[SOLVED] I neeeed helpp

[wonderer4]

My pc felt slow so i checked everything and my thermal paste on my cpu was dry is that supposed to happen or do I replace thermal paste?

 

[thx1138v2]

Since you have it apart put new thermal paste on it after removing the old with 90% alcohol.

 

[Karadjgne]

Arctic Silver 5 will dry out after @ 200 heat cycles ±, so yes that's perfectly normal. With AS5, the pasty component doesn't actually do much, it's really just a medium to hold the silicate and other components that Do do the thermal transfer work. So when it dries out, nothing really changes, it'll last for years, dry as a bone.

But, if you picture the caulking around a bathtub, that seal is very important. After it does dry, if that seal, same as the caulk, breaks, it'll never stick back again. Time to repaste.

Anything from a minor bump on the case to a cpu fan vibration can make that seal fail, it's not glue, and quite fragile.

AS5 isn't the only paste this happens to, there are some few others, but with AS5 popularity over the last 30 odd years, it's become quite commonplace.

 

[jlee0505]

Don't worry if your thermal paste is dry. From my experience, all pastes dry out in a matter of months (and thermal paste is designed to stay on for years). It doesn't affect the cooling performance of your computer as much as you might think. If your computer is slow, it's most likely software related. You need more thermal paste since you took the cooler off. I would recommend Noctua's NT-H1. Here is a good deal for 2 bottles: https://www.ebay.com/itm/254652617492.