Thermal paste

[Franci01]

Hi, I've bought the 6500 intel i5 and the thermal paste was already applied do I have to replace it? do I have to change the heatsink (I think the stock one is ok because the processor isn't very powerful)?

 

[nobodynose]

Hi, I've bought the 6500 intel i5 and the thermal paste was already applied do I have to replace it? do I have to change the heatsink (I think the stock one is ok because the processor isn't very powerful)?

The cooling solution that is supplied with Intel retail processors is perfectly adequate as long as you are operating the processor within normal parameters (i.e. not overclocking it). That includes the pre-applied thermal paste. The only time you'd need to replace that is if you later remove the CPU (e.g. to install it in a different motherboard). Then you'd need to remove every trace of the old paste and apply a new thin coating.