Thermal Paste Question

[istari675]

If you replace the heatsink do you need to clean off the thermal paste on the CPU and apply fresh paste? I was thinking since its the same paste I could just put a little bit on the new heatsink and the old stuff on the CPU would work. This paste is only a few days old since the new fan is malfunctioning and I am waiting for a replacement to arrive before I return it.

 

[Beezy]

you should clean it off and use a fresh clean application

 

[ahnilated]

^ +1

 

[hunter315]

The reason you apply new paste is because when you open it up it leaves a very uneven surface, if you put the heatsink back on you will have a lot of spots with too much paste and some spots where air is trying to conduct the heat and that isn't going to work very well. You reapply to make sure you don't end up with air pockets between the CPU and the heatsink. Compared to thermal paste, air is a very very bad conductor of heat.