how often do u change ur thermal paste?

just wondering how often u should change it out and get some fresh paste in there. im gonna order some arctic silver 5 and im not even sure if alienware used a good past on my cpu/gpu. but anyways any info would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance

 

You can change paste every once in a while, but I mean by this maybe after 2 years or so. Thermal paste like arctic silver is made out of silver so it dries out after an extended period of time, and should be replaced. The manufacturer of the paste should state when to replace the paste on their website. Every 2 years or so is a good time to change the thermal paste. Do not go run out and replace your paste every month because it will be of no advantage.

K-TRON

 

Generally, after I've applied the paste I wont change it until I change the processor. Or did, haven't done that in a while. Haven't noticed any rise in temperature ever though, even with several years with the same paste. Guess its up to you if it bothers you.

 

Any good thermal paste will last as long as the computer does.

 

As long as your temps are good, I wouldn't worry about it, just keep the fan and cooling system clean.

 

Reading the instructions that AS supplies for its AS5 TIM, it clearly states that Arctic Silver 5 is a grease, not an adhesive, and will therefore never dry.

Taken from HERE. And lest I forget, let me clarify that I am not "picking" on you, K-Tron. However, you really should do some research prior to making erroneous statements.

To the original poster, Arctic Silver 5 is a terrific grease to use. It's only downside is its very long "burn-in" process, something like 200 hours and several thermal cycles before the grease cures. Removing and reapplying AS5 often does not allow this curing proccess to occur. In my opinion, AS5 is of the "fire and forget" variety: apply the grease, and forget about it.

 

Interesting point.
I wonder if extreme temperature makes a difference.

I know that in Fall semester last year I installed AS5 on my friends T7600G. He ran the cpu for over a year at 3.33Ghz in his XPS1710. However maybe like 2 months ago we cleaned the system out and the paste was hard. His cpu was pretty much always running in 85C + range. I am pretty sure I used AS5, but I could be wrong.
Some pastes do get hard I know that

K-TRON

 

I haven't changed the stock thermal paste an old Thinkpad laptop lying around the house and it has never been shut down because of overheating.
I've used AS5 in the past with favorable results, mainly I changed the TIM because the laptop I was using at that time was used to game a lot and the dedicated chip needed to be kept cool and did its job. I also have a bottle of Zalman STG-1 which supposedly was better than AS5 but I don't think so, although it is a breeze to apply, just 'brush' it on the CPU and heatsink and you're done.

On my current laptop I don't see the point in replacing the stock compound since I don't game and the CPU reaches tops 56C. Unsure though is the drying issue on the stock grease.

 

i only change when change processor or to clean the heatsink fan. other than tat i wont change. since the thermal grease is use will not dry up.

 

I use MX2 and according their website, 8 years is good, Plus it also doesn't require a curing process:
Durability
With MX-2 no curing and no bleeding of the compound are possible. In contrast to other products, this compound does not show decreasing performance over time, does not need to be reapplied and has a durability of at least 8 years.

 

I have an old AMD K6-II desktop from around 1998 that I haven't changed the thermal paste, then again, I don't think it needs it.

My new N50 is roughly 4 months old, and I'm going to replace the thermal paste in a few days. I have a tube of the best TIM out right now: Innovation Cooling Diamond 7. It's like 97% diamonds.

 

i don't think diamonds are very good heat conductors. Usually you want silver or gold in the paste.

I usually change paste only when the temps get too high. that could be a few months or never/

 

the Diamond TIM shall be even better than AS5.
It's just fairly new and unknown. If you take a look at their website you'll also find a few links to threads on Anandtech and other forums were users compare the Diamond TIM with other products.
The results are quite good and equal or better than AS5. But because this product is fairly new I just don't know how long it lasts.
But if you want a high performance TIM, and don't want the trouble with the liquid metal stuff, then AS or this Diamond are good decissions.


On my desktop I haven't changed the TIM since I've installed the heatink (about 6 years ago)
On my notebook I changed the TIM two times now. The first time when I've replaced the original TIM with AS5, the second time when I replaced the fan. I don't intend to refresh the TIM in a few years.

 

Diamond is an excellent conductor of temperature, far better than gold or silver.

 

as long as the temps are OK, then i would worry about changing it!

thanks!

 

Funny you should bring this up. HardwareLogic has quite a thread on the IC Diamond 7 thermal grease, including bechmarks and other nifty information. Check it out!

IC Diamond 7 Carat Results Thread

This second link offers a throrough round up of over dozen types of thermal pastes, greases etc, in a massive battle royale, winner takes all. Benchmarks and final conlusions provided:

The HardwareLogic Thermal Compound Round-Up

 

The second comparison of the thermal compounds is excellent. Too bad they didn't test Gelid's GC1.

 

wow..looks like IC Diamond 7 is better than MX-2?

 

Yeah, it is. Though I'm surprised the Liquid Pro faired so poorly.

 

just check your temperatures with speedfan every now and again... and as long as your cpu doesnt hit 60+ there's no need to change.

 

I totally agree, as long as you have other good cooling systems and ventilation you should not worry about changing the thermal paste, it's always a good thing to have options and backups in order to avoid issues..