Redoing thermal paste - how often?

[Weezy]

I was reading another thread and didn't want to hijack it where some people said they changed their thermal past annually or one every 2-3 years. I've never, not once, ever redone the thermal paste on the CPU on any PC. 

 

I'm sure it depends on workload and CPU, but what is the general recommended amount of time in between redoing the thermal paste?

 

What is the risk of never doing it if your temps are always within recommended ranges, if any?

[Beerzerker]

4 minutes ago, Weezy said:

I was reading another thread and didn't want to hijack it. I've never, not once, ever redone the thermal paste on the CPU on any PC. 

 

I'm sure it depends on workload and CPU, but what is the general recommended amount of time in between redoing the thermal paste?

 

What is the risk of never doing it if your temps are always within recommended ranges, if any?

As long as your temps are good it's fine so there would be no need to worry about it, only when you start having problems with temps is when you'd want to consider it and it's always a first step in resolving issues with it.
I know some do it every few years for different reasons - One would be with an occasional cleaning out the cooler itself as part of getting it all back in shape.

If simply upgrading your chip for example, you'd have to do it anytime you remove the cooler for whatever reason.

[Awpiii]

My personal take (And anyone can disagree, respectfully of course) is that it depends not only on the temperatures in your system but also the temperatures and humidity in the environment your PC is in. 

This is because, as thermal compound dries up overtime, it reduces it's heat transfer capabilities. The Risk of never replacing thermal paste is, that if it dries up completely, it will not be an effective thermal conductor and you might overheat your system.

Personally, I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where it gets very hot in Summer (about 38 C) and cold in Winter (Been as low as 7 C). And I replace the thermal paste every 6 to 8 months.

[191x7]

I agree with both repliers above, but i would also add - if the paste originally used is a low quality one (especially the stuff that comes on stock/box coolers), that shouln't be used too long - it becomes either glue or dries out quite fast.

[manikyath]

unless you are using some absolute garbage drying out nonsense paste... you dont repaste.

 

i havent seen *ANY* evidence that using something like MX-4, noctua's stuff, or just about any OEM paste i've encountered, that there is any benefit to the act of repasting that is outside of fault tolerance, and not connected to someone *also* cleaning out the heatsink while they are repasting.

 

which brings me to the B-side of this.. CLEAN YOUR HEATSINKS. i clean my computer probably about 3-4 times per year, and i make sure there isnt a spec of dust left on the heatsink. every time i've bothered to do thermal testing, cleaning out the dust may have made a few degrees difference depending on how awful it was... the best i got out of a repaste job was a 9 year old laptop, that saw like a degree of difference, given that ALL the dust was cleaned out before the before-and-after tests for repasting.

 

often cleaning is easier when you take the heatsink off, at which point you ideally put fresh paste on. but the repasting is an effect of the cleaning process, not a cause for the temperatures to drop.

 

1 minute ago, 191x7 said:

(especially the stuff that comes on stock/box coolers), that shouln't be used too long

hard disagree. yes, it's relatively dry, but it still does it's job just fine, as long as the mount doesnt get disturbed. as long as the mount is good - and stays put, the OEM paste for any cooler i've dealt with will serve you many years.

 

also; the paste on boxed coolers is a warranty concern - a warranty concern on a potentially very expensive CPU, this is an incentive for the manufacturers to use something that is stabile long-term. (this is why the pre-applied OEM paste is generally more dry than the high end stuff you buy in a tube)

[Heliian]

Anywhere between 2 and 5 years. 

 

Luckily, modern systems have protections built in as to not completely burn up but you will lose performance.

 

10 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

low quality one (especially the stuff that comes on stock/box coolers), that shouln't be used too long - it becomes either glue or dries out quite fast.

It might dry out a little faster but the difference between the cheapest and most expensive thermal paste solutions is relatively small unless you're doing hardcore OCs.  

More importantly, you should always use the freshest batch available when applying. 

[Latvian Video]

I repaste whenever my temps get too high or if I upgrade my system.

[C0stanza]

As a few others have said, keeping the fan/heatsink clean has always been more important on my system. Unless theres something wrong with your computer’s thermals there isn’t really a need to reapply. 

[Weezy]

Thanks everyone, clearly lots of different opinions about the subject. I'll keep the rig clean and tight and keep an eye on temps, otherwise I think I'll leave it alone. It's not an off the shelf rig and high-end paste was used. If it starts getting hot or I ever remove the liquid cooling head, I'll repaste it

 

Appreciate the feedback!