News Does thermal paste expire? 20-year-old TIM tested - no degradation seen, but poor compared to modern products

[Admin]

Testing shows that 20-year-old thermal paste performs similarly to new gunk. If you keep it well, then perhaps you don't need to renew your paste stocks over time.

Does thermal paste expire? 20-year-old TIM tested - no degradation seen, but poor compared to modern products : Read more

 

[artk2219]

It makes sense, there's not really anything in it that "goes bad" so long as it has a good seal and in a decent temperature range.

 

[bit_user]

I expected this to be an article about whether TIM degrades after being applied. I've never had to re-apply TIM, but I've been using Arctic MX-4 the longest - it's said to have good durability.

 

[COLGeek]

This reminds me, I need to clean out my parts pins. No telling what relics I have in them...

 

[helper800]

With no active ingredients, radioactive decay, or dehydration of the paste it should last for many decades if not centuries... I still have a bulk tube of arctic silver 5 from 2010 or so I have used on many people's computers with zero issues.

 

[HaninTH]

Without a good seal, I imagine the solvent would evaporate over time, but as noted, the constituent parts of the TIM should not separate nor expire.

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

I can say from experience that TIM -CAN- and -DOES- expire, I had a tube of IC Diamond 7K (the small tube) from 2019 properly stored and after about two years it went bad, essentially providing zero thermal conductivity and causing my 5950X to overheat under the lightest stress, even after multiple proper cleanings and reapplications. A new tube of Arctic MX-5 solved the issue.

The more "traditional" formulations, like AS5, likely will have no issues for years as long as the tube is closed and is stored properly.

 

[helper800]

I can say from experience that TIM -CAN- and -DOES- expire, I had a tube of IC Diamond 7K (the small tube) from 2019 properly stored and after about two years it went bad, essentially providing zero thermal conductivity and causing my 5950X to overheat under the lightest stress, even after multiple proper cleanings and reapplications. A new tube of Arctic MX-5 solved the issue.

The more "traditional" formulations, like AS5, likely will have no issues for years as long as the tube is closed and is stored properly.

Do you know what the general formulation of the IC diamond 7k is, or at least know anything more about it as to the reason it "went bad?"

 

[Alvar "Miles" Udell]

I don't, but in

Do you know what the general formulation of the IC diamond 7k is, or at least know anything more about it as to the reason it "went bad?"

I don't, but in an older version of TomsHardware's thermal paste roundup articles they tested both the IC Diamond 24K and 7K (same thing, different sizes), and they noted a higher temperature with the 24K vs the 7K which they attributed to age due to lower stock turnover. Also I have noticed that Amazon and Newegg both no longer carry IC Diamond, and that in the latest thermal paste roundup article from TH it has IC Diamond performing basically the same as AS-5, when I know I remember it being far better (but TH seems to have removed that test as it was not on their 2013 version).

Anyway, with MX-5 being a thing, there's no reason to even consider IC Diamond anymore.