How long does it take until thermal paste goes bad?

[Qypav]

I have some Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste from last year that has been laying in my room. I want to use it now but I don't know if it is still good. How long does it take for the thermal paste to go bad?

 

[James Mason]

In theory it shouldn't go bad because it doesn't have any biological materials in it. You can always take squirt a bit out and see if it still looks like a moves around like thremal paste.

Not that new thermal paste is expensive, only maybe 7 bucks for the good stuff.