Thermal Paste Quick Question

[chrisbek]

I have some Artic Silver MX-4 I used on my system last year.

There was alot in the tube. I only used a small amount and sealed the tube up securely after I was done.

I placed the thermal paste in my computer case box along with all my other computer parts/components. The box sits in decent ventilated fully furnished basement with good room temperates.

I don't know much about the lifetime of thermal paste. Can I use this thermal paste on a new cpu heatsink or does the paste go bad? Its only been a year.

I would just like to know from personal experience does thermal paste go bad?

 

[davcon]

Nope it will be fine!
Might have to squeeze off a tiny hardened bit at top.

 

[buzznut]

I have some Artic Silver MX-4 I used on my system last year.

There was alot in the tube. I only used a small amount and sealed the tube up securely after I was done.

I placed the thermal paste in my computer case box along with all my other computer parts/components. The box sits in decent ventilated fully furnished basement with good room temperates.

I don't know much about the lifetime of thermal paste. Can I use this thermal paste on a new cpu heatsink or does the paste go bad? Its only been a year.

I would just like to know from personal experience does thermal paste go bad?

As long as the tube does not have a leak or is exposed to air it should last a very long time. I'd say throw it out after 5 years or if it appears different over time.

After application however, that is a different story. I have seen many OEM thermal pastes dry up after 3 years or less. Thats the cheap stuff, Arctic silver I have never seen dry up or become less effective after several years of use. Of course now I change CPUs and heatsinks so often that it is not an issue for my machines. But I have worked on a lot of computers for other folks, so I would say a quality product like Arctic silver could last quite a long time.

 

[chrisbek]

Nope it will be fine!
Might have to squeeze off a tiny hardened bit at top.

Thanks

As long as the tube does not have a leak or is exposed to air it should last a very long time. I'd say throw it out after 5 years or if it appears different over time.

After application however, that is a different story. I have seen many OEM thermal pastes dry up after 3 years or less. Thats the cheap stuff, Arctic silver I have never seen dry up or become less effective after several years of use. Of course now I change CPUs and heatsinks so often that it is not an issue for my machines. But I have worked on a lot of computers for other folks, so I would say a quality product like Arctic silver could last quite a long time.

Thanks

 

[chrisbek]

Best answer selected by chrisbek.