How much Arctic Silver 5 should I apply to my proccessor?

[Accipiter22]

I've never been clear as to how much AS5 I should apply to the processor, is it like 4 or 5 small dots? a dime sized glob? I'd like to know

 

[Midnight Rambler]

Depends on the type of CPU you're using. See AS's website, which has very clear directions.

For example, with my new C2D processor, I applied a vertical line about the width of a piece of spaghetti and approx. 10mm long.

 

[Oyeve]

On my x2 3800+ and my 3200+ a rice size works great.

 

[engiNURD]

For the CPU in your rig link, a drop the size of a BB would be good enough.

 

[lenjack]

As mentioned, check out the AS website for detailed instructions.

 

[iluvdeal]

Agreed with everyone else, it depends on your CPU. I needed to use a grain of rice size application for a Xeon CPU. The first time we applied it all over the CPU, the motherboard automatically stutdown to avoid overheating. So more isn't always better. Follow their instructions.

 

[John]

Here's a pic :camera:

 

[corkyg]

John's pic is good - the bottom line is a very thin layer. It is only supposed to fill in the nooks and valleys between the CPU and heatsink - not separate them. The ideal is a solid, thermal contact between the two surfaces, the thinner the better.