[SOLVED] Do I need to change the thermal paste?

[Raikko Kiminen]

Hello everyone. So, a few months ago I've got myself a brand new 1080 Ti, unpacked, still in he foiled box, obviously never used. The story behind it is that it was sitting on a store shelf and was never sold (probably because original price of ~$1000 was too much for normal people in poor Serbia) so after almost 4 years the store owner put it on a website that's like Serbian ebay for $400 and I got it. It works flawlessly, no high temps, stable, etc. but I've been wondering about the thermal paste that was obviously pre-applied on it 4 years ago...what do you think is the condition of it? As I said, the graphics card was never used, but years have passed. Should I just say "temps are fine" and keep it as it is or should I change it?

 

[Newtonius]

If no heat has been applied to it in those 4 years then it should be fine. The paste most likely hardened and kept it's formation all those years and once you used it the paste heated up and liquified spreading out evenly. It may need to be replaced in a year or 2 maybe, but if your temps are stable then there's no cause for concern.

 

[vov4ik_il]

If it is not broken, fix it until it is...

If/when you will start having issues, then (and only then) swap the pads and re-apply the paste. You can brick an otherwise perfect working card by just denting the chip or zapping it with static while doing it.