Thermal Paste

[Groovu]

Sorry to sort of derail the topic, but does thermal paste make a difference? What makes "IC Diamond 7 Thermal Compound" better than the stock stuff?

[killkenny1]

^^^Yes.
10char.

[Augmented]

I find that just placing a small drop the size of a BB and spreading it only by force of the heatsink being mounted, does the trick.

[HTWingNut]

It takes a several times to get it right. I used to be very cautious then realized I was using too little (pea sized), and had to do a peasize x 3 or x4 in a line to ensure proper spread and thickness. Use something like IC Diamond so you don't have to worry about conductive paste. And if it's stuff from the factory (i.e. HP, Dell, Acer, etc) let it soak in alcohol for ten minutes before even trying to remove it. I always just use paper towel and alcohol.

[maxheap]

well, I did my CPU just 3 days ago, followed a few guides in youtube and the one in my sig (thanks to SlickDude), just watch a few videos and then it is (at least looks like) piece of cake.. put a pea sized thermal compound in the middle, and then spread with a business card, very straightforward (cleaning was tougher, use high percentage rubbing alcohol and I used cotton swabs to apply it)

[Diablo]

well, I did my CPU just 3 days ago, followed a few guides in youtube and the one in my sig (thanks to SlickDude), just watch a few videos and then it is (at least looks like) piece of cake.. put a pea sized thermal compound in the middle, and then spread with a business card, very straightforward (cleaning was tougher, use high percentage rubbing alcohol and I used cotton swabs to apply it)

why spread it when the heatsink will do the same thing with less air bubbles? spreading it yourself and then installing the heatsink causes more air bubbles than anything. i recommend re-applying without spreading the paste yourself.

from my other post in this same thread....

How Thermal Compound Spreads - YouTube

[maxheap]

why spread it when the heatsink will do the same thing with less air bubbles? spreading it yourself and then installing the heatsink causes more air bubbles than anything. i recommend re-applying without spreading the paste yourself.

from my other post in this same thread....

How Thermal Compound Spreads - YouTube

But then you will never get full connection with the entire die, if you get it then the thermal paste will spread on the chip causing chip to get hotter... using a business card and spending the extra 15 minutes you can get a thin layer without any bubbles evenly spread, seriously..

nice video btw (+rep)

EDIT: this weekend I will apply the dot method and give detailed temp comparisons here in this thread (this video indeed looks interesting, curious )

[lozanogo]

But then you will never get full connection with the entire die, if you get it then the thermal paste will spread on the chip causing chip to get hotter... using a business card and spending the extra 15 minutes you can get a thin layer without any bubbles evenly spread, seriously..

nice video btw (+rep)

EDIT: this weekend I will apply the dot method and give detailed temp comparisons here in this thread (this video indeed looks interesting, curious )

Just remember that you only need a wide area coverage, not total coverage of the thermal paste.

[maxheap]

DOT MOD > SPREAD MOD!!! I will post detailed temps soon..

[TheBluePill]

You would think with all of the geek-brain-power that handles it, there would be a real paste spreader engineered that works out there..