Pro tip: Don't cheap out on thermal paste for old laptops

I spent $8 on a random no-name tube for my 2009 ThinkPad because it was cheap, and my temps barely dropped at all after a repaste. Ended up buying a $12 tube of Arctic MX-4 and that thing runs 15 degrees cooler now. Anyone else have bad luck with bargain thermal paste on old hardware?

2 comments

2 Comments

jennifer_west26d ago

I was in the exact same boat with my old Dell Latitude from 2011. First I tried some really cheap white stuff off eBay for like $4 and it barely did anything. Then I coughed up $10 for a tube of Noctua NT-H1 and wow what a difference. My idle temps went from 60C to like 45C and it actually stopped throttling during video calls. It's so worth spending a little more on something decent. Thermal paste is like the last thing you wanna cheap out on when you're trying to keep a ten year old laptop alive lol.

dianab6826d ago

Read a review that said the cheap stuff is basically just colored silicone, no wonder it does nothing lol. Spent the extra cash on Arctic MX-4 and my old laptop runs way cooler now.