About 3 months ago, I purchased a 2.8 GHz P4 retail package, with the heatsink included. The package did not come with any thermal paste to put between the CPU and the heatsink, however, there seemed to be some sort of a compond already on the heatsink. I seached through the manual to see if it said anything about adding a thermal paste, but found nothing. I finally went ahead and installed it as is. I have been monitoring the tempuratue of the processor on a regular basis just to make sure that I made the right decision, and it has always been 44-45 degrees C. Should I have put a thermal paste on it anyway?
The reason I am asking this question is because about a week ago, my computer stopped working. It worked just fine in the morning, but when I went to turn it on later in the day, nothing. The power light and the HD light came on and stayed on. The fans were running, but that was it. I contacted my mobo manufacturer (Soyo), and they gave me a whole list of things to try to see if I could at least get the mobo to post, but no luck. They suggested I try using another processor to see if that is the problem, but I don't have any extra P4s lying around. I am using a Soyo SY-P4I865PE Plus Dragon 2, which I purchased brand new the same time I purchased the CPU.
Is it possible that the processor failed because of the absence of the thermal paste?
The reason I am asking this question is because about a week ago, my computer stopped working. It worked just fine in the morning, but when I went to turn it on later in the day, nothing. The power light and the HD light came on and stayed on. The fans were running, but that was it. I contacted my mobo manufacturer (Soyo), and they gave me a whole list of things to try to see if I could at least get the mobo to post, but no luck. They suggested I try using another processor to see if that is the problem, but I don't have any extra P4s lying around. I am using a Soyo SY-P4I865PE Plus Dragon 2, which I purchased brand new the same time I purchased the CPU.
Is it possible that the processor failed because of the absence of the thermal paste?