Heatsink lifted away from i5 cpu, didn't notice for ages

Fussgangerzone

This ever happen anyone else?

My pc started crashing fairly regularly over the last week or so, and after checking for malware, bad drivers in the graphics card (it usually happened with mad green lines on the monitor) and various other forms of spring cleaning, it was still happening.

I installed CPUID and that showed that cpu temperature was the culprit. I cast my over the heatsink, without getting too close, and thought it looked dusty, and I thought it mustn't have been dumping heat right. It's an Intel i5 2500K.

I got some thermal paste and compressed air, I thought the paste might have baked as well, and grabbed the heatsink. To my surprise, it wasn't seated any more, and it's conductive surface was maybe 10mm away from the back of the cpu case. Unsurprisingly, the paste had become quite crumbly on each surface, and needed replacement anyway.

I don't know if the push pins were giving jip, or if perhaps I never installed them right, I'm no expert, but it ran fine for over a year. Anyway all seems well now, and it's cooling as it should. I'll be keeping an eye on it though.

I suppose in one way, I'm lucky that the thing that fall right off and cause chaos in the case. Can't have done the cpu any favours though.

Gumbi

CPUs can take an enormous amount of punishment. You probably weren't overly stressing it, and combined with the fact that you were at stock settings, you're probably OK.

Lu Tze

When i went to replace my pentium, i noticed that two of the stock heatsink clips were no longer secure! That said there was not problem with temps or anything, idling in the high 20s (cold apartment!) and maxing out around the mid 60s under sustained full load. Pity my i5 doesnt have those temps