The moment I realized I was putting thermal paste on wrong for 8 years

I was swapping out a CPU cooler for a client last Tuesday and their old i7 was running hot even with a fresh application. I always did the pea-sized dot method but something felt off when I pulled the cooler off and saw the paste spread unevenly across the die. Turns out I was actually using too much paste (like a big glob instead of a small pea) and it was creating air pockets. Has anyone else had a similar facepalm moment with thermal paste application?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_robin19d ago

Did you ever see that Gamers Nexus video where they tested different application methods with a clear glass IHS? I caught it on YouTube a few years back and it really opened my eyes to how much paste is actually needed. They showed that a proper pea-sized drop spreads thin and even under pressure, but a big glob just turns into a messy insulating layer. I had been doing the same mistake myself for a while, using a generous amount thinking more was better. It wasn't until I saw those thermal images of uneven heat distribution that I finally switched to the small dot method. Now I barely use a rice grain size for most chips and my temps dropped about 5 degrees across the board.

keith16419d ago

That video was an eye opener for sure. I made the same mistake for years before seeing it.

patricia_hill6019d ago

The pea size is actually way bigger than a rice grain for most modern CPUs, @the_robin is probably already on the right track with the small dot method. A rice grain drop on a typical desktop chip leaves too much area uncovered, so the pea is the better starting point for most sockets.