I really screwed up this time

[xcas]

Great! I honestly think you put more effort into it than the vast majority of enthusiasts so I don't think you have a thing to be worried about. Happy gaming! I hope it solves the issues you were having before all this. If not, give us an update and let's see if we can solve the issue.

Thanks for all your help. Unfortunately I've run into another issue. I don't think it's related to the thermal paste. Would you mind looking at my new thread? Something like "monitor loses signal within minutes." Sorry for being somewhat annoying, lol.

 

[Ranulf]

Wow, that is some serious bullshit right there, but hey, I guess you've talked to people who know what they're doing.

This is one of those issues that grinds my gears. Spreading paste over the whole heat shield is a waste of time these days. Maybe on AMD chips and thats only because that is what they do for their stock oem heatsinks (cleaning those aren't fun). Both my 8350 and 955 chips run just fine with the pea method under noctua and evo heatsinks.

Reminds me of this guy :

https://www.youtube.com/user/CareyHolzman

Great how-to videos but even 2-3 years ago he was advocating spreading the paste on the whole heat shield like it was 2004 and would rant about anyone criticizing him. Yeah it doesn't harm the chip, it is just a waste of time (30 seconds vs minutes) and for noobs will be more of a hassle than its worth. It was for me starting out 15 years ago. Just look at the amount of paste Intel puts on their stock heatsinks and pull one up after 6,12,18,24 months and see how the paste spreads. It won't be all over the heatshield.

 

[Charmonium]

Since I'm into distributed computing, I tend to build a couple of machines per year, on average, including 2P servers. I've always used the spread method except I only use thinnest possible layer. My temps have always been in line with normal temps for each rig, even with AIO water coolers.

I think the inconsistent distribution of thermal paste that you see when you pull a heatsink off probably relates to differences in adhesion. But if there really are bubbles that are formed, it's never affected my temps.

Also, if you use direct touch heatsinks, I'm not sure the compression method will work very well since you'll have gaps between the pipes and the block.