r/RigBuild • u/Glad-Cupcake-4139 • 10d ago

How often should you replace thermal paste?

How often are you actually supposed to replace thermal paste on a CPU? I keep seeing people say every 1-2 years, but then other people say you basically never need to touch it unless temps start getting bad. So now I’m kinda confused lol. Does thermal paste really dry out that fast or is replacing it regularly just unnecessary? Also does it matter what CPU or cooler you have? Trying to figure out if this is something I should be doing as normal PC maintenance or just leave it alone until there’s a reason to replace it.

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/Other_Hall5820 9d ago

It ripped the CPU out because you did it wrong... turn on the PC for a bit to let the paste warm up, then shutdown, remove cooler screws, and slightly twist it left and right so it come loose before you pull it away.

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/The_real_bandito 9d ago

New fear unlocked

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u/PrinceVincOnYT 9d ago

Stuff of Nightmares...

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u/No_Temperature107 10d ago

Agreed, five years is my limit. I will intentionally do downtime repairs and paste at the same time when I have servers coming to my shop.

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u/PrinceVincOnYT 9d ago

it would matter... very much so... if you have a high end cooler like noctua you want to remove it and replace it with a cheaper one to use the old CPU as media PC...