Update CPU cooling after some years

Andreas

2023-07-09 12:00

I still use the PC I built in 2013. At that time the CPU was an AMD FX-4350. A few years later in 2017 I replaced the CPU with a then cheap AMD FX-8350 with 8 cores at 4Ghz. This was the maximum possible for the AM3+-mainboard but needed better cooling then the previous CPU. So I added a "be quiet! BK009" cooler and some thermal paste. Of course I changed other things since then too: the GPU, more memory, SSDs, ….

Now in 2023, the summers get warmer and the CPU was running at 80°C while gaming. Time to update the thermal paste. This time I used MX-4 from Arctic.

CPU after removing the cooler (1), clean (2), and after applying the new thermal paste (3):

Now, after updating the thermal paste and adding the cooler again, the CPU runs at 20°C in idle (which is below room temperature atm) and even with maximum load (playing an AAA game) I didn't get the temperature above 70°C.