Do i need to replace thermal compound every year even if my temps are good?

[Markhad93]

i built my pc about a year and 1 month from today. i was just wondering if i needed to replace the thermal paste even if my temps are still good. my temps are right around 54c under load on my i5 6600k which is overclocked to 4.4 ghz on air. thanks in advance!

 

[superninja12]

as good as forever 10+

edit: I MEAN THEY LAST 10+YEARS

 

[Rogue Leader]

No, in fact you almost NEVER need to replace thermal paste (as long as you did it right the first time).

 

[elbert]

Depends on the paste. Same paste like AS5 can last a decade without drying out. Others may only last 6months.

 

[c4s2k3]

The old cliche "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." applies here. Unless you confirm some kind of thermal issue that needs to be addressed, don't mess with it.

 

[Markhad93]

Depends on the paste. Same paste like AS5 can last a decade without drying out. Others may only last 6months.

i used the stock paste that came with my evo 212, forgot what it was called, know if its good or not?

 

[elbert]

It lasts a while. Only the really cheap stuff can only take a year.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Depends on the paste. Same paste like AS5 can last a decade without drying out. Others may only last 6months.

i used the stock paste that came with my evo 212, forgot what it was called, know if its good or not?

Literally nothing to worry about as I said. Lasts "Forever"

 

[Bo Lee]

The only time I have ever replaced paste is when I changed coolers.

 

[Karadjgne]

Depends on the paste. If using Arctic Silver 5,then yes, you might as well go ahead and change it every year. It has @ 200 heat-cycle effective lifespan. That's not a pc use, that's a cool-very hot usage, so if you run 5 stress tests in 1 night, that's 5 heat cycles, leave the pc idle for days, that's 0 heat cycles. Somewhere around 200,it dries out and is not much better than toothpaste. Any decent paste, like Gelid, Noctua, Phanteks, arctic mx4 etc doesn't have that cycle life and can last longer than the pc itself.

 

[TwilightRavens]

I've been rocking the thermal paste on my E6700 for about 10 years and the temps are just as good as the day i installed it so no, only replace it temps creep up.

 

[Karadjgne]

Stock pastes, either supplied in a tube or pre-applied from cpu cooler companies like Corsair, Xigmatek, BeQuiet, Phanteks, Noctua etc is anything from decent to excellent. Usually considerably better than a good half of the aftermarket pastes, some of which sound really good, are quite expensive for a very limited supply (2-3 applications) and aren't much better than toothpaste or denture cream. So rushing out to buy new paste (why ppl insist on AS5 is beyond me), not trusting the stock paste, can and often is trading a good paste for something worse just because of a name.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,review-32804-19.html

 

[elbert]

Depends on the paste. If using Arctic Silver 5,then yes, you might as well go ahead and change it every year. It has @ 200 heat-cycle effective lifespan. That's not a pc use, that's a cool-very hot usage, so if you run 5 stress tests in 1 night, that's 5 heat cycles, leave the pc idle for days, that's 0 heat cycles. Somewhere around 200,it dries out and is not much better than toothpaste. Any decent paste, like Gelid, Noctua, Phanteks, arctic mx4 etc doesn't have that cycle life and can last longer than the pc itself.

You dont understand Artic Silver 5. It takes 200 hours to cure and achieve its best thermal transfer. Its rated one of the better paste because it lasts so long without reapply. Also understand the tests you posted didn't allow for Artic silver 5's cure time of about 1~2 months use.
http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

Important Reminder:
Due to the unique shape and sizes of the particles in Arctic Silver 5's conductive matrix, it will take a up to 200 hours.

https://www.gamingfactors.com/best-thermal-paste-2017/

Its what im using on my old CM212plus which has been going strong for OC'ed for over 6 years. Their paste didn't come with my old plus model. I also have a server with CM212 evo just using its paste which as been going strong for over 4 years Both are fine pastes with neither needing reapply..