Anyone know how long thermal compound lasts?

Radiosity

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• Oct 20, 2003

• #1

Ok, so I'm getting to the stage of wanting to rip my pc apart again and spring clean it Obviously I'll be removing my heatsink etc to remove all the crud that's built up, so am going to need to re-apply thermal compound to the proccy. I've got a packet of compound from the last time I did this, and was wondering if it's still usable, being around 10 months old now? Does it 'go off'? Or is it more or less unlimited in opened shelf life? I can grab some more no problem, but if I can still make use of the packet I've got now that'd be great and save me a trip

Thanks,

CSM

 

P4p3Rc1iP

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• Oct 20, 2003

• #2

i think it will work "forever", i dont see some n00b ripping is heatsink off his cpu when his pc is 1 year old to put some new stuff on it. my good old p3 500 is still running after 3,5 years without putting new thermal compound on it.

maybe there is something written on the packet that says howlong it will stay "good"?

 

Swedix

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• Oct 20, 2003

• #3

You can use it with no problem unless it has dried up.
There are no active components in the compound so if you have it in a hermetic enviroment, it can last forever

 

Radiosity

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• Oct 20, 2003

• #4

Cool, that's what I was guessing, but wanted to be a bit more sure before ripping my heatsink off Thanks

//switches computer off and grabs the screwdrivers......

 

Sir_Brizz

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• Oct 20, 2003

• #5

if you are taking of your heat sink you should replace the goo, otherwise you won't have as good a transfer between them and could lose some of your thermal reistance/gain heat.

 

Swedix

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• Oct 20, 2003

• #6

Sir_Brizz said:

if you are taking of your heat sink you should replace the goo, otherwise you won't have as good a transfer between them and could lose some of your thermal reistance/gain heat.

Click to expand...

That's exactly what he's saying

 

Radiosity

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• Oct 20, 2003

• #7

Uh, yeah I'm not a pc n00b, but the lifespan of thermal goo isn't something I'm really called upon to know a great deal The goo itself is still goo-like and hasn't gone hard, so I can't see much of a problem. And if my processor melts......well, I need an upgrade anyway

 

Deathmaker

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• Oct 21, 2003

• #8

I know in theory generic gunk can dry out and, with ASx, the silver molecules can "settle", though in all my years of system building I've never come across it.

 

Sir_Brizz

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• Oct 21, 2003

• #9

I've seen dried goo on a penituim 200 that tore the core right off the wafer

 

Hedge

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• Oct 21, 2003

• #10

The only time I have ever heard of thermal goop loosing it's touch is when it breaks down over time at high temperatures. Nanotherm PCM comes to mind.

 

SkaarjMaster

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• Oct 22, 2003

• #11

So, the air-in-a-can thing didn't do the trick? Did you get it all back together with lower temps now?

 

Swedix

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• Oct 27, 2003

• #12

Scumgrief said:

So how do you clean the stuff off the heatsink and CPU? Isn't scraping it off the proccy a little risky? /me is thermal goo impaired

Click to expand...

Absolutley pure alcohol is the best. You can also use acetone with no oil.

 

SlayerDragon

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• Oct 27, 2003

• #13

How exactly do you apply the stuff? My friend who helped me build my computer didn't put it on because the heatsink already had some on the bottom. I plan on getting a different heatsink anyway, so I would like to know what to do.

 

Sir_Brizz

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• Oct 27, 2003

• #14

Swedix said:

Absolutley pure alcohol is the best. You can also use acetone with no oil.

Click to expand...

If you have any gold in your contacts or anything, don't touch the alcohol.

I actually use a toothbrush and water, unless you had a thermal heating pad (aff) from Intel or AMD that got stuck to the proccy. If it's on the heatsink, those normally peel right off...but IMO scraping it off the heatsink and then sanding the bottom is the best idea.

As for applying thermal goo, put a small squeeaze on the heatsink where it will sit on the core, and then spread it evenly and flat around where it needs to be. This keeps it from gooing all over your processor.