Thermal Paste Questions

pparks1 said:

For the Core i7, I suggest drawing a 7 with thermal paste. For the core i5, a 5.

pparks1 said:

For the Core i7, I suggest drawing a 7 with thermal paste. For the core i5, a 5.

What about if you have a new AMD chip? Draw an R?

When I first started building computers [in a shop for sale] it was explained to me by one of the distributors that a small dollop in the center of the chip allowed spreading when the heatsink was clamped down, prevented air pockets/voids in the paste. Never had a problem over more than 20 years.

essenbe said:

what about if you have a new amd chip? Draw an r?

lol :)

pparks1 said:

yes, and when you get a thread ripper you write r t. Because naturally it will be hotter and will need more paste

Is that capitalized or lower cased? :)

Anyway I simply use the pea method. Used to use the X method but found I was getting paste all over the place.

sygnus21 said:

lol :)



Is that capitalized or lower cased? :)

Anyway I simply use the pea method. Used to use the X method but found I was getting paste all over the place.

Pea method always (early days I used to spread it all out by hand)

Actual processor core is just a small 10 x 15mm piece in the middle of it's casing. That's most important part to cover with paste. So dot method, even if it doesn't cover whole surface is better than putting too much or in other places. Putting too much, specially metallic paste, can have bad consequences like leaking in the socket and shorting or insulating some pins. Paste is there just to fill up microscopic imperfections and is actually worse for transferring heat than bare metal on metal so putting to thick is not good for heat transfer. In addition, some pastes are very thick and and may take some time to spread properly and cure. When I change paste or install new cooler I always run some heavy benchmark to heat it up and help it spread more evenly and because it becomes thinner at higher temps it works itself in all those little pores, scratches and imperfections.

There is also the credit card or spread method. This is where you physically spread the paste in a very thin layer over the entire surface of the die and the heat sink. The layer is so thin that it just obscures the metal.
I actually just put a small piece of plastic wrap over my finger and spread it that way.

Any method that creates a sufficient layer of paste over the entire surface will work. But it helps to understand what you are trying to accomplish.

A heat sink works by transferring the heat from the processor into the heat sink through metal to metal contact. The greater the contact area the more efficiently the transfer of heat.
Metal looks smooth to the naked eye, but if you look at it under a microscope it is actually a pretty rough surface that looks like a mountain range. When you mate the two pieces of metal the tops of the mountains touch each other but all the valleys are voids. And the air in those voids acts as an insulator, slowing the transfer of heat from metal to metal.

Thermal paste works by filling those gaps in the metal surface, creating a smooth plane of contact without the tiny air gaps.
And that is all we are trying to do. It is not like frosting a cake. It is like applying sunscreen.
If you apply too much thermal paste it actually interferes with the contact of the two metal surfaces the thermal efficiency will go down.
Adding so much that it could actually squeeze out when the heat sink is attached can not only damage the socket, but restrict the sink from working at all.

Hi BicycleRow Nail Varnish Remover also works very well at removing old thermal paste :)

Stephanie said:

Hi BicycleRow Nail Varnish Remover also works very well at removing old thermal paste :)

@Stephanie, due to the fact I am always running out of nail polish remover, I just use plain old Alcohol.