Is thermal heat paste for one use only?

[Dave Williams]

Hi everyone

I may have to replace my mobo and I was wondering if the thermal paste
between my CPU and its heat-sink and fan will still be usable if I
separate them then reattach them on the new mobo?

thanks

 

[rotor]

Hi everyone

I may have to replace my mobo and I was wondering if the thermal paste
between my CPU and its heat-sink and fan will still be usable if I
separate them then reattach them on the new mobo?

thanks

If You got enough paste and it hasnt gone off you can just smooth off
the layer and re-attach heatsink with no probs.
After all it just fills in the microscopic gaps in the metal for a
100% contact.
If not Buy a new tube, its less than a £ or $ depending where you live

 

[Bill Turner]

I may have to replace my mobo and I was wondering if the thermal paste
between my CPU and its heat-sink and fan will still be usable if I
separate them then reattach them on the new mobo?

_________________________________________________________

The stuff is designed to last forever, but you MUST smooth it out to
make sure there will be no gaps.

 

[Gary W. Swearingen]

I may have to replace my mobo and I was wondering if the thermal paste
between my CPU and its heat-sink and fan will still be usable if I
separate them then reattach them on the new mobo?

I've read that some basic silicone pastes will dry out after some
years of use. I'm guessing that it also has something to do with the
temperatures it experienced too.

Also, some paste will, of course, come off on whatever tool you use to
level the paste with, so you'll wind up with less on the CPU and HSF
and it should have had the minimum amount to begin with. And you'll
have to do an extremely good job of leveling to avoid air bubbles and
won't be able to follow the usual advice to have some oozing after
attaching the HSF.

Sounds like a bad plan to me, but then I've never tried it.

 

[Doug Warner]

Also, some paste will, of course, come off on whatever tool you use to
level the paste with, so you'll wind up with less on the CPU and HSF
and it should have had the minimum amount to begin with. And you'll
have to do an extremely good job of leveling to avoid air bubbles and
won't be able to follow the usual advice to have some oozing after
attaching the HSF.

I made a tool some time ago for levelling silicone sealant on
motorcycle crankcase halves, Works great on heatsink grease too,.

It consists of a short length of 24 TPI hacksaw blade, heated remove
the temper, tapped with a happer to remove the set, and some light
sanding to take the points off the teeth.
Mounted on a wood handle, it works like a tile mastic spreader.
leaving a series of uniform-height ridges that flatten out into a
uniform film. Minimal squeeze-out.



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