can also buy extra thermal paste if you need it, or want to change the thermal paste on an older cooler.
Do CPUs Need Thermal Paste at All?
Yes! We know that it’s a very basic question, but there are a few people who believe that their PC doesn’t require thermal paste. Thermal paste is needed to make a good heat transfer connection between the CPU and heatsink.
Do AMD CPUs Come With Thermal Paste?
AMD’s Ryzen CPU line does not come with thermal paste.
The RYZEN series CPUs have pre-applied thermal interface material (that’s what that thin layer is on the back of the cooler), which makes it unnecessary to apply thermal paste.
There is a small chance that the RYZEN 7 1800X comes with a small amount of thermal paste though.
Does Ryzen 5 Come with Thermal Paste?
No. The Ryzen 5 lineup does not come with thermal paste.
Does Ryzen 7 Come with Thermal Paste?
Yes. All Ryzen 7 variant CPUs, including the Ryzen 7 1700, Ryzen 7 1800X, and Ryzen 7 2700 come with thermal paste.
Does Ryzen 9 Come with Thermal Paste?
No. All Ryzen 9 series CPUs come with a thermal pad and heat sink, but no thermal paste.
Do Intel CPUs Come With Thermal Paste?
Yes. All Intel CPUs come with thermal paste, including the new Intel Coffee Lake CPUs. The rule of thumb is that if you can buy the CPU cooler with only one side of the heatsink co
Can You Run a CPU With Thermal Paste?
Yes. As long as there is no damage to the surface of the CPU, you can run the CPU with thermal paste. If there is no thermal paste on the CPU, you can add a very small amount to help spread the heat.
Do You Need to Apply Thermal Paste to a New CPU When the Cooler Has Pre-Applied Thermal Paste?
No. Newer CPU coolers generally come with thermal paste already applied. If the CPU cooler comes with a pre-applied thermal paste, you do not need to apply more.
The only time you would apply more thermal paste is if the cooler didn’t come with thermal paste, or if you want more paste for a custom cooling setup.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, thermal paste does what it is designed to do – transfer heat between two surfaces.
If you want to overclock your CPU or build a high-performance gaming rig, you need a good heatsink and a good thermal paste. Pick up some Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste, and you’ll be good to go!
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