I use a few graphite pads on my test systems.
But not on the small cores of Socket A and Socket 370, its to easy to rip the pads.
Tho I'm sure it would work just fine unless you plan on removing the cooler daily ^^

For a cooler that's mounted and left there for years I'd just use paste.

I still reccomend using the white heatsink compound typically used for general electronics assembly. While it doesn't perform as well as CPU thermal paste. It lasts decades longer if not disturbed.

akimmet wrote on 2025-09-04, 23:19:

I still reccomend using the white heatsink compound typically used for general electronics assembly. While it doesn't perform as well as CPU thermal paste. It lasts decades longer if not disturbed.

I don’t have the white paste, but I do have the white glue. What do you think about that?

Any regular thermal compound would be fine.

I don't know where this idea keeps coming from / spreading that stuff needs to be repasted every few years (perhaps modern 300+ Watt TDP hardware/chips/GPUs??). This is NOT how any (decent) thermal paste works, though. If the chip isn't running at 70C or more all the time (unlike some modern hardware), any decent thermal past will NOT dry up.... or not that fast. With a cool-running CPU and decent paste, expect 10-15 years -AT LEAST- from your TC.

I also don't know where the notion comes from that thermal paste "needs" to be replaced every time a CPU or GPU is removed - that's also a load of crap. If the thermal paste has not lost its properties - that is, it's not dry and not contaminated with (too much) dust or dirt, it can be scooped up and spread back again to reuse. I've done this to almost every vintage/retro system I have refurbished (save for a few very dusty systems aside, where the TC really did dry up from the high temps from the clogged heatsinks) and have not had any problems with the hardware in 10+ years. Matter of fact, my 3 GHz P4 Precott Dell PC that I use daily is 20 years old exactly. I got it back in 2012 and took out the heatsink for a CPU "upgrade" (going from a 2.8 GHz to a 3 GHz, it that can even be called an upgrade :p ). Since the old paste was OK (not dry or dusty) I scooped it up and re-spread it. Still works fine 13 years later without overheating. And that's a pretty hot Prescott CPU (89W TDP, about 115W peak power at max load.) I do this on GPUs with exposed dies too all the time as well. Max difference I got was around 3C between that and new TC. I suppose if you have a bumpgate GPU that's already running too close or above the "critical" bumpgate temperature (70C), then doing anything to help shave off a few degrees might make slightly more sense (though, IMO, if you're in that boat, you'll be just better of getting a bigger/better cooler.)

So anyways... just use any regular PC thermal compound and don't worry about it.
P3's are so cool (pun intended 😀 ) that you probably won't need to repaste the thing even 20 years from now.
See you back in 2045 here!

P3s that aren't overclocked, I'll often run dry between core and cooler 😇

Really cheap thermal paste can dry out and turn to dust. This cheap compound was sometimes used by some OEM manufacturers. This is where the repasting notion came from.

This is why I prefer the white compound for general electronics use. It is less likely to be counterfeit compound that tends to turn to dust in a few years.

Either that or buy some quality cpu compound from a reputable source.

If you are in US you can buy a MX-4 thermal paste from Artic, directly from the vendor store on Amazon for less than $7. It's guaranteed to work for 8 years and it performs way better than silicon bases paste (white stuff)

Pino wrote on 2025-09-05, 18:45:

If you are in US you can buy a MX-4 thermal paste from Artic, directly from the vendor store on Amazon for less than $7. It's guaranteed to work for 8 years and it performs way better than silicon bases paste (white stuff)

From what i've seen so far i really like MX-6 also. I've used MX-4 for a long time, never had any significant issues with it and it lasts for a long time, but at least theoretically MX-6 should be a bit better in terms of longevity. Only time will tell though...

I went ahead and glued it. I’m going to be mailing this PC across the Atlantic so I think the glue will give me that extra bit of security in case it gets roughed up in transit. I’ve got plenty of video cards where the thermal glue is 30+ years old and still just as good as the day it was made. As a bonus my nephew won’t ever have to try to take apart a slot-1 CPU.

I ran it for a bit without the case fan that blows on the heatsink and the thermal transfer seemed to be adequate. It’s only a 21W part so I don’t think it matters that much in the end.

Thanks all

Archer57 wrote on 2025-09-05, 19:11:

Pino wrote on 2025-09-05, 18:45:

If you are in US you can buy a MX-4 thermal paste from Artic, directly from the vendor store on Amazon for less than $7. It's guaranteed to work for 8 years and it performs way better than silicon bases paste (white stuff)

From what i've seen so far i really like MX-6 also. I've used MX-4 for a long time, never had any significant issues with it and it lasts for a long time, but at least theoretically MX-6 should be a bit better in terms of longevity. Only time will tell though...

I’ve got MX4 and MX6 in stock here at the house, but I didn’t want to put anything on that might need redone one day. It’s one thing for me to take it apart, but I loved it when it was new. Asking a gen-z kid to take it apart is a big ask I think. I broke a die recently on a P3 trying to put the clips back on evenly so I know it sucks even when you know what you’re doing

momaka wrote on 2025-09-05, 11:32:

Any regular thermal compound would be fine. […]
Show full quote

Any regular thermal compound would be fine.

I don't know where this idea keeps coming from / spreading that stuff needs to be repasted every few years (perhaps modern 300+ Watt TDP hardware/chips/GPUs??). This is NOT how any (decent) thermal paste works, though. If the chip isn't running at 70C or more all the time (unlike some modern hardware), any decent thermal past will NOT dry up.... or not that fast. With a cool-running CPU and decent paste, expect 10-15 years -AT LEAST- from your TC.

I also don't know where the notion comes from that thermal paste "needs" to be replaced every time a CPU or GPU is removed - that's also a load of crap. If the thermal paste has not lost its properties - that is, it's not dry and not contaminated with (too much) dust or dirt, it can be scooped up and spread back again to reuse. I've done this to almost every vintage/retro system I have refurbished (save for a few very dusty systems aside, where the TC really did dry up from the high temps from the clogged heatsinks) and have not had any problems with the hardware in 10+ years. Matter of fact, my 3 GHz P4 Precott Dell PC that I use daily is 20 years old exactly. I got it back in 2012 and took out the heatsink for a CPU "upgrade" (going from a 2.8 GHz to a 3 GHz, it that can even be called an upgrade :p ). Since the old paste was OK (not dry or dusty) I scooped it up and re-spread it. Still works fine 13 years later without overheating. And that's a pretty hot Prescott CPU (89W TDP, about 115W peak power at max load.) I do this on GPUs with exposed dies too all the time as well. Max difference I got was around 3C between that and new TC. I suppose if you have a bumpgate GPU that's already running too close or above the "critical" bumpgate temperature (70C), then doing anything to help shave off a few degrees might make slightly more sense (though, IMO, if you're in that boat, you'll be just better of getting a bigger/better cooler.)

So anyways... just use any regular PC thermal compound and don't worry about it.
P3's are so cool (pun intended 😀 ) that you probably won't need to repaste the thing even 20 years from now.
See you back in 2045 here!

Every P3 I’ve ever taken apart had some kind of thermal pad. This one had the one with like a woven backing? If you’ve encountered it I’m sure you know the one. It’s always completely desiccated. I used white thermal glue so hopefully it’s good forever now. I’ve used it on GPUs with much more watts than the P3 so I think it will be okay 🤞