Thermal Paste Advice

[Kumagoro]

I bought the gelid stuff from chilledpc, it arrived two days later.

I also use clingfilm, I rub in a small amount into the cpu and heat sink then put a tiny blob in the
middle before putting it on. I have found that a very thin layer doesn't work well, even on a lapped
cpu and heatsink.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

With the Zalman grease you add a thin layer on each surface. It works well from experience.

[Pob255]

Just a word of caution, reinstalling the heatsink several times before plonking it down again could trap air bubbles between the CPU and the heatsink. This will affect performance of the thermal paste since air is an insulator but of course since you're not overclocking this method may well work for you. Btw Pob I have never heard of anyone using their CPU cooler as the 'spreading device'

I have always used a piece of cling film wrapped around my finger to do the job. Just apply as small an amount as you can muster (ie rice sized) and wrap a small piece of cling film around your index finger (pinch it at the back with your other hand to keep it taught). Now rub the paste horizontally to either side with your finger so you have a line of paste running from left to right, then work your way vertically smoothing it up and down till the heatspreader is covered in a thin layer. If you make a mistake don't try to rub over it because that won't work, just remove all the paste and start again. Hope that helps

Well I started using this methord after failing to spread MX1, the stuff was so thick it just would not stick to a the smooth surface of an unlapped cpu and was even worse when the cpu was lapped.

All I would end up with was a very slightly grey cpu and a spreader with lumps of MX1 on it
Heck even just getting a small amount of it out of the tube onto the cpu was problimatic because it would more readly stick to the end of the syringe than the cpu, so when I lifted the syringe away the MX1 would stay hanging off the end or get lifted off still clinging to the end of the syringe or drop off.

The pressure of placeing the cooler on the cpu and pressing down lightly works well to spread it out, but when lifting the cooler off I'd often find that the spread pattern was far from even, that includes from just putting the cooler on and clipping it down.

While I do risk the formation of air bubbles, that's better than areas without any paste, it also lets me gague the thickness of the paste to check if I've used too little or too much.

The amount of paste you use and an even spread are important factor in the end resaults so being able to double check you've got a thin even layer is very useful especially if you're relatively new to this.


Oh and the simple act of spreading as you describe can still resault in air bubbles, especially on rougher surfaces as the very act of spreading will seal air into troughs in the surface.

With a very smooth surface and a thin paste I agree with the finger spreading methord.
There's also the other methor, two thin strips of tape long the edges of the cooler base (where it wouldn't contect the cpu anyway) then use a stright edge to slide across the top to get a fixed even depth of paste across the whole area.
But again requires a smooth cooler base and a fluid thermal paste.

The simple pressure of mounting the cooler and the heat produced in running the cpu (which causes thermal pastes to become more fluid) should force any air pockets out and leave an even layer of thermal compound.
Of course the more evenly the paste is applied before hand the better and setteling in smoother and quicker.

It's the reason I gave up on MX1 and switched to Zalman ZM-STG1 The methord of painting the paste on is so much eaiser to get a good thin even coat.

[wazi]

shiny hardware is very cheap for all and cheap postage
( and no i dont work for them)
i personally use artic ceramique

[kalniel]

Grain of rice and just put the heatsink on. Always worked for me for overclocking too.

Oh and I just use cheap thermal grease from an electronics store - it's silicone so no need to worry about conductivity or getting it anywhere.