# Replace thermal paste regularly



## Black Panther (Jun 3, 2012)

This goes for everyone, but especially us who have our processors at 100% most of the time.

Recently I decided to check my temperatures and got a small shock. With boinc at 100% the cores were reaching 68°C 
It had been some time since I last checked load temperatures since the last time I did they were comfortably in the highish 50's range.
And it had been even longer since I replaced thermal paste. Perhaps a year and a half... or even two! It was when I replaced the E4300 with the E8400...

So I took out the cooler, cleaned, put a dab of AS5 and... voila' - not bad for a 3Ghz processor overclocked to 4Ghz, on air. 

Also, AS5 has a curing time of ~200 hours so after that my temps should go down by another degree or two after curing time is over.


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## Radical_Edward (Jun 3, 2012)

Haven't had that problem with MX-2.


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## Black Panther (Jun 3, 2012)

I honestly don't remember which thermal paste I had applied since it was like 2 years ago. I suspect it's the zalman paste which had come with the cooler... but I can't vouch for it.

As soon as I removed the cooler I realized the problem - the paste was like dry flaky paint, very brittle.


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## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Jun 3, 2012)

I do try to replace my paste atleast once a year and do a through system cleaning at the same time.


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## Law-II (Jun 3, 2012)

Hi

Using a non curing paste, MX-4 get's changed when I service the H2o every six months or so

atb (all the best)

Law-II


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## theonedub (Jun 3, 2012)

Black Panther said:


> I honestly don't remember which thermal paste I had applied since it was like 2 years ago. I suspect it's the zalman paste which had come with the cooler... but I can't vouch for it.
> 
> As soon as I removed the cooler I realized the problem - the paste was like dry flaky paint, very brittle.



I was using this Zalman ZM-STG2 paste and it was performing really well, but when I upgraded my CPU I also noticed that it had dried up into a flaky mess too.


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## qubit (Jun 3, 2012)

I don't think every paste degrades like that. Of course, it's always worth checking your CPU temperature regularly and cleaning out the dust from the cooler.


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## erocker (Jun 3, 2012)

Yeah, that Zalmann stuff is pretty bad. I had a little bottle of it that dried up about two weeks after I opened it.


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## Chicken Patty (Jun 3, 2012)

I don't think I ever have a rig together that long 

But anyhow, that is a good catch BP.  Thanks for sharing!


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## stinger608 (Jun 17, 2012)

I usually try to change out the TIM at least once a year if I have a rig together that long. It will start to "bake out" if it is not changed fairly regular. If one is in a hot area such as Arizona I would change it at least every 6 months.


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## ChaoticAtmosphere (Jul 12, 2012)

I usually do it at least once a year and sometimes 2. Usually at the same time I clean all the dust out.


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## ThE_MaD_ShOt (Jul 13, 2012)

I am planning doing all the systems next weekend. And while I am at it I will take a group photo of my farm.


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## The Von Matrices (Jul 13, 2012)

I'm curious.  If this is a major issue, does it affect white box systems and pre-applied heatsinks (e.g. most GPUs)?


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## m1dg3t (Jul 13, 2012)

I reTIM when I dust the PC, so twice/year....

Never thought of it untill after I did some mods on my very first build, then it hit me 

All pastes dry up eventually, it's only beneficial to perform regular/preventative maintenance 

Edit: It's also the first thing I do when I get a GFX card/new CPU


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## Melvis (Jul 13, 2012)

I can understand this for people that have there rig running at 100% and with a OC it makes sense. Me personally i haven't had a problem even with my machine running near 24/7. My current rig is 2yrs old still same temps at full load, and my older rig would be 5yrs since its been changed and it still runs very cold, i use IBM paste.


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## stinger608 (Jul 13, 2012)

m1dg3t said:


> Edit: It's also the first thing I do when I get a GFX card/new CPU



 Ya think?


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## gopal (Jul 13, 2012)

Well i replace my thermal paste every 9 months(Well you can call me a thermal paste specialist)

When the thermal paste gets dry or evaporated then you CPU reaches high temps!
I will suggest to check(and replace it if it is dry or evaporated) every 10-12 month but if you live in hot places like India i will suggest to do it every 9 months
Well your GPU also needs thermal paste to cool up!

Well i could made my video for How to remove old thermal paste and install a new coat but i don't have a tripod and no one to hold the camera for me but anyway i searched on youtube and i found this video is the best(The video is at the end of the post) and i will say you must not use normal tissue paper! and the video is demonstrated on a i7 2600K however you can use a different company for the thermal paste but i will recommend to use Artic Silver 5 and for the cleaning solution you can use any cleaning solution !

Do you think this is a small and tiny tutorial?


The youtube video below


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## m1dg3t (Jul 13, 2012)

stinger608 said:


> Ya think?



No. It's too complicated 

Obviously the CPU gets done when swapping but GFX as soon as the anti static wrapper is off, so is the cooler!


