input please, regarding thermal paste

Capt. Insane · 07-13-2007, 06:31 PM

I saw this article on eggxpert.com, and I'm not sure what to think EggXpert.com: The Key to a Smarter Community - Thermal grease applications for 754/939/AM2/775. I trust you guys with all of my computing stuff, mostly because I've been here for a while and know you all give reliable information. However, this thread has turned into a pissing contest over how to properly apply thermal paste to a CPU, as well as the proper name for the substance, and because of that I'm not sure what to believe. Normally I might not have cared, but eventually I'm getting a new case, which means I'm doing a complete cleaning of my computer; since my CPU fan is connected directly to the heatsink, I've got to take the whole thing off and that means re-applying thermal paste.

{OF}Flying_Dutchman · 07-13-2007, 08:41 PM

A very thin layer is all you need. What you're trying to do is to increase heat transfer between the two surfaces by ensuring a very "intimate" contact (i.e. you're basically filling the pores between the metal surfaces and increasing surface area. Too thick a layer could actually worsen things.

This is more based on my background in heat transfer then being a computer geek but that's how I see it works.