Wait, didn't some tech site do a big test on this? Honestly, I read something a while back about how thermal paste really does dry out over a few years. It stops moving heat from the chip to the cooler. Tbh that's probably why old laptops and consoles start overheating and sounding like jets. They showed pictures of the paste looking like dried up clay. Makes total sense now why replacing it helps so much.

Relate to that, @bailey.evan, it's like waiting for a website to load.

Dental mirror worked for me too.