Is replacing thermal paste and/or the CPU cooler worth it in my PC?

[ArtyIF]

Hello everyone,

I have a prebuilt PC with an AMD A8-6500 ("quad"/dual-core @ 3.5 GHz). I want to ditch it for a Ryzen PC since it can't even play back 1080p videos on YouTube without dropping frames. But I noticed that during these intense activities it actually throttles to 3 GHz and not boost to 4.1 GHz. It makes sense since I never replaced my PC's thermal paste or anything like that.

 

So, is it worth it to hold on to it for a little longer and replace the paste (or maybe the cooler) or do I just get a new PC? I exhausted most other upgrade paths (GPU, RAM and storage; the CPU can be upgraded technically but I don't see many compatible CPUs up for sale). Keep in mind that my budget is limited and I'm not sure how much it is since it depends on multiple factors.

[Avanta8]

What is your power plan?

[aisle9]

If it's an A8-6500 sitting on the original thermal paste and the crappy little stock cooler from back in the day, sure. The 6500 isn't exactly a power-hungry beast, and I'd try replacing the thermal paste and thoroughly cleaning your system (including the cooler) first. Make sure your power plan is set to balanced so it dumps power to the CPU as needed.

[--SID--]

6 minutes ago, ArtyIF said:

AMD A8-6500

It's a 8 year old cpu and terribly slow compared to Ryzen cpus and all Intel cpus from 2010 and newer.

 

Replacing the thermal paste is a good start but if there's no airflow in the case it don't make much sense. What's the case and how many casefans are in there?

 

 

[ArtyIF]

10 minutes ago, --SID-- said:

It's a 8 year old cpu and terribly slow compared to Ryzen cpus and all Intel cpus from 2010 and newer.

 

Replacing the thermal paste is a good start but if there's no airflow in the case it don't make much sense. What's the case and how many casefans are in there?

 

 

I think one system and one CPU fan. Doubt there's any place to mount any extra fans.

[ArtyIF]

17 minutes ago, Avanta8 said:

What is your power plan?

 

High performance

 

[svmlegacy]

@ArtyIF What CPU temperature are you seeing? This should be the first question asked when looking at potential cooling issues.

[Applefreak]

27 minutes ago, ArtyIF said:

Hello everyone,

I have a prebuilt PC with an AMD A8-6500 ("quad"/dual-core @ 3.5 GHz). I want to ditch it for a Ryzen PC since it can't even play back 1080p videos on YouTube without dropping frames. But I noticed that during these intense activities it actually throttles to 3 GHz and not boost to 4.1 GHz. It makes sense since I never replaced my PC's thermal paste or anything like that.

 

So, is it worth it to hold on to it for a little longer and replace the paste (or maybe the cooler) or do I just get a new PC? I exhausted most other upgrade paths (GPU, RAM and storage; the CPU can be upgraded technically but I don't see many compatible CPUs up for sale). Keep in mind that my budget is limited and I'm not sure how much it is since it depends on multiple factors.

Yes replacing the thermal paste probably can't hurt. Also look for a used A10-9700 processor. Market value should be 50$ or less for the processor alone. If you rely on the APU, the A10 is much more capable and the CPU is about 30 percent more powerful overall. I have built a couple of A10 systems in the past and they still do Youtube 1080p just fine. The stock AMD cooler that came with your processor is crap. The A10 came with a slightly larger one but not that great either. If you are willing to invest in a new cooler, select one that is forward compatible with AM4 and Intel 1151 an 1200 sockets. But replacing the thermal paste as a first step is not a bad idea.