Just read that thermal paste actually degrades faster in dusty environments

Read it on a Puget Systems blog after my 6 month old build started running 10 degrees hotter, turns out the dust in my fire station wasn't just clogging fans but messing with the paste itself, has anyone else seen temps spike from dust related paste breakdown?

2 comments

2 Comments

xenan647d ago

Huh, that's wild... so the dust particles actually mess with the chemical bonds in the paste or something? Wondering if there's a specific kind of dust that's worse for it, like the fine soot from a fire station vs regular house dust. Did the Puget blog mention if certain pastes hold up better in those conditions, or is it pretty much all the same? Makes me think twice about what kind of environment I'm running my own rig in, honestly.

miawalker7d ago

Oh totally, I've been there. I ran a rig in an old apartment near a busy road for like two years and the dust buildup was insane. It wasn't just the thermal paste drying out weird, it was like the dust itself turned into this gritty paste that made the temps spike way faster. I noticed it most with the cheaper pastes, they'd go bad almost twice as quick compared to the higher end stuff. Have you ever tried cleaning your rig and just found the paste looked cracked or crumbly underneath the cooler?