Warning: Don't waste money on those cheap thermal paste kits from Amazon

I bought a 5 pack of no-name thermal paste for $12 last month to re-paste a few old office computers. After applying it, 3 out of 4 machines started hitting 90 degrees under load within a week. Peeling off the paste it looked dry and flaky, like it was already expired. Has anyone else had luck with those bulk cheap tubes or is it just me getting burned?

3 comments

3 Comments

kelly.nora26d ago

and it was flaky when you peeled it off? that's actually kind of wild. i had a similar issue once with a 10-pack of tubes from some chinese listing. the paste was basically like dry clay after a week, temps shot up higher than stock intel paste. i swear they're just selling old surplus or maybe even fake stuff that's been sitting in a warehouse for years. those amazon bundles seem like a bargain but you really do get what you pay for with thermal paste.

hill.andrew26d ago

right? it's honestly kind of scary how bad some of that stuff can be. i've had a tube that was basically solid from the start, like squeezing dried out play-doh. feels like a total crapshoot with those bulk packs, huh.

patb1226d ago

Went through a whole 5-pack of Arctic MX-6 from Amazon where three tubes were already separating into liquid and solids. Makes you wonder if they're just sitting in a hot warehouse for months before they even ship them out.