How often for TIM re-apply?

[Jeff G]

How often is it recommended, if at all, to re-apply your paste to keep it in good condition?
After about two hours of non-stop NMS last night (I had to try the new patch and got hooked), I noticed my CPU temps had topped out around 76c. I didn't see what they were at under load, as it wasn't until I closed NMS that I saw the max temps and by then they were reporting in the upper 20's/lower 30's at idle. I know my loop isn't getting warm, as my GPU topped out at 33c during the entire two hours and it's in the same loop.
So, I'm wondering if reapplying paste is something people doing for upkeep? The chip is running a hair under 1.4v @ 4.8ghz so it's going to get warm, but I don't know that I've ever seen it run this warm.
I'll have some more time to play tonight, and I'm going to let it run for an hour or two and check load temps at that point to see where I'm at.
As an aside, is there a program that will show MIN/MAX/AVERAGE for CPU settings like GPU-Z does? HWMonitor only has MIN/MAX that I can see, I'd like the ability to see my average as well.

 

[mackerel]

hwinfo64 does similar to hwmonitor but with more stuff. Is that CPU delid or regular? I was going to say, only replace compound if you notice a change. How's the weather? For example, here right now it is rather warmer than average so all temps are up. Got a warning going on a fish tank!

 

[Jeff G]

hwinfo64 does similar to hwmonitor but with more stuff.

I'll give that a look and see if it does what I'm looking for.

Is that CPU delid or regular?

Regular. I didn't want to delid my $300 CPU right away, but it's been a year now and I may give it a try if I can drop the temps quite a bit.

How's the weather?

Ambient was around 25-26c while I was running it last night.

 

[Nebulous]

Yeah HWInfo64 shows Min, Max and Average temps along with other neat things. https://www.hwinfo.com/download.php. As for TIM replacing; only swap out TIM if you notice a change in temps from the last time you tested/swapped out TIM. I swap TIM when I change hardware, do a complete tear down maintenance of my loop or when I notice a change in my temps.

 

[trents]

It probably depends on the particular TIM used as well and also might depend on how hard and how often the rig is run. Frequent swings in temper extremes would cause more pumping out and faster drying out I would think. Mass produced OEM computers in light use will often go 8-10 years before needing to change the TIM.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

You are pumping a good amount of voltage so that can be why you are seeing those temps as you're accustomed to. I think you're ok as long as it doesn't get any higher but you are dancing pretty close at that range. I personally would see a 4.4Ghz-4.6Ghz max to get better temps than that to give you more wiggle room for spikes.

As for TIM, I leave my TIM for years on end until I do a upgrade or maintenance. I would replace the TIM after say 4-5 years or so.

 

[Jeff G]

Im using MX-4, it's been on for about a year.
I might see how low I can go on voltage at 4.7ghz to drop it a bit. I might play around with lower clocks just to see how they affect real world gaming too.
I want to monitor average temps where I'm at right now first, to see if my mid-70c temps are just brief spikes or more sustained values.

 

[Jeff G]

1.4v at 4.8ghz gave me a max of 77c and average of 52c (highest core for both).
1.39v at 4.7ghz gave me a max of 65c and average of 44c (highest core on both).
I guess the loss of 100mhz will have to do for my piece of mind on better cooling, I really didnt like seeing those high-70s temps.

And HWinfo64 is the way to go, way more monitoring choices!

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Honestly, from 4.4 to 4.8, you won't feel a real time difference at least I don't think. Only when you're benchmarking for higher scores is about it. I've never pushed my CPU beyond 4.4 because I've never had the need to. Sure I tried 4.6 but it wasn't solid and wanted more voltage pumped. I like 4.4 as the voltage stays under 1.3v. I also think of longevity as I won't be upgrading this rig for a very long time as well.

Another program I use to monitor CPU core temps is Core Temp.

 

[WhitehawkEQ]

I built a PC back in late 2010, and have not removed the HSF and it runs cooler now than when I 1st built it. I'm with Nebulous on this,

only swap out TIM if you notice a change in temps from the last time you tested/swapped out TIM. I swap TIM when I change hardware, do a complete tear down maintenance of my loop or when I notice a change in my temps.

 

[EarthDog]

Years.

