Thermal paste under the PCIE shield

[zpoison]

Hello guys, good evening

I have a question please, simple question.

>>

I removed the PCIE shield on my z390 Phantom Gaming X MOBO

and my question is

Does the thermal paste under it need to be replaced before using the MOBO? (the thermal paste square near the SATA plugs) or  maybe add some new thermal paste on top of the thick paste square? Can I leave it like that, just screw back the screws of the shield , put things in their place without doing nothing and it will be good? (Good temp just as new)

[KingTdiGGiTTy]

Thermal pads are not the same as thermal paste.

That's a thermal pad, it might be ok to reuse.

[zpoison]

Alright okay thanks for the tip @KingTdiGGiTTy!
Best regards!

[Beerzerker]

It is OK to reuse as long as the two pieces of the pad are "Rejoined" as in placed back together like they came apart where it goes on the board, then simply lay the removed component/part back onto it - Done it many times myself out of necessity BUT it's best to simply get another pad and use that instead.

DO NOT try to use TIM (Thermal paste) in place of the pad itself, there is a small amount of gap (Space) between the two surfaces the pad makes contact with and the pad serves to not only transfer heat but also to fill in this gap so there is good thermal transfer in the first place.