tessap97•23d agoProlific Poster

Debate: Replacing thermal paste every 6 months vs. never touch it unless temps are bad

I tried doing a full repaste on my personal rig every 6 months for about a year. First time dropped temps by 8c. Second time? Maybe 2c. Third time i saw zero change. Now im wondering if we are all just wasting tubes of paste chasing tiny gains. On the other hand, my buddy in Austin never repastes and his CPU has been running at 85c for 3 years with no issues. What side are you on? Do you stick to a schedule or just leave it alone?

3 comments

3 Comments

simonlee23d ago

Nah, people overthink this... just do it when it's hot.

ruby_bell4723d ago

My old gaming laptop taught me that thermal paste is kinda like changing your car's oil - except the consequences are less dramatic. I repasted that thing every 8 months for a while, then forgot about it for over a year. Temps actually went down by 3c somehow (maybe I did a bad job the first time?). But then my friend insists that his decade old prebuilt has "factory paste" and still runs games fine at 80c. So honestly I think the 6 month thing is just a way for companies to sell more paste, unless you're overclocking or living in a dust factory.

cora_west523d ago

Factory paste" is exactly like my grandpa's original car battery from 1998, he still swears it's fine... sometimes things just work because we stopped questioning them, @ruby_bell47.