I really didnt like seeing those high-70s temps.

Really? You have another 10C+ to go before we say stop, and another 10C+ on top of that before it throttles. You have plenty of headroom...

 

[wagex]

the tim will likely outlive the use of the computer. my last period before replacing mine was 4 years and that was because i had to drain and clean my loop.

 

[Jeff G]

Really? You have another 10C+ to go before we say stop, and another 10C+ on top of that before it throttles. You have plenty of headroom...

I thought keeping it under 80c was kinda what was recommended on the 6700k? Am I remembering wrong, and it's 90c?
I think the problem is, I always like to push my new gear to see what it's capable of and where it's limits are then dial it back to a safe 24/7 setting and let it be but I built the rig a year ago and I'm only messing around with it again due to the GPU upgrade and I'm probably remembering the CPU limits incorrectly. I've been running 4.8 @ 1.4v for the last year, but it was in a CPU only loop. When I added the new GPU, I put that in the loop as well so I'm wanting to make sure the CPU temps are in line with the new loop.

 

[mackerel]

On my Skylakes, I've found they can go unstable on temperature alone. For exactly the same settings, with ambient temperature the only variable (thus eventual CPU temperature), with Prime95 equivalent load I can get detectable errors once temps go past 80C or so. Seems ok below that. I think this is related to thermal effects, where the hotter it is, the more power it likes for a given running condition. If uncontrolled, this eventually leads to thermal runaway. Fortunately there are limits put in to prevent thermal runaway. I'd speculate the effect may vary a bit depending on how aggressive the overclock is. Not how fast you are in absolute terms, but how fast for the applied voltage.

 

[batboy]

If I were water cooled with two 360mm radiators and had temps climbing into the 70s, I would be concerned too.

Not sure I would run my CPU 24/7 at 1.40v. For benchmarking sessions, sure... of course... but for just gaming, unless it's some sort of competition where every FPS counted, I generally prefer to find a more comfortable level to run. I could game with my setup at 5.2 GHz if I used 1.35v, but my computer is happier at 5.0 @ 1.15v. One of these days I should try 5.1 gig, I could probably run that at 1.25v.

For thermal paste, AS5 and others like that will last for at least a couple years or more, if applied correctly. I pulled the heatsink off my HTPC after 5 years and the AS5 still looked new (but it was not overclocked). If you are abusing your CPU with high temps and high voltage, you have a greater chance of cooking off some of the TIM over time (probably more than a year though).

 

[Woomack]

New TIMs don't have to be replaced within about 5 years. Some manufacturers say that their products last about 7 years ( something like MX4, Gelid etc ). So if you don't see any issues with temps then probably don't have to replace it. Most OCF members replace hardware faster than they need to replace TIM.

As I remember, AS5 was drying after some time at higher temps and temps were worse. I'm not using it for longer as there are better options on the market. I generally stick to Gelid Extreme/Supreme, Noctua, MX2/4, Kryonaut and Cryorig ( this one I had for free, haven't seen in local stores ), depends if it's in stock when I run out of TIM.

 

[batboy]

Guess I'm just used to changing my Arctic Silver 5 every year or two, mainly because I'm doing maintenance to the water loop anyway. Besides, I have a lifetime supply of AS5 (a couple partial tubes and one that looks nearly full).

 

[Jeff G]

Guess I'm just used to changing my Arctic Silver 5 every year or two, mainly because I'm doing maintenance to the water loop anyway. Besides, I have a lifetime supply of AS5 (a couple partial tubes and one that looks nearly full).

I have three tubes, two unopened of whatever came with the waterblocks and one MX-4 that has two uses. The MX-4 is more than I can use before it's shelf life expires, definitely not afraid of using more. More than anything, I don't want to disassemble a loop I literally just got running if I don't need to. I still have a BNIB Thermaltake cpu block too, I'm on the fence if swapping out my Rasa block with that is a step up or down (or sideways).

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Rasa is a good performing block.

Again, you're wihtin range of what you're suppose to get at those OCs and ambient temps. You want less, bring down the dial or with the current, try maxing your fans, water flow is around 1.0-1.5 GPM and cooler ambient room temps. If you're just curious and want to tinker around, have at it but don't think much will change.