Thermal paste has been with us for many years and the truth is that it plays a very important role in every PC. However, despite its importance, it remains largely unknown to many and is still shrouded in certain myths that, as you might have imagined, do us no good.

I am aware of this reality and that is why I decided to write this article to share with you three myths about thermal paste which we have to overcome and this will help you to better understand the role of this compoundand why it is an essential part of every modern PC or laptop.

As always, if you have any questions after reading You can leave it in the comments and I will be happy to help you solve it. Without further ado, I invite you to get comfortable, let’s get started.

What is thermal paste

Thermal paste is soft, consistent and malleable fat mixture which represents a high thermal conductivity. We can establish with him almost perfect connection between two irregular surfaces, which will facilitate the transfer of heat between the two, speed it up and prevent the negative impact of unevenness and imperfections on their surface.

Thanks to this mixture, it is possible to achieve adequate contact between various components, such as processors, graphics cores and others, with the contact bases of various cooling blocks and components. For example, the thermal paste allows the IHS processor to make good contact with the heatsink base of the cooling system which we have installed and allows optimal heat transfer.

Without thermal paste that contact would be very bad, and the heat transfer between the two components would be so low that we would have a temperature problem as soon as we used the PC intensively. That’s why it’s so important, because it’s the thermal paste that allows this heat transfer and prevents damage from excessive heat accumulation. It can also be applied directly to the encapsulation.

Myth 1: all thermal pastes are the same

That’s a myth that can be very dangerous, and I’m not saying it due to the difference in quality which may exist among different types of thermally conductive traps, but for the fact that some They may have electrical conductivitywhich means that if they fall on the motherboard, socket or other parts of the device, we run the risk of a short circuit.

We have a very clear example in thermal paste that contains silver. Its thermal conductivity is very high and therefore offers more performance (lowers temperatures more) butor conduct electricity and therefore we must use it very carefully. If we drip warm paste into any of the areas I mentioned, we must clean it with isopropyl alcohol as soon as possible and make sure no residue remains before turning on the device.

As I told you at the beginning, Not all thermal pastes are the same, neither in terms of performance, nor in terms of durability, nor in terms of conductivity.. There are higher quality thermal pastes that offer higher performance, have a longer lifespan and also do not conduct electricity, which means that if for some reason they fall into the socket or motherboard, we will not have to worry about anything.

Myth 2: the way we apply it doesn’t matter

It is true that in general the center ball method works with almost any processor and that it is simple and extremely efficient. However, we must keep in mind that there are some exceptions. For example with Threadripper this method doesn’t work because the processor is too bigand it is ideal to use an “X” with small support balls in the most empty areas.

Must adapts to the shape of the surface on which we will apply thermal paste. If we have a very large rectangular surface, the previous method is undoubtedly the best, while for Ryzen 7000 or older and even Intel Core Gen 14 and older, the center sphere method still works perfectly.

Remember this is important apply enough thermal paste to avoid problems temperatures and that it is always better to overdo it a little than to go too far, as in the latter case we could find ourselves with temperature problems and apparently inexplicable excess heat. Fortunately, this could be easily solved, we would just have to reapply more thermal paste.

Myth 3: we have to change it often

I remember the exact opposite happened a while ago, viz almost no one cared about changing the thermal paste With a certain frequency. Now we have the complete opposite situation which has left cases bordering on the ridiculous, in fact I have met people more than once who have told me that they change the thermal paste every year which is completely unnecessary.

Keep in mind that each thermal paste has a specific lifespan because, as I told you earlier, not all are the same. There are some that last two or three years, and others that last five or more years. These values ​​indicate the optimal point from which they start to lose properties.but that doesn’t mean they’re completely useless.

Thermal paste with a lifespan of three years after application It will be able to work without major problems for another year or two, although if we use components reaching very high temperatures, the gradual degradation of the thermal paste could make a noticeable difference. Check the life of the thermal paste you will be using and create a basic plan for its replacement adapted to the given life cycle without further ado. Replace the thermal paste before the end of its life cycle It won’t do you any good.