thermal paste?

[Geforcekj]

just wanted to check and see how you people applied thermal paste. as it says on the artic silver website in a thin paste? i ask because i have more success applying a large gob.

 

[jodokast5300]

I use a small dab and then spread it out thinly with a clean razor blade
=)

Just make it as thin as possible while trying to make sure it's smooth. No rought edges.

 

[Dan]

I stick my forefinger into the corner of a sandwich baggie and then apply a small dab of thermal paste. After I smooth it out some I do the same as jodokast5300: I take a single-sided razor blade and get it really smooth and as even as possible.

 

[WarCon]

I am sure that no matter what the thermal paste you use, the thinnest coat that fills all the air spaces. Ideal would be perfectly flat die and heatsink and then you would need no thermal compound to achieve optimal heat conduction. Matching two lapped surfaces is ideal, with the absolute thinnest coat of thermal paste (used simply to fill the microscopic valleys that are in the two surfaces ) as possible so more of the two surfaces touch each other instead of the extra interface material (thermal compound) If the one or two of those surfaces are not flat then more is needed to fill the air gaps left by the bowls and hills of the not flat surface, thats why more may work better is some cases.

But ideally, if you are sure of your mating surfaces, then a transparent coat is optimal, the air bubbles in the compound will be smaller.

 

[buffhr]

i put some on from the tube of as then spread it out with a razor blade or a credit card(i wash the edges of the card first and after with isopropyl alchool)

 

[Mikendi]

I used to do the spread thing, but find that the preasure from the heatsink clips do the work for me. Dont put too much on it's a waste of material.

 

[The_Lurker]

Just small thin layer =D I used to be stupid and put paste all over the core and around the core where the core is put on top of. Used up so much paste!