reapply thermal paste on water cooled system

[oslama]

I am helping a friend upgrade his current processor which is water cooled by Corsair H100i. Do i need to reapply thermal paste when i install the new CPU and if so, does it matter what type (ie Artic Silver, Thermaltake etc...)

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

You should always clean and reapply TC any time you have to remove the heatsink. All of the big name TC are within a degree or two of each other so, unless you are pushing the envelope, it doesn't matter which you use.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Depends on the ingredients of the TIM and how it ages over time.

The nano-diamond TIM (IC Diamond) had often been touted for its "re-use-ability." The key ingredient is nano-diamond powder with a loading in the paste that makes it spread like thick paving cement. It has an oil base which dries out over time. I've found that adding a small drop of another TIM such as Noctua or CoolerMaster "rejuvenates" the diamond paste so that it can be re-applied more easily.

For the diamond stuff, I've made four different heatsink mountings with the same original pea-sized blob of paste over the last three or four weeks (testing motherboards and coolers).