Howdy I have an old system I want to revive based on a p4. I have the original stock hsf with it. It's been unclipped from a board for a while but the thermal compound still looks wet, or malleable. I read that despite what the condtion of the compound appears to be you should always clean it off and replace it when you remove the hsf from the cpu, even if just for a few minutes. Is this the case? Even if you just take it off for a minute? If one should replace the compound everytime when removing the hsf, what is a good way/product to remove the old compound? Also, any suggestions on a good compound for cpu's and the amount to apply? Thanks!
yes, you need to replace it. follow the directions for Arctic Silver 5 (AS5), as it's the best stuff out there.
