# Should I need to replace thermal paste and pads on a used motherboard?



## stoggs1 (Feb 19, 2019)

Hello guys,  I just purchased an used Asus P8P67 deluxe motherboard, and I was wondering should I replace the thermal pads and paste on the heatsinks?  I would rather not disassemble the board, but if it would help the board perform better I will do it.

Thanks.


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## Jetster (Feb 19, 2019)

I wouldn't unless they were damaged


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## HammerON (Feb 19, 2019)

I would be tempted to; however, as @Jetster stated above is a good start. If all looks good, then no.


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## Bones (Feb 19, 2019)

Agreed - In the case of thermal pads I'd leave those alone as long as it's not causing a problem as is. 
As for heatsinks with TIM (Paste) I'd check those, redo the TIM then just let it ride. 

That's how I do things concerning such, esp with older boards.


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## stoggs1 (Feb 19, 2019)

The board looks good, but I cant tell whether or not the pads need to be replaced without taking off the heatsinks.   What about the thermal paste on the north and south bridge heatsinks?

Should the paste still be good after several years?


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## TheLostSwede (Feb 19, 2019)

A much bigger concern with the P67 chipset is the failing SATA controller. Hopefully you made sure you got a revision that doesn't have that issue (B3 revision chipset).
There's also no north or south bridge on that board, just a PCH or platform controller hub. It would most likely rely on a thermal pad, not grease/paste.
The heatsink below the CPU socket is not cooling a chipset.


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## Bones (Feb 19, 2019)

Pads themselves are probrably OK, those usually last a very long time before any problems start.

I'd run it before doing anything at all and only do something if an issue is spotted.


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## stoggs1 (Feb 19, 2019)

TheLostSwede said:


> A much bigger concern with the P67 chipset is the failing SATA controller. Hopefully you made sure you got a revision that doesn't have that issue (B3 revision chipset).
> There's also no north or south bridge on that board, just a PCH or platform controller hub. It would most likely rely on a thermal pad, not grease/paste.
> The heatsink below the CPU socket is not cooling a chipset.



Ok so your saying most likely none of the heatsinks will be using thermal paste?

Also if the heatsink under the cpu isnt cooling a chipset then what is it cooling?


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## TheLostSwede (Feb 19, 2019)

stoggs1 said:


> Ok so your saying most likely none of the heatsinks will be using thermal paste?
> 
> Also if the heatsink under the cpu isnt cooling a chipset then what is it cooling?



Nothing much at all, it's connected to the MOSFET heatsinks by a heatpipe. It's mostly for looks.
I can't find a picture of a stripped board, but review here that explains what it's (not) cooling - http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/mainboard/asus-p8p67-deluxe-i67p-p1.html

*Edit:* Found a YouTube video which shows the board with the heatsinks removed. There's a very small change the kind of thermal pad used for the chipset is going to go bad as well.


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## bug (Feb 19, 2019)

stoggs1 said:


> The board looks good, but I cant tell whether or not the pads need to be replaced without taking off the heatsinks.   What about the thermal paste on the north and south bridge heatsinks?
> 
> Should the paste still be good after several years?


Try to stress the system with heavy I/O, benchmarks, stuff like that. If it's stable and you don't see dips in performance, then it's not overheating - no need to replace/reapply anything.


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## John Naylor (Feb 19, 2019)

Unless i saw evidence that they were at one point removed, I wouldn't tough them unless after installation, I was unhappy with the numbers i saw in AI Suite / HWiNFO


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## stoggs1 (Feb 19, 2019)

TheLostSwede said:


> Nothing much at all, it's connected to the MOSFET heatsinks by a heatpipe. It's mostly for looks.
> I can't find a picture of a stripped board, but review here that explains what it's (not) cooling - http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/mainboard/asus-p8p67-deluxe-i67p-p1.html
> 
> *Edit:* Found a YouTube video which shows the board with the heatsinks removed. There's a very small change the kind of thermal pad used for the chipset is going to go bad as well.


Thanks for the video, I was trying to find one like this and I wasn't having any luck.

I removed the heatsink on the chipset(the one with the Asus logo on it)  and the thermal pad was almost completely disentagrated so I put some thermal paste on the chipset, should I wiped it off and use a pad instead?

And perhaps I should check all the pads, what's the easiest way to remove those heatsinks with the little tabs that hold them in place?

Thank you


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## biffzinker (Feb 19, 2019)

stoggs1 said:


> I put some thermal paste on the chipset, should I wiped it off and use a pad instead?


Thermal paste is fine as long the heatsink is in contact with the die.


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## stoggs1 (Feb 19, 2019)

biffzinker said:


> Thermal paste is fine as long the heatsink is in contact with the die.


Ok, but which one would work better?

Thanks.


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## biffzinker (Feb 19, 2019)

stoggs1 said:


> Ok, but which one would work better?
> 
> Thanks.


Thermal paste should be better than a thermal pad but for the VRMs I would stay with thermal pads. For that older board a replacement of pads/paste wouldn't hurt.


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## INSTG8R (Feb 19, 2019)

biffzinker said:


> Thermal paste is fine as long the heatsink is in contact with the die.


And the pads are the pads as long as they still have proper contact. It’s when you pull them apart they need replacement same as paste.


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## stoggs1 (Feb 19, 2019)

Ok, how much paste should I use?  About the same as you would on a cpu?  Or would it need more? I put a thin layer.

I can't check the temps because the board isn't running, I am still waiting for a couple of parts before I can build it.


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## biffzinker (Feb 19, 2019)

stoggs1 said:


> I can't check the temps because the board isn't running, I am still waiting for a couple of parts before I can build it.


I would stop changing anything until you have a base line to work from.


stoggs1 said:


> I put a thin layer.


That's all you need. The paste fills in the empty space between the imperfect surfaces, anymore is overdoing it.


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