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spreading thermal grease

M

MidNiteMysT

Senior member
well i usually use a piece of papers and spread a think layer on top of the cpu then add a bit of grease in the center to really get that area good cuz its the most important.

how do you guys put it on?
 
Originally posted by: MidNiteMysT
well i usually use a piece of papers and spread a think layer on top of the cpu then add a bit of grease in the center to really get that area good cuz its the most important.

how do you guys put it on?
Click to expand...

I use a razor blade and try to get a pretty thin layer. The object is to fill in the tiny imperfections in the metal of the heatsink. A thick layer actually hurts you more then it helps you. Just my 2 cents.
 
On non-ihs processors, a very thin layer on the core. On IHS processors a tiny rice/bb sized drop right over the middle of where the core should be. The heatsink will spread it perfectly as you install it.
 
Originally posted by: theman
i put a bit in the center and let the heatsink squish it into a nice thin layer.
Click to expand...

I do the same here too,with the force the heatsinks these days press on the cpu this alone will spread it very well.
 
i did that once tho and i got very very poor results. i got much better results when i spread a thin layer. that was with my old intel hsf. now i got the xp120 so i cant put it on "straight" so i cant put that bb size because it will all spead to one side and not spread evenly. thats why i had to spread it evenly all over. but even with my stock hsf, i got much better results doing it the same way i did the xp120

btw, how do u know if you have a ihs or non ihs cpu?

and im curious to share my results with my new hsf. i wonder if my drop in temp is normal or poor. maybe ill make a new topic about it.
edit: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=37&threadid=1606809
 
Originally posted by: MidNiteMysT
well i usually use a piece of papers and spread a think layer on top of the cpu then add a bit of grease in the center to really get that area good cuz its the most important.

how do you guys put it on?
Click to expand...

I use the oft-cited "grain of rice" like others here, and spread it on as thinly and evenly as possible using the little key-sized "Shopper's Club" plastic card from the neighborhood grocery.

Now we just have to wait for the smartypants-types who are gonna show up in this topic any minute, saying stuff like "I usually swish the grease around in my mouth and spray it on the chip in a fine layer of spittle," or "I've had the best results spreading mine around with a belt sander". :roll:

-Adam in Philly
 
the rice grain/bb trick is recommended for the new processors(amd 64/new intels). otherwise, spread a thin layer with a club card.
 
i heard your also supposed to rotate it a few degrees in each direction to get teh air bubbles out. i rotated mine a bit in each direction like they recommended.
 
o yea, i know how they want me to do it. and i especially cant do it the way they instruct with my xp120 because i have to sort of lean it to one side so it wouldnt spread like its supposed to.
 
If that's the case, why not just apply a thick glob, rub it in, and wipe it off? Surely that will fill in the microscopic gaps and I doubt something in a gap would get wiped off, even if you can't see it.
Well, unless the gaps aren't really microscopic, but rather than the heatsink isn't contacting flat with the die/heat spreader, perhaps they should use softer metals on the bottom of heat sinks?
 
I tear off a little peice of a plasic bag and spread it with my finger. some where I read it is best to massage it into the die and not get any material from your skin in it..? not right just what I do..
 
Originally posted by: AznAnarchy99
yea i just started using arctic silver's instuctions. my mentallity is, the makers would know more about it than me
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yea but the manufacturers are always super cautious. and just because they manufacture the product, doesnt mean they know everything about it and how to do it best. just like with everything. and they also use a bag of some sort to spread it around, i think thats for artic 1, 2 and 3 or something.
 
Originally posted by: Fox5
If that's the case, why not just apply a thick glob, rub it in, and wipe it off? Surely that will fill in the microscopic gaps and I doubt something in a gap would get wiped off, even if you can't see it.
Well, unless the gaps aren't really microscopic, but rather than the heatsink isn't contacting flat with the die/heat spreader, perhaps they should use softer metals on the bottom of heat sinks?
Click to expand...

It's the microscopic gaps along with the touching metals. If both were perfectly flat and precisely fit together I could go for appling it and wiping the excess off. The metal just doesn't fit that way, along with the fact there will be some motion in the metal as it heast up, having a tiny surface covering will make it so even after expansion the metals will still have a medium to conduct heat through.
 
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