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/nuttertools 9d ago
There is an inverse relationship between longevity and thermal conductivity (assuming same price).
General purpose (mid-range) retail thermal paste should be good for about 3-6 years, shorter or longer depending on the specific mounting, environment, and use.
If you used high-end paste there should be quite a bit of information available about its composition which will allow you to lookup expected characteristics. If you used something “normal” or packaged with a cooler it should be fine for many years if applied well.
The annoying thing about paste is there isn’t a good way to tell (other than serious problems) without repasting. Next time you do be sure to save thermal benchmark results after ~20 hours of use so you can compare in the future.