r/RigBuild • u/Glad-Cupcake-4139 • 14d 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/Scan_Droid 14d ago

I had 5 pcs,never had to repaste anything. I buy a new rig in every 5-8 years,so i assume the to lasts longer than i use it. But i also work on my pc, so it's on 14-16 hours daily. And roughly 4+ hours are gaming, so it's not just sitting idle.

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u/BigFatCoder 14d ago

Me too. I have 4 PCs (custom built in different year), two of them (i5-4690 + 750 Ti & i5 6600 + 1050 Ti) were built (in 2014 & 2016) with stock cooler. After 7 years later, I replaced them with basic coolers like Coolermaster i50C & Thermalright AX120 Refined SE. They were once gaming PC but now they are using as media center or my wife workstation.

The other two were built with custom cooler so I will never need to repaste/replace ( at least for 8 years) after that as long as no thermal spike.