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## Nordic (Jul 13, 2012)

mx-2 claims to last up to 8 years


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## Daimus (Jul 13, 2012)

james888 said:


> mx-2 claims to last up to 8 years



This is a storage period, but not term of use at the maximum load 24\7 when crunching.


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## pantherx12 (Jul 14, 2012)

The Von Matrices said:


> I'm curious.  If this is a major issue, does it affect white box systems and pre-applied heatsinks (e.g. most GPUs)?



Yup, I'm sure everyone's heard of the 360 ring of death.

That's caused initially by the paste being to thick/drying up which causes load temperatures to go up which makes the lead free solder melt and break the damn thing


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## fullinfusion (Jul 14, 2012)

Nice read there BB 
you have a problem with TP and I have a hose problem. Seems it shrinks a tad and gets a bit harder and alowing air to enter the system..


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## The Von Matrices (Jul 14, 2012)

pantherx12 said:


> Yup, I'm sure everyone's heard of the 360 ring of death.
> 
> That's caused initially by the paste being to thick/drying up which causes load temperatures to go up which makes the lead free solder melt and break the damn thing



I didn't realize that.  I just thought that the heatsinks were inadequately sized for the system and that's what caused it to run hot and damage the solder.


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## pantherx12 (Jul 14, 2012)

The Von Matrices said:


> I didn't realize that.  I just thought that the heatsinks were inadequately sized for the system and that's what caused it to run hot and damage the solder.


The Heat sinks are just about enough for the job, but that's why it all goes so wrong when the TIM goes bad or wasn't applied correctly in the first instance.

I Don't know why they use that crappy cement like TIM, it's always drys out way to fast. A lot of GPU companies use this crappy TIM as well.. or used to anyways.


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## Sinzia (Jul 14, 2012)

pantherx12 said:


> The Heat sinks are just about enough for the job, but that's why it all goes so wrong when the TIM goes bad or wasn't applied correctly in the first instance.
> 
> I Don't know why they use that crappy cement like TIM, it's always drys out way to fast. A lot of GPU companies use this crappy TIM as well.. or used to anyways.



Still do, I re-timed my zotac 680, and it was flaking off.


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## Aquinus (Jul 14, 2012)

The Von Matrices said:


> I didn't realize that.  I just thought that the heatsinks were inadequately sized for the system and that's what caused it to run hot and damage the solder.



Actually the cooler for the 360 is pretty good considering it throws heat from the GPU/CPU right out the back of the chassis. A massive cooler is no replacement for a well ventilated cooler. What good will a better cooler do you if you can't get the hot air out fast enough?


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## pantherx12 (Jul 14, 2012)

Aquinus said:


> Actually the cooler for the 360 is pretty good considering it throws heat from the GPU/CPU right out the back of the chassis. A massive cooler is no replacement for a well ventilated cooler. What good will a better cooler do you if you can't get the hot air out fast enough?



The system would of benefited from mounting the HDD where the fans are now( and obviously getting rid of the fans)  and having the air flow from side to the other, it would of allowed them to use a push pull set up ( much more efficiant) the GPU would of been cooled better and they still could of used only two fans.


Their pull only set up is inefficient for cooling and it causes negative pressure inside the case meaning more dust which means insulation which means hotter components which means more over heating which means the fans spin faster meaning more dust etc etc etc 

If anything it looks like they were designed to fail


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## Aquinus (Jul 14, 2012)

pantherx12 said:


> The system would of benefited from mounting the HDD where the fans are now( and obviously getting rid of the fans) and having the air flow from side to the other, it would of allowed them to use a push pull set up ( much more efficiant) the GPU would of been cooled better and they still could of used only two fans.



You're statement fails with the simple fact that the DVD drive is in the way to do it that way. Also push-pull makes the device louder, something most people don't want. Push-pull also doesn't make dust buildup any less of a problem from my experiences with it.

Clearly a picture of the innards of a 360 is called for.


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## pantherx12 (Jul 14, 2012)

Aquinus said:


> You're statement fails with the simple fact that the DVD drive is in the way to do it that way. Also push-pull makes the device louder, something most people don't want. Push-pull also doesn't make dust buildup any less of a problem from my experiences with it.
> 
> Clearly a picture of the innards of a 360 is called for.
> http://xbox360.dashhacks.com/sites/xbox360.dashhacks.com/files/images/xbox360_inside1.jpg



Push pull does not make the device louder :] the fans would move air more efficiently through the case and so will spin at far lower RPMS and actually be quieter.

And your forgetting that the fans manage to pull air from underneath that drive already, having the exhaust fan on that side of the case would work fine. ( MS could of spend the few extra dollars on a laptop type dvd drive as well improving airflow even more)

Trust me, I've done this to a friends 360. 
There's a reason gaming pc cases have intake and exhausts rather then just having everything as exhaust : ]


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