Sticker on Intel Core i5 processor preventing heat spread

[Tech^Geek]

I recently brought an Intel Core i5 processor for my PC. I unpacked it and went to connect it in my motherboard. I saw a barcode sticker below and was surprised as I had never seen it before at the bottom of processor chip. I ignore it thinking that it must be for warranty as it has a barcode on it. After I started using my PC, I observed a tremendous rise in the temperatures of my processor. I ignore it in the beginning but later when I opened my PC and researched, I found that the sticker was not letting the hot air get out of the environment of processor. I am paranoid that this sticker must be warranty and it removal will make the warranty void. Can someone tell me if it is safe to remove the sticker?

[Fadheela]

There is no sticker at the bottom of the processor chip of any manufacturer. Maybe it was mistakenly placed at the bottom of your processor. I haven’t heard about any sticker at the bottom. I assemble PC and in all this long time I have never seen such a sticker. You need to remove the sticker or there will be problems with thermal transfer. The bottom part of the processor is the closest part to OEM processors which lie beneath the processor’s connector. If the heat from this OEM processor does not get out then there can be many complications in your system. You can ask the vendor about it, maybe he might give you a replacement.

[AshritaS]

If you are saying that it is a barcode sticker then the ink used in it will be the magnetic ink. This ink might react with the magnetic field created by the processors internal parts and the OEM processor. Also the ink can melt away due to heat. I don’t know how much heat it can resist, but if it starts peeling off from the paper, then it might fall in the grids of the processor chipset connector and again might give rise to new problems. You can ask the vendor about the sticker, I mean what is its purpose, is it for warranty or just a price tag. If it is not useful then you can use a thinner to make it loosen from the glue. You can then slide it away from the surface of the processor and keep it safely in the box.

[Palass]

My friend had encountered similar problem once. The sticker was not stuck by the manufacturer but he stuck it himself. He works as an PC assembler and he has many processors. To mark the processor with proper owner and PC he uses stickers on them. In one such case, he mistakenly pasted the sticker on the bottom part of the processor chip. He didn’t realize it until he attached it in the computer. After attaching it in the computer, he started it. After some time loud crackling noises started to come out of the CPU. On researching he found that it was the sticker causing the sound. When he removed the chip he found that the processor had heated so much that the sticker had almost turned brown.

[chitti r]

If the sticker is related to the warranty or other such importance then removing it will create trouble. You can ask the vendor if you can remove it or not. If t is not possible to remove it then you will need to add an extra cooling fan or heatsink dedicatedly for the processor. It might help to cool the processor efficiently while keeping the sticker on the processor. You can also try to overclock the fan for the processor to provide extra cooling. If you are using water cooler, then you can pass a loop of the flow very close to the processor. If you are still keen on removing the sticker, see to it that your remove it completely and not part of it.