Just realized my go-to thermal paste syringe from the last 5 years has been failing on me for months, causing random shutdowns on three different client builds.

I finally traced a series of weird overheating issues back to a single tube of Arctic Silver 5 that had somehow separated inside, leaving me to re-paste a dozen CPUs last week after I figured it out.

3 comments

3 Comments

joel_hall1720d ago

My buddy had the same exact thing happen with a big tube of MX-4. He was pulling his hair out over a build that kept locking up. Took him weeks to suspect the paste. When he squeezed some out, it was this oily, clear liquid that came first, with all the actual paste stuck way up in the nozzle. He had to redo every computer he built that month.

the_lee20d ago

Forget the big tubes, honestly. I've started buying the tiny single-use packets for any important build. They cost more per gram but you know you're getting the right mix every single time. Means no guessing if the paste separated in the tube after sitting on a shelf for a year. Saved me from a potential headache on my last server setup.

kevin_west20d ago

Seen that with a bunch of stuff lately. Like when you get to the bottom of a shampoo bottle and it's just water. Makes you check everything twice now.