Does thermal paste expire?

D

d7a7z7e7d

Gawd
Joined
Oct 19, 2004
Messages
770
I have a tube of AS5 that has been sitting around for a couple years... I'm wondering if it's still any good, what do you guys think or know about the life of thermal paste?
 
i dont think there will be a expire date, but as long as you keep the top on, it should be fine. anyway, why dont you give it a try?
 
Well, that's just it. I did try it on my E6400 with a Tuniq Tower and my temps just don't seem right. I'm at 3.6GHz with 1.45v (ambient temp around 74F), and my idle temps are 55C, full load around 70C (using TAT)... Just doesn't seem right... I've remounted twice and get around the same results each time... Granted there is no burn in yet, but still, 70C load in TJ09 with open sides?
 
yup...remember its got silver in it..and oxidisation is a bitch

id ditch that tube and buy a new one (theyre pretty cheap too)
 
d7a7z7e7d said:
Well, that's just it. I did try it on my E6400 with a Tuniq Tower and my temps just don't seem right. I'm at 3.6GHz with 1.45v (ambient temp around 74F), and my idle temps are 55C, full load around 70C (using TAT)... Just doesn't seem right... I've remounted twice and get around the same results each time... Granted there is no burn in yet, but still, 70C load in TJ09 with open sides?
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No matter how much paste seems like the right amount, you really should be using half as much as that. I put on a drop of it the size of a paper match head, and apply it by hand using a disposable plastic glove. Most of the paste winds up on the finger of the glove not the CPU. The stuff should go on extremely thin as thin as you can possible imagine. And the heatsink should be on there as tight as you can manage without stripping the screw heads. Also, you should thoroughly clean both the CPU and the heat sink surfaces with 91% isopropyl alcohol or 95% if you can find it. I clean mine 4 times before applying the paste. It helps if the surface of the CPU and heatsink is warm before you put on the Artcic Silver 5 so it spreads more easily.

When you are should just barely be able to see a silver tint on the copper surface of the heat sink.
 
I picked up a new tube of AS5 last night and reapplied. There seems to be a huge difference between my old crusty tube and the new one. The old and crusty was very very clay-like and hard to spread.. the new tube seems much more moist :) Will be another day until I get my system up though, still have lots of cleaning up to do...

I was using 91% alcohol before, but I found a 99.975% pure bottle for a few bucks so I'm going to try that as well.

I have a feeling that I have been apply paste wrong this entire time too... I generally just clean up both CPU and HSF surfaces with alcohol and a lint-free cloth, then I put a little dab (grain of rice sized) in the middle of the cpu, then, WITHOUT spreading (doh), I would lower the HSF carefully onto the cpu and rotate it once about 30 degrees in each direction. Then I proceed to tighten the best I could and hope for the best :) But, it would seem to be a better idea to spread the paste extremely thin before hand, right? Should I spread a thin amount (rice grain size) on BOTH cpu and hsf, or just the cpu?
 
I just put a little dab in the middle of the cpu, seeing as that is where the die is anyways and where all the heat is produced. Don't apply too much or it won't work as well...
 
as stated many pastes will settle over time

if in doubt get a new tube

does not cost all that much
 
I believe strongly in the power of ritual to achieve ultra low temps :p

I put the Arctic Silver 5 paste on both the chip and the heatsink but as I said before I apply it painstakingly and by the time I get done i it is more like a tint of color than a coating. It is just to fill in the tiny microscopic pores and gaps in the surface of the CPU and the heatsink. It has to go on there completely evenly in a thin, even coat. I am fairly certain I use a smaller amount than most of you are using. But I also am getting lower CPU temps than most of you seem to be getting so maybe there is something to it.
 
wdn said:
I believe strongly in the power of ritual to achieve ultra low temps :p

I put the Arctic Silver 5 paste on both the chip and the heatsink but as I said before I apply it painstakingly and by the time I get done i it is more like a tint of color than a coating. It is just to fill in the tiny microscopic pores and gaps in the surface of the CPU and the heatsink. It has to go on there completely evenly in a thin, even coat. I am fairly certain I use a smaller amount than most of you are using. But I also am getting lower CPU temps than most of you seem to be getting so maybe there is something to it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the help wdn, I'm going to try your method and I'll let ya know how it goes...
 
I've found that putting a stripe of AS5 under your left eye lowers temps 2-3 degrees C
 
AS5 is great. I used a thin card to spread it on. Works realyl well. Tried the rice grain trick.Didnt work as well. I tried 5 different ways and using a card worked the best.
 
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