Should I Apply New Thermal Compound?

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MasterHiFi

MasterHiFi

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Jul 13, 2015
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Bought a "new to me" computer locally. Previous owner was a gamer - has i7-3930K, Rampage IV Extreme, GTX 690, and H100 cooler. Built about two and a half years ago.

I bought it sans the hard drives (my choice) and have a Barracuda drive with an 840 Pro SSD on the way.

My question is, before I put in the HDs and get it all buttoned up, should I apply some fresh thermal compound? I don't know how long that stuff lasts but have heard that some people change it every few years.

Any and all help appreciated.

Thanks
 
Solution
J
Best thing to use is rubbing alcohol on a cotton bud, but honestly cleaning off with a cloth or anything close is good enough, just try to make sure that no residue is left on the heat sink or processor then reapply and rebuild, If the paste has been on there for 2 years its going to be quite possible that the paste has dried up and will almost crumble off. Hope this helps

Jason
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J

JayCee993

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If the thermal paste has been on there for 2+ years then yes I would recommend replacing it, also make sure that there's not a huge build up of dust anywhere (just give everything a check over and a quick blast with a blower if you find anything), when changing the paste make sure that the old is cleaned off the processor and the heat sink, If you need any other help just post back in this post ill be here to help.

Jason
 
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MasterHiFi

MasterHiFi

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Hi JC,

Maybe it's just my phone, but could find no "reply" button, so following up this way...

Thanks for your advice, I will follow it - only question I have is will the thermal paste just wipe off, or should I use a little alcohol or similar? Obviously don't want to do anything that could be damaging.

Thanks again,
MF
 
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J

JayCee993

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Nov 19, 2014
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Best thing to use is rubbing alcohol on a cotton bud, but honestly cleaning off with a cloth or anything close is good enough, just try to make sure that no residue is left on the heat sink or processor then reapply and rebuild, If the paste has been on there for 2 years its going to be quite possible that the paste has dried up and will almost crumble off. Hope this helps

Jason
 
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Manish Tewari

Manish Tewari

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Totally agree with Jason above - in my past upgrades i used tissue with 70+ alcohol for cleanup(worked like a charm), used air blower to dry-up before applying thermal paste dont use in excessive else it will take more time to dry up and will be slippery.
 
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MasterHiFi

MasterHiFi

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Jul 13, 2015
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Thanks to both Jason and Manish, always have some rubbing alcohol on hand so I will use that to make sure no residue is left behind before applying fresh. Will go with Arctic Silver or similar name brand and let you know if I run into problems. Us noobs depend on your experience, so keep up the good work. MF
 
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