Using speedfan my temps were @ 80C.. Just playing for a few hours switching through SC2/FO/CS/Portal ...

That's really hot isn't it? 80?

I just turned it right off for now considering. I never put thermal paste on the chip - never had any when I built it - the heatsink had preapplied thermal paste though.

Uh.. am I running a risk of running it without going to the store for thermal paste?

Whoa. That's a little high. What's your ambient temp, i.e. room temp?

GET SOME GODDAMN THERMAL PASTE
until then, don't use it.

Ambient 25c

Could it be that my heat sink fan isn't tight enough against the chip?

The way it mounts is really fucked, and i've found it hard to get it tight on the motherboard....

I'm worried it may not be making even contact with the chip and therefore not cooling it correctly

80 is high for sandy/

why not an aftermarket hsf? also the hsf should be on tight enough it could pick up the whole motherboard without moving or jiggling around

Did the pushpins pop? They pop when put in correctly.

Well it's definitely not. I'm opening it up again and trying to reseat it tighter.. I do feel like there's some play.

The fans and everything are working fine, I figured even without paste it wouldn't be THAT high.

wtf
tell us you didnt wipe
the paste off