Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra: Application
Applying the compound is tricky, which is why we don't really recommend Liquid Pro. Liquid Ultra is a little more like the pastes you're used to, though still a lot "wetter". Its composition is still a point of concern because it corrodes light metals like aluminum and certain alloys. This could have an adverse effect on thermal conductivity, even causing an insulating layer to form. Copper- and nickel-plated surfaces are alright though, as are heat spreaders.
Once you've roughened up your CPU, you can drip Liquid Ultra on it, spreading it around with an enclosed brush. The amount you'll use varies by CPU size, but plan to use about half of the compound on AMD processors and about a third on Intel's. The video shows that you can even add liquid metal while spreading it out. Depending on the mounting pressure of your cooler, you may want to spread the compound more than the video shows. Just be careful; you don't want this corrosive, conductive material to get squeezed out the sides.
The next video illustrates an alternate method that requires less material. What we want to stress, however, is that it is better to put the liquid metal on a CPU away from its processor interface, thus protecting the motherboard from spills. We're putting the chip on our cleaning sponge to make sure none of its pins get bent.
On one hand, the liquid is spread more evenly and less of it is needed. But on the other, more metal balls form. Since they could cause a short circuit, they need to be collected. This method only works when the surface has been roughened, and it yields (marginally) better results.
