Shelf life of thermal grease: features and storage conditions

Caring for your computer is an important thing, which is often overlooked and neglected. From here we are faced with the main problems that comprehend the system. And it's good that if the processes that happened are reversible, when you can clean the board of dust, lubricate the cooler and change the thermal paste, and everything will work. It is much worse when one of the devices is burned out, or the entire system at all.

What is it?

Before moving on to how to find out the expiration date of the thermal paste, you need to understand what it is and what the purpose is. So, thermal paste is a kind of "ointment" for a computer that has a heat-removing composition, promotes efficient heat transfer between the element that is heated and the radiator. In the end, if there is a high load on the processor or graphics card, so that they do not burn, this heat is output through the thermal paste and the radiator, and after it is accelerated by the cooler.

This substance is more often represented by a homogeneous mass of white or gray color. Sometimes there are silvery or blue shades.

For what?

It is interesting that very few people thought before what the expiration date for thermopaste. This is due to the fact that it was practically not used in a PC. The processors were produced "cold", they did not overheat the system, the temperature of the indicators at high loads was at the norm. Overclockers paid attention to the use of this substance.

Over time, manufacturers began to produce such chips, which work at the limit of their capabilities, give off a lot of heat. And because of the microroughness of the surface of the "crystal" and the radiator, the heat output deteriorated noticeably - by 15-20%.

Appointment

Most consider the presence of thermal paste in the system as a useless and unnecessary thing. Nevertheless, it sometimes plays an important role, and if it disappeared from the surface of your processor, you will notice overheating, hang-ups and other errors. Before you understand what the average shelf life of the thermal paste for the processor, you need to implement a tour of some models.

Not always the assembly of the system is qualitative. Sometimes the processor core and the base of the radiator are devoid of ideal flat surfaces, so they can not touch in some places. So such a skewing will lead to the fact that there is a local overheating, and then either the hang of the PC or the "lethal outcome".

Selection

The question of whether there is a shelf life for thermal paste leads us to its properties and choice. But it's better to answer right away: "Yes, there is." In our world, almost every product has a shelf life - even salt. Everything will depend on the storage conditions.

It should be understood that the paste itself must be resistant to high temperatures and oxidation, non-flammable, resistant to corrosion, harmless to health, have dielectric and hydrophobic properties, as well as high thermal conductivity.

Do not immediately look at the expiration date of the thermal paste when choosing it. It is better to pay more attention to the main characteristics. So, from the above main is the thermal conductivity. It is different for all, although the difference is small. Here it is necessary to proceed from the purpose of the computer. If you have a typical office PC, then he does not need an advanced model. If you decide to build a game system, then all elements will have to be taken care of as much as possible, and even such a trifle as thermal paste should be better.

Abundance

Now it is not difficult to find thermal paste on the market. There are examples of good domestic: KPT-8 or Alsil-3. They have an average thermal conductivity of 0.7 - 0.8 W / (m · K). Speaking about Zalman, Gigabyte and similar overseas models, it becomes clear that this option is ideal for a powerful system, as they have an average thermal conductivity of 2 W / (m · K).

Most domestic pastes are sold in conventional syringes or tubes. The manufacturer rarely indicates the expiration date of the thermal paste. "Alsil-3", for example, can live 5 years, but in practice there is much more time. It all depends on the state of the paste.

Problems

Now there is no problem to find a good thermal paste, which will serve several years in a row. Now it is much more difficult to choose the right genuine composition. Often even buying a new tube leads to the fact that the user unpacks it, begins to apply to the processor, and the substance immediately crumbles and crumbles. Sometimes it happens that the application process was normal, and after a couple of months you began to notice that the system is slowing down, you get to the CPU and you see that its temperature is increased. Open the case, and the thermal paste was gone: it withered and crumbled.

From such terrible things, unfortunately, no one is immune. Recently, users began to observe how there is a massive substitution of the domestic product KPT-8 and "Alsil-3." Both pastes were previously created by one manufacturer, now when buying somewhere on unofficial sites or in China, the user gets a spoiled product that at first glance looks normal, but in fact it needs to be changed once a month, which, naturally, is not good.

To choose a thermal grease, it is better to consult with friends. Surely you had friends who already bought this substance. They could check the quality of this model on their own PC and advise you. Also buying foreign versions from the company's cooling and peripheral manufacturers Zalman and Gigabyte will bring you only a quality option. But it will cost you many times more than the domestic one.

Comparison

At one time, a couple of models were compared and tested in heat conduction testing. So, among them was "Alsil-3" and "Alsil-5". The first variant is presented in a more liquid state of white color. Problems with the application to the processor does not arise. The substance contains micropowder of aluminum nitride, so that the paste had viscous characteristics, silicone was added. A variant was sold in a syringe with 3 grams. The cost is up to 100 rubles, and the shelf life of the thermal paste is 5 years. "Alsil-5" is not exactly our client. It refers to hot glue. The thermal conductivity is slightly better than the previous one, but for the average user, the difference is small.

The next instance is KPT-8, which we have already talked about. This is the most famous option among all domestic models. There was delivery both in a tube and in a syringe. The manufacturer pointed out that the shelf life is 5 years, but in fact, if a successful specimen was caught, it served more than 10 years. It is also very cheap, 60-70 rubles.

The best-viewed pastes are overseas variants. It is especially convenient when a tube of this substance is supplied with the processor. Among these there are excellent options from Gigabyte, which are in boxes with coolers from the company. And there are even several options under this brand, they differ in color and some characteristics.

Also another company showed itself perfectly. The shelf life of Titan thermal grease is easy to determine. All the information is on the tube, on average it is also 3-5 years. Thermo-paste usually comes complete with coolers from this manufacturer. It can be used for both the processor and other components, if required.

Now the situation with the purchase of foreign branded products has become freer. Find options from Zalman or Fanner has become much easier than ten years ago. You are especially lucky if you decide to buy a cooler for the processor, and in the box you will be waiting for a tube of quality thermal paste.

Mindfulness

In general, in order to understand what term of shelf life is in the tube, you just need to open it and apply it to any surface. If you notice that it is squeezed out badly or immediately sticks, then, most likely, it is no longer usable. Alternatively, you can also apply it to the processor, and after a month check the status.

Many users believe that you need to change the thermal paste every six months. Of course, everything depends on its quality. But in general such a statement is fundamentally wrong. If you bought a PC, then try to follow the longevity of the thermal paste on the processor. Usually users do not change it for 5 and 7 years. Although, as we know, the expiration date of up to five years is more often indicated on packages.

To understand whether you need to change the thermal grease, watch the temperature of the system. When you understand that the PC started to slow down, hang up, and utilities indicate a high temperature of the kernel, it is worth analyzing the system and looking. The problem can be not only that the cooler is clogged, the board is dusted, but also that the thermal paste has become unusable. But it is worth remembering that if you remove the radiator, it is likely that the paste will partially be removed.

conclusions

So, as practice shows, it is difficult to accurately determine the shelf life of thermal paste, regardless of the manufacturer. On average, if you have a new system, and it does not indicate any problems with the temperature regime, you can replace the thermal paste after three years. Replacement in laptops is more often, because in order to get to the cooler, you have to disassemble the cooling system, and, accordingly, remove the paste. In stationary computers, cleaning is easier.

The shelf-life of the product may also depend on the correct application. If you have covered the processor not according to the rules, then not only expose the chip to the danger of overheating, but also spoil that part of the paste that was applied. It's important to know that you do not need to apply a lot of stuff, usually it's a little more than an apple seed, but all this volume needs to be spread thinly over the whole metal surface of the processor.