When you’re investing in the best CPUs that exist, or even just the best CPUs for gaming, you’d expect them to come with the thermal paste pre-applied. Not only is the process of applying thermal paste to a CPU a proper chore for a beginner, but not having a thermal paste can prevent you from building your brand-new PC. Fortunately, if your processor comes bundled with a stock cooler, you can skip the purchasing a thermal paste separately as it comes pre-applied to CPU coolers. But the reliability of this thermal paste leaves something to be desired.