[Solved] Thermally Conductive Paste - Can I Use 4-Year-Old Paste After Degreasing & Vacuuming CPU?

I have a paste that is 4 years old (it was opened once until the first lubrication) and it is stored tightly.

After degreasing the processor and vacuuming the fan, can I use this paste after a few years?

Greetings!

If it has been stored in a sealed package, it has not been exposed to sunlight, you can use it.

@serwil As long as the paste does not begin to change consistency, you can use. And not a fan, but a fan, and don't forget to clean the cooling unit well. All new pastes are silicone-free and have quite a long service life, those based on silicone begin to lose their properties after about a year.

Yes, it was, it is kept in a sealed package in a slightly cool place (it is in the process of searching - hence the question).
Regarding the consistency, I understand that before smearing the tiles, I should have squeezed some paste out of the tube as a sample as a sample, so?

The fan is quite dusty and I only use a box cooler.

So my paste theoretically does not add silicone, because when I checked the temperature measurement in the processor recently, it remained at the same level as 4 years ago (34-36 degrees C), although the paste remained a thin stick after removing the cooler.

It still works if you've checked and blow out the cooling properly and can put on this paste.

I found this paste, it's Revoltec Thermal Grease 0.5g
https://www.x-kom.pl/p/51446-pasta-termoprzewodzaca-revoltec-thermal-grease-05g.html# Specification

Judging by the description, it does not contain silicone.

Regarding degreasing, can I use salicylic (cosmetic) spirit?
does it have to be isopropylene?

Thanks for your response!

I spread the old Revoltec paste (silver based) - after 4 years the consistency is still thick. There was a bit of fastening when reinstalling the cooler (these tapered latches are sometimes crap). If it were an independent, separate cooler with full contact surface, the temperature would probably be lower.

Apropo's of temperatures ... Which Bios values are correct? The ones on the main page or those in the "Current Status" tab? Because the difference is 8/9 degrees .... 25 to 34 degrees for example. The first value corresponds to what is shown in the Windows CPUID HW Monitor.

Is it typical that the CPU temperature slowly rises when using Bios?

The temperature in the BIOS may slowly rise to some degree.
You have not provided the board model, CPU model, it is impossible to judge if any of these temperatures are correct. The description of the data presented in the BIOS should be found in the motherboard manual - the BIOS elements should be described.

I sometimes use denatured alcohol for washing.

Thanks DT1. (something is relevant to what you write about the remover because apart from the fact that in the air and eyes you can feel that it is more "corrosive" than, for example, spirit, it evaporates differently from the IHS and when looking against the light, there were some "stains" at the edge and it was a cleaner with no additives and no acetone).

Gigabyte H81M-S2PV (LGA 1150) motherboard,
Pentium G 3240 processor 2-core (over 4 years) - paste evenly spread over the entire surface,
Box cooler,
WD Blue 1 TB standard drive,
Integrated graphics.

Apropo's graphics ... I should be able to create a separate thread, but since the equipment is freshly vacuumed and changed the paste, I will ask here about the graphics:

Despite the properly connected plug of the DVI cable, sometimes there is no signal - only when the plug is slightly maneuvered at the motherboard port, the signal appears.
After booting the BIOS and the system boot ... The DVI cable is fresh - even younger than the motherboard. I will check how the signal behaves after switching to D-Sub, but I have a question for you: can this be due to some mechanical adjustment on the contacts at the DVI port in the disc?

serwil wrote:

Thanks DT1. (something is relevant to what you write about the remover because apart from the fact that in the air and eyes you can feel that it is more "corrosive" than, for example, spirit, it evaporates differently from the IHS and when looking against the light, there were some "stains" at the edge and it was a cleaner with no additives and no acetone).

Ethyl acetate or butyl acetate are irritating and toxic (paradoxically more than acetone, which irritates the skin, but is said to be less toxic). If you made slush with a nail polish remover, it would be good to clean it with isopropanol, pure spirit or denatured alcohol, because it is not known what was still floating in this remover, often these are moisturizing ingredients that are supposed to take care of the skin (i.e. something that you tried to get rid of with this remover when it was not yet).

As for the temperature of the processor, the BIOS can read the temperature around the base of the processor and it may be (or actually certainly is) different than the temperature of the cores. It is best to check these temperatures with HWInfo, take into account the temperature of the warmest core, and of course the temperatures under load count.

As for the cable, try to replace it, even if it is new, it may have some damage. It is not worth bending the sockets on the board too much so as not to tear the solders.

Perhaps on the main BIOS page it shows the temperature measured in the substation (lower) and in the "current status" it gives the real temperature of the processor itself (higher) broken down into cores, although the temperature values of each of the two cores are the same. . . and from the Win level already different: / I will check HWinfo.

I loosened the screws securing the board so that the DVI port had more slack, but it didn't help. I will check this cable on another computer.

Thanks for the posts.

I am closing the thread.