Question about thermal paste for CPU

lubo4444

lubo4444

Active Member
Hey guys,

How often do you change the thermal paste on the CPU? Also when you remove the heatsink from the CPU to clean it from dust, do you have to apply new thermal paste or you can leave the old one? Last question, what is a good brand of thermal paste to apply on the CPU in my rig below? The CPU is with stock cooler, no overclocking. Thank you. :)
 
What temperatures is it showing your processor is at in BIOS?

I think most applications of thermal paste are fine for at least three years unless your processor is overheating. To clean your heatsink you do not have to remove it from your processor. Just blow it out with compressed air.

If you do remove the heatsink then you do need to clean off the old thermal paste before applying new thermal paste. Using a clean rag with isopropyl alcohol really cleans the surface. I just wipe my heatsink and processor off with a clean rag.

The following should work fine with your system:

MASSCOOL Stars-700 Thermal grease - $4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...02&cm_re=Thermal_paste-_-35-100-302-_-Product
 
Once a year any desktops in my house get a thorough clean and re paste, i will remove the cooler and cpu, blow out the case including cpu socket, clean the cpu and bottom of the cooler, give the fan a clean with a small toothbrush, repaste and refit.

I use akasa brand thermal paste, although you can get stick on pads
 
2048Megabytes said:
What temperatures is it showing your processor is at in BIOS?

I think most applications of thermal paste are fine for at least three years unless your processor is overheating. To clean your heatsink you do not have to remove it from your processor. Just blow it out with compressed air.

If you do remove the heatsink then you do need to clean off the old thermal paste before applying new thermal paste. Using a clean rag with isopropyl alcohol really cleans the surface. I just wipe my heatsink and processor off with a clean rag.

The following should work fine with your system:

MASSCOOL Stars-700 Thermal grease - $4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...02&cm_re=Thermal_paste-_-35-100-302-_-Product
Click to expand...


From about 32-34 C it went to 39-42 C. So that's why i got worried. Although i was almost sure i dont have to remove the heatsink to clean around for dust i did it anyways. :(

Also how do you apply the thermal paste? Because i hear that if you add too much it can cause problems and if you add little, same thing can happen. A friend of mine installed all parts of my PC when i bought it because i was kind of new to the whole building PC's process. Now i'm doing everything by myself but applying a thermal paste will be my first time :P. Thanks for the good explanation.
 
Always reapply after removing the heatsink. Put a amount about the size of a grain of rice in the center of the CPU, let the heatsink spread it out. Or spread it out as even as you can, with a credit card or razor blade. Then mount the heatsink.
 
StrangleHold said:
Always reapply after removing the heatsink. Put a amount about the size of a grain of rice in the center of the CPU, let the heatsink spread it out. Or spread it out as even as you can, with a credit card or razor blade. Then mount the heatsink.
Click to expand...

Thank you. :)

Few more questions:

1. I did some research and i see many people buy the arctic silver 5. Does it make such a big difference compared to the one that 2048Megabytes suggested?
2. Also i have an old PC that need a new thermal paste as well. The PC is Emachines T3025. Can i use either arctic silver 5 on it or the one that 2048Megabytes suggested?

Since i started asking questions about thermal paste, i'll ask this one here too. What about GPU thermal paste? When does it have to be changed and also what is the best brand for it? So far i've only took the card out of the motherboard to clean it but i never took it apart. The GPU is the one on my rig below.

Thanks i'm really new to this lol. :)
 
Last edited:
im interested also at least in the last paragraph. I never replied as mentioned just because. Only thing i do is blow it once a year. No, my tower and all towers is off the floor. and i have 5 computers in this house. blow out only.
 
when I get quite a lot of blue screens or the temp rises quite a bit, especially in Summer. But with the CPU cooler ive got i end up chopping a few fingers off when i do it so i do prolong the replacement of TIM
 
You may see a few degrees in temperature difference with Arctic Silver 5 over the thermal paste I recommended, but it is not worth it in my opinion. Are you having problems with your system overheating?
 
2048Megabytes said:
You may see a few degrees in temperature difference with Arctic Silver 5 over the thermal paste I recommended, but it is not worth it in my opinion. Are you having problems with your system overheating?
Click to expand...

Nope the system is not overheating. It's just i used to look at the temps often before and after few months i decided to check them again. Now i see the average of 8-10 C higher and that's why i asked. Lately i did not use the PC that much because i was busy. Everything is running at stock settings. No overclocking. :)

Also can i use either your paste or the Arctic Silver 5 on my other PC or it needs to be different one? My other PC is kind of old so that's why i'm asking. Thank you.
 
I'm assuming i can use the same paste on both of my PC's. If i'm wrong, please correct me. Also anyone know when does the GPU paste have to be replaced and also what kind? Thank you. :)
 
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