Heatsink thermal paste problems?

Okay, so I was having bluescreens and long story short, dell came and replaced my motherboard and CPU. I tried playing games but got terrible performance drops, like 5 FPS in games I got 60+ FPS in.

I checked the CPU temp when it was doing that and it was 100C. Is 100C enough for the CPU to start having performance issues?

Also, when he replaced my processor, he used the same heatsink. Im not sure but I dont think he used any thermal paste. Is it true that the heatsink would still have the thermal paste on it already?

Dell said they'd send another technician out with another heatsink. Should I ask the technician to wipe the CPU with alcohol wipes first? What should I do? Could the paste thing actually be the problem or would the "pad" on the heatsink still be sufficient?

The dell tech sort of took my word that the CPU was 'overheating' so I dont want to look stupid.

What do you guys think?

Thanks.

 

100c? that is the shutdown temp of your CPU

What is your Vid card? what are your vid card temps under load?

 

I have dual 5870s. The video card temperatures arent too bad except if I run something like furmark ONE gpu will get up to 108c and it will shut down. Both video cards have been replaced along with their heatsinks and it does the same thing (108c), but the performance was good and it usually went to the 90s.

In order for the computer to run better, I disabled the "turbo" option on the CPU in the BIOS so its sort of underclocked. As of browsing this forum the CPU is 63C.

Also sorry for the double post..wasnt sure how to delete.

 

Your temps are ridiculously high...both CPU and GPU. I'm amazed your laptop isn't on fire

Make sure that the tech does a clean paste job...clean all the old stuff off it and apply new paste. Both CPU and GPUs.

One thing you can do in the meantime is clean out all the vents. The best way is to take the fan off and vacuum out the vents OR at the very least, get a can of compressed air and blow it in from the outside, one vent fin at a time...short bursts of air from the can

 

I dont know why, but even after they replace the video cards (its been done several times already) running furmark gets one of them up to 108. I dont understand why this is happening. I dont think any of the vents are blocked with dust. Its been cleaned.

Also, when the tech comes, I KNOW he will not have any supplies with him. Should I put some alcohol swabs on the table? What exactly should I ask him to do with the new heatsink? I want this nightmare to be over and I want this heatsink job done right.

 

Bro, the techs don't care about your computer...they get paid by the job so the faster they are out of there, the better.

The best way is to learn how to do it yourself.

Get a good quality paste. I use PK-1, but there are several others you can get like MX-4, OCZ Freeze...even AS5 is much better than the stock toothpaste they call thermal paste.

Avoid IC Diamond if you are a rookie. I will only recommend ICD for those that are benching XM processors and are running ridiculously high temps over prolonged periods. It is hard to work with, hard to clean, and it is a very abrasive paste so it will stain or scratch your CPU/GPU die

Get yourself some Isopropyl alcohol 99% to clean the old paste off

 

I appreciate the advice, and believe me, I REALLY would like to do this myself. I've built desktops a few years ago and Im sure I could do it..except now I'm unfortunately disabled and bedbound. I'd have to do all this..while laying down in my bed. And im not sure I could/would feel comfortable in that situation. Believe me I feel the "do it yourself if you want it done right" sentiment, but in my specific situation I just dont think its feasible

 

ok bro, i understand. In that case, you have to make sure that the tech doesn't do a half asz job.