I always put it on because it greatly helps the conduction of heat away from the CPU. I suppose if you were always in an air conditioned room, had several high speed fans blowing on the chip and left the case open, it "might" be ok. I have blown a CPU before because of improper heating though nitro
WOW!!!!!!!!!!! SO SMOOTH/FAST if you guys havent upgraded yet, u dont know what ur missing. couldnt wait for the computer part store to open tomorrow so i just installed it anyway without the thermal compound.
You ain't wrong!! Even my P4 2.4/512/slower FSB machine works just flawlessly. I went through the computer nightmares from the 1970's on as a high tech worker, they have finally gotten to where they are useful and we are not working for them, the computers are working for us at last!! The thermal compound can make some difference, I wouldn't run the machine long without it because once the damage is done it is permanent.
The P4 is actually a very clever bit of kit, if it gets too hot it will De-Clock itself and run at a slower speed thus preventing any damage.