how much thermal paste to use?

[silverdj]

Do i need to just put a thin layer across the whole thing or is there another way that i should do it. I have an AMD S Am2 with the stock fan.

 

[regnez]

Guide for you.

EDIT: Damn, looks like this is bad advice. Read the other replies, ignore this one. My apologies; I did not intend to mislead.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Your stock fan should have thermal goop already on the bottom of the heatsink. Just stick the CPU in the socket and clamp the heatsink on top.

 

[John]

The Hardware Secrets guide has a lot of bad information IMHO.

[*]Is he frosting a cake?
[*]Even if you're careful you're probably gouging the heatsink
[*]Old grease is still visible - needs to be cleaned with better solvents
[*]Cotton fibers could fall out and mix with the grease which is not good

1) I recommend Goof Off, Brake Cleaner, or 99% Alcohol on a paper towel to remove the old grease/pad. Do not use a razor or sharp object the scrape it off either. Use your fingernail or some hard plastic.

2) Here's a picture that shows how much (in red) and where to put the new grease on your A64.

Do not use paper towels or q-tips to apply the grease. Simply squeeze a small amount out of the tube or syringe.

 

[sjandrewbsme]

An application method I read about a while back is to stick your finger inside a plastic bag and use your fingertip to spread it over the processor. In general, you want as thin of a layer as possible - just thick enough to make a complete coat.

 

[sjandrewbsme]

Originally posted by: John
The Hardware Secrets guide has a lot of bad information IMHO.

[*]Is he frosting a cake?
[*]Even if you're careful you're probably gouging the heatsink
[*]Old grease is still visible - needs to be cleaned with better solvents
[*]Cotton fibers could fall out and mix with the grease which is not good

1) I recommend Goof Off, Brake Cleaner, or 99% Alcohol on a paper towel to remove the old grease/pad. Do not use a razor or sharp object the scrape it off either. Use your fingernail or some hard plastic.

2) Here's a picture that shows how much (in red) and where to put the new grease on your A64.

Do not use paper towels or q-tips to apply the grease. Simply squeeze a small amount out of the tube or syringe.

I was thinking the same - WAY too much paste in his descriptions and photos.

 

[Nocturnal]

I just add a small bb sized drop and let the heatsink smash it into the processor.

 

[IdaGno]

Originally posted by: sjandrewbsme
An application method I read about a while back is to stick your finger inside a plastic bag and use your fingertip to spread it over the processor. In general, you want as thin of a layer as possible - just thick enough to make a complete coat.

That's just the first half of STEP 1, the second half of which is to then scrape it all off, leaving only a see-thru micro film.

STEP 2 is to then place a rice grain sized dab in the middle of the HS.

Arctic Silver application instructions here.

 

[w00t]

I clean off the CPU with alcohol and a paper towel a long with the heatsink than apply a small size of thermal paste to the middle of the processor and use a sandwich bag with my finger inside ( like a glove ) to spread it around evenly and thin than put on the heatsink and give it a little twist when it's on gives me good results.

seems everyone has there own way

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
I just add a small bb sized drop and let the heatsink smash it into the processor.

This way is supposed to be correct for a single core processor but everytime I take off the heatsink the thermal paste small in the middle and rather thick ( using a bb to rice grain size ).

btw spreading with a razor blade is crap don't do it

they say to use lint free cloths to clean your processor such as coffee filters from my experience there bad and still prefer the paper towel.

 

[Never Knows Best]

That guide gives horrible advice. It is always a good idea to remove the thermal pads that can be almost 1/8 of inch thick or just about anything of the sorts from the heatsink before you seat the cpu and heat sink. Just be careful not to gouge the surface of the heatsink. Using a mild solvent, can't recommend one though. I use a special solvent used for models that will not dissolve any plastics and is safe on metal and evaporates very fast and cleans up thermal paste very well. I guess alcohol would be easy to find around the house and maybe acetone if it is pure, but that might be a little strong. Just soak a Qtip in the solvent and clean up the chip and heatsink.

For my Athlon and 6800gt I needed a very very small amount probably 1/16 of inch diameter. For my Athlon 64 with the heat spreader I use the bb size amount. I use artic silver 5 and a 3.5 gram tube has lasted me 4 cpus and the heat pipe cooler for my 6800. The heatpipes took up the most, but a little thermal grease goes a long way if applied right. It's not meant to conduct the heat just fill in the microscopic gaps in the metal. People who say they get a large heat drop by switching thermal pastes are using to much.

To spread the grease I wouldn't use a Qtip. Like was mentioned the fibers could mix in and they grab a lot of the paste so, don't do that. I use either a plastic bag sometimes like with the heat pipes because the heatsink was rounded and applying it was easiest this way. For a chips with a flat surface I use the plastic floss things with the pick at the end. I just bend pick 90 degrees and spread like you would spread dry wall spackle. Thin as possible is best and across the entire face of the chip or heat spreader. If you think you don't have enough seat and clamp the heatsink then remove and there should be a thin layer the size of the chip or heat spreader and there shouldn't be threads coming off of it like you get from a hot glue gun.

To be sure you did it right when you boot go into the bios and check the temps. This is more important for AMD chips then Intel because if I remember most Intel chips underclock the chip while AMD chips don't and will burn up. After that running anything cpu intensive and checking the temp is required. If it's a multi-core chip make sure it will run on all cores at 100 percent.

 

[Horsepower]

I use acetone and alcohol to clean the old surface(s), then use a bb sized drop that smashes itself when assembled. (Arctic Silver)

 

[Roguestar]

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

 

[Aikouka]

I clean it off with the highest grade of isopropyl alcohol that I have (93% I believe?). Usually with a paper towl or sometimes a Q-tip presoaked in the alcohol. This really only matters if you're trying to apply thermal paste to a stock HSF that usually come with their own thermal solution.

Also, it's good to note that removing their thermal solution voids the warranty (from what I remember, if this is different, let me know).

When it comes to application, it depends on what brand you buy. With Arctic Silver, I simply applied a rice-sized bead to the center and used the heatsink pressure to thin the coat out. With my Zalman paste, it came with a brush adapter that I used to apply it along the entire ceramic cover. I really liked this method a bit more and it may be more helpful if you think your thermal paste isn't spreading as much as it should (since dual core processors tend to either have a large die or are composed of two separate dies).

Also, if I recall, heatpads should always be removed if going with thermal paste as heat pads tend to melt and fill in the crevices.

 

[imported_browsing]

So could too much as5 actually raise temperatures?

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: browsing
So could too much as5 actually raise temperatures?

From what I know, too much thermal paste can cause it to seep out the side when compressed... metal on motherboard isn't a good thing :x.

 

[AMCRambler]

Another thing you can do that I haven't seen mentioned here is polish the bottom of the heatsink after you've cleaned off the thermal pad. Most heatsinks have a rough bottom on them which you can smooth out by using some fine grit sandpaper and then finishing up with an emery cloth. I usually start with 500 then do 600 or 800 and finish polishing it with the cloth. Gets a nice smooth surface so more of the heatsink comes in contact with the heat spreader and you're not relying on the paste to do all the work. I doubt you'll see a big improvement but it doesn't take long and it helps.