Figured out thermal paste application after messing up 3 builds

Used to just blob it on and hope for the best... temps were always sort of meh. I tried the pea method on this latest Ryzen build and my idle temp dropped like 8 degrees. Did a paste spread check when I pulled the cooler off a month later and it was nearly perfect coverage. For basic chips the pea method beats the line method every time from what I've seen. Has anyone tested the cross pattern on an Intel vs AMD and seen a difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielowens23d ago

Three builds deep before I learned thermal paste isn't just fancy toothpaste for CPUs.

wells.evan23d ago

Man the pea method saved me too, I was legit scared of touching my first CPU.

rose_clark8123d ago

Gotta laugh at how we all go through that "just slap it on and pray" phase, right? I did the same thing on my first build, used so much paste it squeezed out the sides like a toothpaste tube explosion. Switched to the pea method and suddenly my temps dropped from "is my CPU melting" to "eh, it's fine." Never tried cross pattern on Intel, but honestly for everyday gaming and browsing I think the pea method is good enough unless you're really trying to squeeze out every last degree.