do i have to remove the previous thermal paste from a CPU

[LshortyTV]

i have just taken my stock cooler of my AMD CPU the FX 6300 and i am going to be using a corsair H75 liquid CPU cooler. it comes with its own thermal paste already applied. i know if i dont remove the old paste it wont work as well but will it still work and will it make that much difference in performance ?

 

[ss202sl]

Remove the old paste from the CPU. If you don't you could get bubbles in between the CPU and heatsink, and it would affect the performance of the cooler.

 

[COLGeek]

Yes, you should always remove/clean the old thermal material when changing the heatsink and apply new thermal compound(as a general practice). As previously indicated, this prevents voids/gaps/bubbles/poor seals.

 

[Sn1992-1361850]

not removing the thermal paste will be a good idea as the pre applied one is good but if you want pro performance use arctic silver 5 paste for 2-4 degree cel lower temp

 

[hans_pcguy]

If you absolutely have to re-use the old paste you can IF, it is still moist. AND, you don't get ANY contamination on it in the process. But it is never a good idea.

 

[Xfiles63]

I never reuse old cpu paste,like as mentioned it could cause bubbles which may cause your cpu to over heat or run at a much warmer temp than if you just apply new paste.Also don't apply to thick you only need a thin smooth layer of paste between your processor and heatsink.When you lock the heatsink down its only going to squeeze out the excess and waste.

 

[undouble]

i have just taken my stock cooler of my AMD CPU the FX 6300 and i am going to be using a corsair H75 liquid CPU cooler. it comes with its own thermal paste already applied. i know if i dont remove the old paste it wont work as well but will it still work and will it make that much difference in performance ?

Yes, failure to remove the old paste will create unnecessary issues with your CPU (hot spots, burn out, ultimate failure.) These units are designed to run at temperature-----------and with adequate cooling to keep the CPU within spec. Leaving the old paste (which could well be temperature hardened) on will result in an uneven application of paste, creating the very hot spots the paste is designed to prevent.

 

[CharlesLam]

you wont get the best performance with re-used paste. it will work, but not for long and you will run into issues. it is best to remove it with something like arctic clean and then reapply your choice of thermal paste. i typically stay with silver pastes but the rubber arctic cooling mx-5 does a decent job as well.