Tried a cheap thermal paste reapplication and got worse temps

I replaced thermal paste on a 5 year old Dell Optiplex last week thinking it would help with CPU temps hitting 90C under load. Used some Arctic Silver I had lying around for years. After putting it back together, temps actually went up a few degrees. Turns out the old paste had actually cured and bonded well over time. The fresh stuff needs a break-in period and I didn't spread it thin enough. Learned from a forum that some older prebuilt Dells actually run better with the stock thermal pads. Has anyone else had new paste make things worse on older machines?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbara_grant41mo ago

... wait, you had Arctic Silver just LYING AROUND for YEARS? Like, how old are we talking? That stuff separates and dries out even in the tube, the consistency changes completely. I swear that paste is like 15 years old in some people's garages... no wonder it made things worse. And those prebuilt Dells are weird, they're engineered for those chunky pads with specific pressure points. You can't just treat them like a custom build.

karencampbell1mo ago

Barbara's right on about that old thermal paste being a bigger problem than people realize. Had a buddy try to use some white stuff from 2012 last summer, and it was basically crusty toothpaste by then. Those Dell prebuilts really are a different beast too, the pads are designed for specific contact with the heatsink. Mixing old paste with the wrong application method on one of those is asking for trouble. That's why most people end up just buying a new system instead of fighting with it.

west.casey1mo ago

Had to admit @karencampbell you and Barbara completely changed my mind on this. I used to think any paste was better than none, but my old tube of Arctic Silver from 2014 turned into this weird crumbly mess when I tried it on a buddy's Optiplex this spring. The temps actually went up like 10 degrees compared to just leaving the factory pad alone. Learned that lesson the hard way.