AS Reapplication

[Elcs]

I know most of the forum will clean and reapply any Thermal Goop after removing the heatsink but I havent removed the heatsink and dont plan to do so for ages to come unless something good/bad happens.

Im just wondering, if its recommended or worth reapplying AS after a certain time period. Mines been seated for 2 or so months now since I last really went to town with cleaning.

 

[lenjack]

No need. It will be fine for as long as you leave the cpu in place. It will not dry out or get squeezed out.

 

[Elcs]

Thanks. Wasnt sure whether it would dry, squeeze out etc.

 

[RalfHutter]

I just pulled the heatsink off of my P4 2.66B that had been running since early last October. It looked like the ASIII was the same consistancy as it was when I first put it on, it was still creamy and in no way would I call it "dried out". That's the longest time one of my own systems has stayed together so I was kind of interested in how the ASIII was going to look.

 

[screw3d]

The AS will still be doing perfectly fine.. but most of the time the little dust bunnies in the heatsink will get to you first!!

 

[TRUMPHENT]

The excess will squeeze out by design. Once a year, whether it needs it or not, remove the heatsink and check for corrosion. Copper corrodes and you can't see it with the heatsink in place. It should grow so slowly that it isn't an issue. This summer in south Florida was extremely humid with rainfalls of near biblical porportions. Even with airconditioning, the relative humidity indoors was higher than normal. One copperbottomed heatsink developed some pitting right adjacent t the core and it was underneath a layer of Ceramique.