Thermal compound shelf life?

[Neil79]

I have some NTH(?) premium compound for heat sinks that came with my noctua cooler, however when I fit my new CPU do I need new stuff or is it still good? I've still got the compound on my current CPU which has been on it for 6 years

Duh, skip that, this answered my question

 

[Cyber-Mav]

Got systems over 15 years old on original paste.
Some pastes like as5 tend to need replacing. Silicone based stuff tends to last long time

 

[Chris Beard]

I have some NTH(?) premium compound for heat sinks that came with my noctua cooler, however when I fit my new CPU do I need new stuff or is it still good? I've still got the compound on my current CPU which has been on it for 6 years

Duh, skip that, this answered my question

Interesting watch - thank you for sharing

 

[arknor]

My CPU came out in 2013 and I either bought it then or in 2014.
been using it since, max temp is only about 3-4c higher than it was back in the day I built it and that will be al the dust trapped deep in the heatsink fins.

personally I'd give any thermal paste tubes a good shake and then see what it looks like when it comes out.
if it hasn't separated it's probably fine.

 

[Haggisman]

I've just (temporarily) repasted my son's i7 2600 with some 15+ year old ceramique after swapping motherboards for some troubleshooting. Temps seem fine for now, but i probably wouldn't want to leave it on there for too long