diff_lock Posted February 16, 2006 Posted February 16, 2006 When applying heat paste... some people say spread it before putting on the heatsink and others expect the heatsink to sqeeze the heat paste... so witch way would you get better cooling results with... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
THunDA Posted February 16, 2006 Posted February 16, 2006 diff_lock.. I edited a poll into the thread.. I like to spread a thin layer on with an old credit card.. I tried the dot in the center way once and when I pulled the sink off I just wasnt happy with the way the TIM was distrubuted.. So it was back to spreading from then on.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
newguy Posted February 16, 2006 Posted February 16, 2006 Layer... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
silenze Posted February 16, 2006 Posted February 16, 2006 Thin layer, especially with a dual-core CPU. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0tter Posted February 16, 2006 Posted February 16, 2006 Layer with a credit card! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted February 16, 2006 Posted February 16, 2006 AS5 + a small dot in the middle. Did it on my P4's, D 820, and now - on my opty. Never had problems. The thing is - the core is in the middle, so there is the most heat. And another thought - if it doesn't spread itself then the contact isn't good. So if you layer it it won't do better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
silenze Posted February 16, 2006 Posted February 16, 2006 ^^ It's not going to spread itself across the entire IHS surface when installing the heatsink unless you use way way too much in the middle. I've tested both methods and noted a small 1-2° C difference in temperature in the 'thin layer' method's favor.. Seems logical to apply thermal-compound to the entire surface of the integrated heat spreader. Each to their own, both methods work well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyMon Posted February 16, 2006 Posted February 16, 2006 Big chip like AMD dual core: dot in center. Small chip: spread thin layer. This is from Arctic Silver themselves, by phone. If you layer a big chip, they said, you could get air bubbles and thus poor contact. Imagine two, one square foot pieces of glass, and a golf-ball sized lump of cake frosting. If you spread the frosting evenly on one glass and then pressed the second glass on top, you could get air bubbles and gaps. If you let the glass squeeze the lump of frosting from the center, it will not have bubbles. This was the tech's analogy. He mentioned that the heat is concentrated in the center anyway. He said that for a small chip, spreading a thin layer is OK to do. He also told me that what I read somewhere saying that AS5 needs to be reapplied every one or two years is bunk. But he did say it must be reapplied after movement that could cause the seal to break, including moving the computer if it really jostles it. (Hope this extra bit doesn't qualify as thread-crapping!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cook1 Posted February 16, 2006 Posted February 16, 2006 Thin layer it myself. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
diff_lock Posted February 17, 2006 Posted February 17, 2006 OK first, thanks for the poll edit. And second, it looks like 50/50, but then theres johnnyMon's technical advisor's analogy. Very usefull info... whats the problem with "I put a dot in the center and let the heatsink do the work" for small chips like chipset chips... cause thats what i did with some zalman greese..waiting for my AS5... lol the TINY tube of heat paste supplied with the NB cooler from zalman lasted 2x for the cpu and 2 for the NB and once for the whole g card... and looks like theres still more for one more chipset pasting... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComeUpon Posted February 17, 2006 Posted February 17, 2006 Small dot in middle. I tried both methods and noticed no difference. Might as well do it the fool proof way then. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kandoo Posted February 17, 2006 Posted February 17, 2006 small dot in the middle, I'm too messy with the spread, gets all over the place except where i want it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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