How do you Properly Apply Thermal Grease?

[dakang]

Can someone teach or show me the proper way to apply thermal grease to the cpu?

 

[o1die]

The arctic silver website has instructions. I use a single edge razor blade or credit card. Place a drop or 2 of thermal grease on the center of the thermal die and spread a very thin layer over the entire surface. Don't spread it on the surrounding areas. For the P4, you can cover the entire surface of the heatspreader, except for the hole on one corner.

 

[dakang]

Is it better to use Arctic Silver or the White Stuff? Is there really a difference?

 

[dakang]

Ok, I just looked at the Artic Silver instructions and I didnt do exactly as what they said.

First I put some thermal paste on the cpu die and then spread it over the die area only with a credit card. Making sure that none got anywhere else. When I was done, the thermal grease had about a 5 mm layer on top of the die. I did not apply any thermal grease to the heatsink. Instead, I just put the heatsink straight in top and locked it in. Is this ok? I didnt spread it around the heatsink first like it said.

 

[ChipDeath]

When I was done, the thermal grease had about a 5 mm layer on top of the die

Whoa! the layer of Grease must be <b>very very very thin</b>.

the purpose of thermal interface material is to fill in the microscopic gaps between the top of your CPU and the HSF.



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$hit Happens. I just wish it would happen to someone else for a change.

 

[Crashman]

Forget the fanatics, I simply dabble a little on the die and stick the cooler on. In fact, I spread it by poking the lumps out with the tip of the applicator. You need a layer just barely thick enough to cover the die, but a LITTLE excess won't hurt.

Back in the old days when the whole top of the CPU was a cooling surface, people would put a lot of very thick paste on with a very weak clip holding the cooler on, and the stuff wouldn't get squished thin enough. Since the paste is only a fairly decent conductor, the results were poor cooling. The solution was to spread the paste thin with a credit card or whatever.

These days we use thin pastes and heavy duty clips, applying pressure to a small surface, and the results are that any excess gets squeesed out. Even if your paste was an inch thick, it would get squeezed out!

But you don't want a mess. So you use only a little paste, to make a smaller mess.

The silver stuff is only a little bit better than the white stuff.

BTW, I've seen processors overheat because people used too thin a layer of paste where not all the gaps between the surfaces got filled.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>

 

[Crashman]

That's almost as overdone as using a torque wrench to hang drywall. For PIII's and Athlons, I just dab it on. For P4's, I dab it on and spread it with the bottom of the sink. If you dab it on thin, the amount of excess is reasonable.

<font color=blue>Watts mean squat if you don't have quality!</font color=blue>