I recently opened up my PS4 to do some cleaning and, in the process, I exposed the CPU and the thermal paste. After seeing the paste, I just went ahead and reattached everything without replacing it. I've been playing games like God of War and Spider-Man without any issues for about six months now, but I'm worried I might have shortened the lifespan of my console, which is already a decade old. Should I be concerned, and would it be worthwhile to reopen it and apply new thermal paste?
1 Answer
It's generally a good idea to clean the old thermal paste and reapply a fresh layer whenever you open up the cooler. However, since you’re not having any performance issues right now, it's hard to say for sure if you messed anything up. I’d suggest reapplying the paste just to be safe, but if everything seems fine, you might not need to panic just yet.
Honestly, if the thermal paste was still looking decent and your console isn’t overheating, you might be okay. If you do decide to check it again later, just keep an eye on the temps!