The "drop" or "blob" method can be used by both newbies and enthusiasts, and it even works with high-viscosity pastes, assuming you are using a quality cooler that applies plenty of mounting pressure.
Don’t apply too little paste for fear of overdoing it. The compound might end up not covering the hot spot, hurting thermal conductivity and leading to an overheated CPU.
Take the type of cooler into account, too. An aftermarket heat sink with a back plate, which is screwed down, can tolerate less paste than AMD's "hook a clip and flip a lever" or Intel's "four push-pin" sinks. When you use pastes with higher viscosity, you want a cooler able to apply more pressure, and it's alright to use more paste. Of course, when we say more, we mean a little, not an extra-generous slathering.
The picture above shows a near-optimum spread; we wound up with a thin layer that completely covers the die. Since it didn’t reach the edges, we know we didn't use too much paste, and that it wasn't applied too thick. If you know how large a pea is, beware of literally using a pea-sized blob. A paste ball about 1/10” to 1/6” in diameter should be enough; don’t use more than that! We're talking about a lentil-sized ball here.
Last But Not Least: Don’t Panic!
CPU manufacturers also believe in a less-is-more philosophy, as evidenced by their boxed coolers. For instance, AMD’s heat sink only touches about two-thirds of the heat spreader. The stencil-printed paste sports a high viscosity. It's almost solid, and it doesn't spread outwards (the sink's mounting pressure is relatively low). But this method obviously gets AMD’s blessing.
Why do I mention this cheap boxed cooler? To allay fears and to encourage a healthy do-it-yourself sprit. Yes, two decades ago I also had my doubts about mounting aftermarket CPU coolers. But I encourage you to try it with an ounce of preparation, a sprinkle of can-do attitude, and a pinch of carefulness. Nothing will go wrong.
- Everything You Wanted To Know About Cooling A CPU
- Interaction Of The Heat Spreader And Heat Sink
- The Differences Between AMD And Intel Heat Spreaders
- Choosing The Right Paste: More Than A Matter Of Price
- Applying Thermal Paste, Part One
- Applying Thermal Paste, Part Two
- Why Do We Test Each Paste In Four Scenarios?
- Get Ready For The Thermal Compound Benchmarks!





can't wait for part 2 - this was a great read!
Just curious. I have some 8/9/12 volt regulators that would eliminate the guessing games for resistor fan adapters(voltage depends on the fans current draw).
I have seen unregulated 6 volt power supplies range from 8-over 12 volts at low loads.
For a rather low price you can use a regulator to get whatever voltage you want
ohh yeah and...
I can't wait for the next part of this to be release
I also enjoyed using the IC Diamond thermal paste as it proved to cool very well but since it has a diamond based substance it can scuff the heat spreader.
My temps are quite good - really the choice of cooler is much much more important than the choice of paste.
Tell this to OEM's ever seen a hp, dell, Lenovo, Asus, Acer cpu after you take off the heatsink with thermal paste on it? it's oozed all over he place...
When delidding and applying Liquid Pro between the IHS and die, I "painted" a very thin layer. It was very difficult until the surface tension broke, then it was easy from there.
Otherwise, great article, can't wait to see the results.
I know you're glad to be nearing the end as that was a lot of time invested to completion.
Congratulations sir, on one of the best reviews I've seen come from Toms yet!
Ryan