A thermal compound lifespan

[MorleySA]

Hey,

I recently fixed a laptop that was overheating by replacing the thermal compound, as it was over heating the cpu was being throttled to make it really slow.

I've never really thought about this as i've always updated my computers every 3 to 4 years, but what is the efficient lifespan of thermal compound before it needs to be replaced?

 

[bioshockeruk]

Not sure on the exact lifespan but I tend to replace all my laptops and desktop cpu coolers paste every 12 months and gpu and server cpu every 6 months. Thermal paste is fairly cheap anyways.