Should I replace the thermal paste that came pre-applied to my AIO?

When you purchase an AIO from CORSAIR, it comes with thermal paste pre-applied to the cold plate, meaning it’s ready to install on the CPU without any additional steps.

However, we often see questions about whether there’s enough thermal paste or if the decorative pattern affects cooling performance. Let's dive in.

Yes. The purpose of thermal paste is to fill the microscopic gaps between the CPU’s Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS) and the cold plate of an All-in-One (AIO) to cooler to improve the transfer of heat away from the CPU. These gaps are incredibly small, so only a minimal amount of thermal paste is required.

So yes, there is enough thermal paste on the AIO, there's no need to worry. When you mount the AIO, the pressure from the mounting system will spread the thermal paste evenly, filling the visible gaps in the pattern you may notice when you unbox it.

Yes, when you remove the AIO from your CPU, some of the thermal paste will remain on the old CPU. We recommend cleaning the old thermal paste from the AIO cold plate and applying new thermal paste, such as our XTM70, to the new CPU. (If you're selling the older CPU on, it's considerate to clean off the thermal paste first.)

When installing the AIO onto the new CPU, the mounting pressure will spread the thermal paste evenly. Check out our tutorial for applying thermal paste if you need some guidance for this process.