Had a scare - newer system failed to power on

[Montag]

I built a newer system using a free AM4 motherboard and RAM from the neighborhood. I put a 5600X in it along with a 6700XT video card. It was running fine and stable, but the temps were rather high. They would get to 80C regularly. I was using the stock cooler, but the word is the stock is ok.

I got some after market grease to see if I could improve it. I noticed and felt high spots on the heat sink. The new grease did not help. I then acquired and installed a Cooler Master tower cooler for less than $50.

The computer would not turn on. I saw the connectivity lights at the network jack. I shorted the power switch connections and it did not do anything. I removed everything except for M.2 hard drive. This time around it did come up with the BIOS and stated it had a new processor. It still had my previous settings, so I just saved and exited and it worked. Maybe when removing the heat sink, the processor was lifted in the socket. That was a 4 hour panic I hope to never go through again.

The new heat sink is keeping the processor temps in the low 50s under load. The processor is rated for 85C sustained.