I've been assembling my gaming PC since 2019, and while it's generally worked for the past six years, I've run into some issues lately, specifically "whea uncorrectable errors." After not using it for six months, I've decided to replace the thermal paste on my AMD Ryzen 5 2600 CPU. However, I'm a bit unsure about whether I installed the CPU correctly. YouTube tutorials mention aligning the CPU with a "triangle" on the AM4 motherboard, but I can't find a clear triangle on my Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX motherboard. I've attached images of my motherboard and how I placed the CPU for someone to check if I did it right or if I need to rotate it. Additionally, should I apply thermal paste to both the CPU and the cooler? I've got a Corsair H60 Liquid CPU Cooler that came with pre-applied paste, which I wiped off. Thanks for any help!
1 Answer
You definitely want to double-check the orientation of your CPU. If there's any confusion about the triangle, it's often really tiny, but it should be positioned in the top left corner of the socket. Reference images online should help clarify. As for thermal paste, a small dot in the center should work fine; there's really no need to coat the cooler itself—just avoid excess.
Thanks for clearing that up! I've seen different advice on thermal paste application, so it's good to know just to put a little dot!