Question When should I replace/renew the thermal paste ?

[Housaiga]

Should I be replacing my thermal paste? My cpu has been having overheating problems and I wonder if this is the culprit.

 

[USAFRet]

If you've taken it apart, you must replace.

 

[Housaiga]

If you've taken it apart, you must replace.

Well, I guess I'm buying some thermal paste then. But do you think this was the reason my cpu was overheating? Or was the thermal paste fine before I took it off?

 

[USAFRet]

Well, I guess I'm buying some thermal paste then. But do you think this was the reason my cpu was overheating? Or was the thermal paste fine before I took it off?

Unknown. Not enough details.

And by replace, I mean clean and replace.

 

[Housaiga]

Unknown. Not enough details.

And by replace, I mean clean and replace.

Wipe it down with a paper towel with isopropyl alcohol, yes?

I have a Ryzen 9 3900X with a 240mm Enermax AiO. It's run fine for years but over the last 2 months or so suddenly it's started overheating to the point of auto shutting down, even when its idling. I don't know if it's something wrong with the AiO, the CPU, or the thermal paste. I thought opening it up to take a picture to ask if the thermal paste had degraded or something was a good idea. Guess not.

 

[USAFRet]

Wipe it down with a paper town with isopropyl alcohol, yes?

I have a Ryzen 9 3900X with a 240mm Enermax AiO. It's run fine for years but over the last 2 months or so suddenly it's started overheating to the point of auto shutting down, even when its idling. I don't know if it's something wrong with the AiO, the CPU, or the thermal paste. I thought opening it up to take a picture to ask if the thermal paste had degraded or something was a good idea. Guess not.

Dust, failing pump or fan, degraded paste....completely unknown.

Clean and redo the thermal paste, put it back together.
See what happens.

And preferably not paper towels. Too much potential lint. Coffee filters are better.

 

[Housaiga]

Dust, failing pump or fan, degraded paste....completely unknown.

Clean and redo the thermal paste, put it back together.
See what happens.

And preferably not paper towels. Too much potential lint. Coffee filters are better.

Alright, will use coffee filters. Hopefully it helps.

 

[emitfudd]

Yes, definitely coffee filters and rubbing alcohol. Not likely the paste was the cause of overheating.

I used Noctua NT-H2 on my last build. It comes with a card that shows the application pattern for different CPU's.

You should be able to feel the AIO hoses. One should be warm and the other cool. You can also "feel" the vibration of the liquid going through the hoses. Also you should be able to feel the warm air coming out of the AIO. I have mine top mounted in exhaust configuration so all I have to do is place my hand over the top of the PC.

 

[Housaiga]

Yes, definitely coffee filters and rubbing alcohol. Not likely the paste was the cause of overheating.

I used Noctua NT-H2 on my last build. It comes with a card that shows the application pattern for different CPU's.

You should be able to feel the AIO hoses. One should be warm and the other cool. You can also "feel" the vibration of the liquid going through the hoses. Also you should be able to feel the warm air coming out of the AIO. I have mine top mounted in exhaust configuration so all I have to do is place my hand over the top of the PC.

Both tubes are warm, bordering on being hot. When I was moving my PC to open it up I could hear sloshing liquid.

 

[CountMike]

Not rubbing alcohol, it contains water and oils as well as scents but any concentrated alcohol 97% , Methyl, Ethyl or Isopropyl alcohol, Latest one is used in industry for cleaning because it's not excise duty and not as toxic as Methyl but couldn't be used for drinking. Other as good for cleaning are lacquer thinner and acetone.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

And be careful not to breathe in the vapour from whichever cleaning agent you use.

 

[emitfudd]

Not rubbing alcohol, it contains water and oils as well as scents but any concentrated alcohol 97% , Methyl, Ethyl or Isopropyl alcohol, Latest one is used in industry for cleaning because it's not excise duty and not as toxic as Methyl but couldn't be used for drinking. Other as good for cleaning are lacquer thinner and acetone.

Sorry, I meant Isopropyl alcohol. The one I bought at the pharmacy says rubbing alcohol 91% isopropyl.

 

[emitfudd]

Both tubes are warm, bordering on being hot. When I was moving my PC to open it up I could hear sloshing liquid.

If you are sure the AIO connector is attached to the motherboard firmly and the BIOS shows a decent pump speed then you most likely should replace the AIO. Liquid sloshing sounds aren't good either. I just replaced my GPU and had my PC laying on it's side and I heard nothing in my AIO and it is about 5 years old.

 

[Zerk2012]

I would be thinking more of the AIO failing.
I never built a PC for myself that ever needed the paste replaced.

91% is fine use a coffee filter not a paper towel.

 

[Housaiga]

If you are sure the AIO connector is attached to the motherboard firmly and the BIOS shows a decent pump speed then you most likely should replace the AIO. Liquid sloshing sounds aren't good either. I just replaced my GPU and had my PC laying on it's side and I heard nothing in my AIO and it is about 5 years old.

Bios is reporting a pump speed of 3600. So then the root problem would be the liquid inside evaporating? I checked and didn't find any leaks but heard that older aios have the liquid evaporate out of the tubes over time. My Aio is about 7-8 years old.

 

[Housaiga]

I would be thinking more of the AIO failing.
I never built a PC for myself that ever needed the paste replaced.

91% is fine use a coffee filter not a paper towel.

That seems to be the consensus everyone is coming to. It's a 7-8 year old Aio, I'm not terribly surprised if that's the point of failure. I just wasn't sure if thermal paste needed to be replaced regularly and I had been neglecting it or not. I ordered some 91% and coffee filters this morning. The new thermal paste should be here this afternoon/evening.

I might see about buying a new cheap Aio/air cooler and hoping my system holds together until Black Friday like I had originally intended.