i7-7700 Normal temperature 100?

[Tezzles]

I had a graphics issue, which turned out to be the HDMI connection to the monitor, but pulled my desktop apart completely and cleaned it. The fan over the CPU was dirty and the heat sink unit and so I had to disconnect them from the CPU. I had no thermal paste and so I reassembled everything without it. I don't know what the temperature was previously, but now the BIOS tells me that it is running at 100 degrees C at 3.60GHz. The fan seems to be operating constantly. Is this normal for a non-gaming Gigabyte Z270X-UD3 machine?  The fan speed is set at "Normal" and warning enabled. The heat warning is disabled. A diagnostic test passed with 100%.  Am I worrying too much?  Tez.

[AlHill]

You need the thermal paste.

Doc (not an Intel employee or contractor)
[Maybe Windows 12 will be better]

[Tezzles]

Okay, thanks. I'll get some.

[n_scott_pearson · Accepted solution]

...and I would not be turning it on without this paste in place.

...S

[Tezzles]

Well, I have turned it on and had it on for several hours (including for Microsoft updates, which required me to keep it on), but I will get some paste and clean the old paste off with alcohol.   I guess I was hoping for a reassurance from Intel that this processor was just at its safe operating limit. It will be interesting to see what difference it makes, after I have put some new paste in.  Thanks for the "warning".

[Tezzles]

Got some today. Running at around 47 degrees now. When refitting the fan and heat sink (tricky), my screwdriver slipped onto the m.2 drive! It was a Samsung 980 Pro 500Gb. Now limping along on an old backup on a Crucial 2280.  Luckily, all of my data is stored on separate drives. That's life. T.