Thermal paste is an indispensable element in cooling for a PC; It is placed between the IHS of the processor and the base of the heatsink to ensure that the heat transfer between one surface and another occurs correctly, since there are small protrusions that, if thermal paste were not used, would cause serious temperature problems. In this article we are going to tell you what techniques and methods exist to correctly apply thermal paste to the processor.
In the world of hardware there is a wide debate about the correct way to apply thermal paste; Each method certainly has its peculiarities, but the reality is that if you do it correctly, all of them will give you the performance you need, so it is not that one method is correct and the others are incorrect, it is simply that with some it is easier get it right with others, but we repeat that if it is done well, you will not have any problem.
Methods for applying thermal paste to the processor
There are mainly five techniques or methods to apply the thermal paste on the processor, and although some give better results than others depending on the contact surface of the heatsink, all of them are correct and will give you good thermal performance. Let’s see them.
Method 1: A large dot of thermal paste
This method involves putting a relatively large dot (about the size of a grain of rice) in the middle of the processor’s IHS. Then, by putting the heat sink on top, the pressure will make the thermal paste spread over the surface.
The biggest advantage of this method is how easy it is, since just by putting a little thermal paste in the center and then mounting the heatsink you will be done. The disadvantages of this way of applying thermal paste, however, are several, to begin with because it is easy to overshoot or fall short in terms of quantity, and second because you have to be very careful when mounting the heatsink, otherwise ” you hit “the first time you could spoil the job.
On the other hand, this method does not guarantee that the thermal paste reaches the ends of the IHS well, but if you have done it correctly, when you remove the heatsink it will be perfectly extended as in this image.
Method 2: Five small dots
This other technique consists in that, instead of applying a relatively large point in the center, what is done is applying five smaller points with a distribution like in a six-sided die.
With this method, as easy as the previous one, you ensure that the thermal paste will be better distributed over the entire surface of the processor’s IHS, although it is true that it has the same disadvantages. However, well done and as you will see in the following image, the distribution of thermal paste is almost perfect (in the example image, they have gone a bit with the amount and you can see that there is excess at the top and bottom).
Method 3: Cross
With this other technique we literally make a cross on the surface of the processor IHS. We must be careful that the lines we form are very fine so as not to go overboard in terms of the amount of thermal compound.
This method is relatively dangerous: you don’t want to start the lines too on the edge so that when you put the heatsink on top the thermal paste does not overflow, but you run the risk of falling short and that it happens as in this image, in which the paste clearly does not has distributed correctly and has not gone to extremes.
Method 4: Spread the thermal paste
This method is the most laborious to perform, and consists of putting a little thermal paste on the IHS and spreading it evenly over the entire surface (you can do it with a plastic card, covering your finger with a plastic bag, or with an applicator as many manufacturers include).
This method has the advantage that you control exactly the amount of thermal paste that you apply, making sure that you are not going to fall short or go overboard and it will overflow from the sides when you place the heatsink on top.
It also allows some room for maneuver if you don’t “get it right” when putting the heatsink on the first time, so it is definitely the most recommended for expert users looking for the best performance and longest durability of the thermal paste in their equipment.
Method 5: Directly on the heatsink
There is a fifth method that is certainly not the most recommended because you are in great danger of overdoing it. In addition, you should only try this method with heatsinks with direct contact technology (that is, they have the heat pipes exposed) and that have large gaps between the heat pipes, so a greater amount of thermal paste is recommended.
The method consists of applying the thermal paste directly on the heat pipes of the heatsink, emphasizing the space between them, and then putting the heatsink with the paste directly on the processor. We insist that this method is the least recommended and most dangerous of all, but we list it anyway because, after all, it is one more method.
Which technique is easier to apply if you are a newbie?
If we had to classify these methods to apply the thermal paste in the processor, we would say that the simplest is without a doubt that of a point, since it consists of putting a point of thermal paste the size of a grain of rice and you only have to worry that when you install the heatsink, you must make it completely straight (at an angle of 90 degrees) to ensure that the thermal paste is spread evenly.
The second easiest method is the five point method, just as easy as the one point method, followed by the cross method. The way that requires the most work is to spread the thermal paste, but as we have already said before it is the most recommended if you want not to go overboard or fall short because it is the one that will give you the best control of the amount of thermal paste used.
Expert recommendation
Many manufacturers have their own guidelines for applying thermal paste, and each recommends one or the other. For example, according to Intel the best way to apply thermal paste is with the one-point technique, and the expert cooling manufacturer Arctic thinks exactly the same, but for example iFixit repair experts recommend the technique of spreading thermal paste.
We, as users who have had to use thermal paste hundreds of times (without exaggeration, really), we believe that the best method is to spread the thermal paste because, as we have explained, it is the best way to control the amount without going overboard. or be short and make sure that it is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the IHS. It costs a little more to apply, but the result is worth it and, really, it is not that it has much difficulty, it just takes a little more work.
In any case, if you don’t want to complicate your life, we consider that the five-point method is quite simple and gives better results than the one-point method.