Just found out thermal paste doesn't go bad as fast as I thought

I was digging through an old parts bin looking for a heatsink for a budget build for a buddy and found a tube of Arctic Silver from like 2015. Looked it up and apparently it still works fine if stored right, which blew my mind since I always tossed old paste. Anyone else keep using old thermal paste or am I just being cheap?

2 comments

2 Comments

michaela1612d ago

Yeah I've got a tube of Noctua NT-H1 from around 2017 that I still use. Stored it in a ziplock bag in a drawer and it spreads just fine, temps are normal. The main issue is if it dries out or separates, but as long as the tube is sealed tight it lasts way longer than people think. Arctic Silver in particular is pretty stable since it's mostly ceramic particles and silicone oil.

the_thomas12d ago

Yeah I still rock old thermal paste all the time. As long as the tube isn't crusty and it spreads evenly it's basically fine. People overthink this stuff way too much.