Thermal compound quick question

[basch99]

When I buy Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound, do I have to use it immediately, or can I wait (a minimum of 1 and half month) before I actually use it because I don't have all my PC components together yet? I'm afraid it might dry up before I even get to apply it. Thanks!

 

[mocchan]

It won't dry out in the time you have to wait, so you have nothing to worry about

I've had my tube of Arctic Silver 5 for about a year now, and it's still not dried out!

 

[rds1220]

I have a tube of Arctic Silver 5 that is a couple of years old and is still good. I switched to MX-4 awhile ago so it's been sitting in the refrigerator for a couple years. I pulled it out to fix my sisters laptop and there was no separation of the material and temps were fine so as far as I can tell it's still good after all these years. For general storage it is recommened to keep the tube sealed in an upright position and in a cool place like the refrigerator (NOT THE FREEZER!) Do that and it should last far longer than the time you were looking at.