Question thermal paste

[jonas778]

Thermal paste white used in PCs or other electronic devices, does it have a set expiration date?
I have a PS2 Slim 90000 console that I received as a gift and it has some thermal paste between the processor and the metal plate, is it necessary to remove it? I use the console once or twice a year for two hours

[CharonY]

There is no set expiration date that I am aware of, but it degrades over time. Depending on the formulation it can kind of dry out and become powdery for example.

Generally speaking, if it is not overheating it is probably safe to leave on. But if you want to remove it, you have to put new paste in to enable efficient heat transfer.

[jonas778]

Old white thermal paste and stored in an electronic circuit turned on once a year does its chemistry turn into liquid and corrode pcb?

I received and kept a PS2 Slim 90000 and noticed that there is a bit of thermal paste between the metal plate and the thermal pad. Is it necessary to remove this white thermal paste because it damages the stored console or can I keep the console with this thermal paste without problems indefinitely, I turn on the console once a year for 1 hour?

in my case, the sequence CPU/ above thermal pad/above thermal paste/above metal

If I keep the thermal paste and never change it in the future, dry or liquid paste, will the PS2 Slim 90000 have heating problems because of the paste? I turn on the console once a year for 1 hour

Edited November 25 by jonas778