Post subject: thermal grease application. Suggested method?
Posted: Tue 06-16-2009 8:39PM
Major
Joined: Mon 08-16-2004 3:52PM Posts: 289
Source: Off Campus
I'm wondering if anyone has a preferred method of applying thermal paste to a CPU and heat sink. I've got an HDT (Heat-pipe Direct Touch) heat sink that i'll be installing on top of an intel q6700.
Never installed a heat sink before, so this should be fun. I read this article here. Does anyone have any other advice? Thanks!
Post subject: Re: thermal grease application. Suggested method?
Posted: Tue 06-16-2009 10:00PM
Major
Joined: Mon 02-12-2007 11:53PM Posts: 481 Location: Taking over the Universe
Source: Fidelity
Whenever I installed my HDT heat sink, I spread the thermal paste over the entire CPU heat spreader. After I was sure the entire CPU was covered, I started skimming of the paste a little at a time until I was able to get the least amount of paste on the CPU as possible. Remember, if you put your heat sink on and then have to remove it, it is advised to reapply/make sure all the compound is spread evenly again. If you don't you risk getting air bubbles between the HS and CPU.
Post subject: Re: thermal grease application. Suggested method?
Posted: Wed 06-17-2009 6:48AM
Lieutenant General
Joined: Fri 09-05-2003 10:24AM Posts: 3589 Location: Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweeping down the p l a i n s !
Source: Fidelity
in an effort to prevent any air bubbles from forming, I put a moderate blob in the center of the heat transfer zone of the processor and evenly press the heat sink down onto the processor. I have never had an issue of using too little thermal paste, and I think that if you spread the paste over the processor before applying the heat sink, you are at a greater risk of having inadequate heat transfer and forming air bubbles than if you let the heat sink do the spread for you.
_________________ Ever get that feeling of deja vu?
Post subject: Re: thermal grease application. Suggested method?
Posted: Wed 06-17-2009 9:22AM
Major General
Joined: Sun 08-14-2005 8:36PM Posts: 2174 Location: in a Google Fiberhood. Suck it bitches!
Source: Off Campus
I usually just put a blob about the size of a rice kernel on the cpu and spread it evenly over the surface with a library card or something.
I'd only lap the HS if you're planning on doing some pretty decent oc'ing. Get a piece of glass from hobby lobby to set the sand paper on and it'll help you get a really uniform surface, if you decide to lap it.
_________________ They let us play with markers, but i keep trying to draw infinity
Post subject: Re: thermal grease application. Suggested method?
Posted: Wed 06-17-2009 5:47PM
Major
Joined: Mon 02-12-2007 11:53PM Posts: 481 Location: Taking over the Universe
Source: Fidelity
You can't just put a small dab on an HDT heatsink. There are gaps between the heatpipes that would take all the compound and none would get to the other heatpipes.
On a random hijack tangent, has anyone else experienced issues with overclocking with Vista they never encountered with XP? I had a 3.0ghz processor OCed to 3.4 with no issues in XP and the moment I "upgraded" to Vista I started getting horrible BSODs until I returned it to default.
Post subject: Re: thermal grease application. Suggested method?
Posted: Thu 06-18-2009 10:29AM
Major General
Joined: Sun 08-14-2005 8:36PM Posts: 2174 Location: in a Google Fiberhood. Suck it bitches!
Source: Off Campus
Kingkoopa wrote:
You can't just put a small dab on an HDT heatsink. There are gaps between the heatpipes that would take all the compound and none would get to the other heatpipes.
That's why you spread it before you mount it. So you can add more if needed. The rice kernel was just a rule of thumb/starting amount.
_________________ They let us play with markers, but i keep trying to draw infinity
Post subject: Re: thermal grease application. Suggested method?
Posted: Thu 06-18-2009 11:53AM
Drowning
Joined: Sun 08-15-2004 9:36PM Posts: 4957 Location: ~~~~\o/~~~~~
Source: RC I
What I just did with mine was spread a small amount on the processor then added an additional bit in the center of the processor and applied the heatsink, I am idling around 40 C and never get above 50
Post subject: Re: thermal grease application. Suggested method?
Posted: Thu 06-18-2009 11:54AM
Major
Joined: Mon 09-24-2007 2:20PM Posts: 231 Location: Off Campus
Source: IT Dept
Read the directions for your thermal paste and cooler. Different thermal compounds work better by spreading and others like Arctic Sliver 5 are better by using a drop and having the pressure spread it. I'm still looking for the article that just compared about 10 different compounds and the different application methods.
Post subject: Re: thermal grease application. Suggested method?
Posted: Thu 06-18-2009 12:52PM
Lieutenant General
Joined: Fri 09-05-2003 10:24AM Posts: 3589 Location: Oklahoma! Where the wind comes sweeping down the p l a i n s !
Source: Fidelity
The above link mainly showed that pretty much all aftermarket thermal pastes are reasonably close, with a maximum difference of 3.9degC. Unfortunately, the next sentence is practically all I found when it comes to application methods in that article.
HardOCP.com wrote:
"When it comes to applying thermal paste we saw that different pastes respond differently to the various methods. A good rule of thumb when using a paste is if the paste is thick spread it out and if it’s thin in consistency let the heat sink do it for you."
_________________ Ever get that feeling of deja vu?
Post subject: Re: thermal grease application. Suggested method?
Posted: Thu 06-18-2009 1:20PM
Major
Joined: Mon 08-16-2004 3:52PM Posts: 289
Source: Off Campus
Here's what i'm going to do tonight. I'll try to fill in the cracks on my heat sink with thermal paste, then scrap the excess off, then draw two lines with the past on the coils, as seen in one of the images above, install the heat sink, take it off and see how it spread. then i'll clean everything off with isotropol (sp) alcohol, and repeat. That sound like a good idea? or should I just do it once and hope that that is good enough? Thanks!
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum