December 13, 20187 yr Author Basically it almost never matters LOL! Spread, small blob, big blob... same temp. 😀 Only time it really matters is with multi die CPU's, then the spread method is probably best to make sure all die's are covered.
December 13, 20187 yr Gamers Nexus is a very good source for the info too. Nick Hatchel "Sometimes, flying feels too godlike to be attained by man. Sometimes, the world from above seems too beautiful, too wonderful, too distant for human eyes to see …" Charles A. Lindbergh, 1953 System: Custom Watercooled--Intel i7-8700k OC: 5.0 Ghz--Gigabyte Z370 Gaming 7--EVGA GTX 1080ti Founders Edition--16GB TridentZ RGB DDR4--240GB SSD--460GB SSD--1TB WD Blue HDD--Windows 10--55" Sony XBR55900E TV--GoFlight VantEdge Yoke--MFG Crosswind Pedals--FSXThrottle Quattro Throttle Quadrant--Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS--TrackIR 5--VRInsight MCPii Boeing
December 14, 20187 yr Author I find it hilarious, that so many of us (including me) extolled the virtues of our favourite TIM application method, defending them to the hilt. I am a fan of the blob method, seems logical to me to avoid air bubbles. And what do we see when the spread method is compared to 5mm blob... no difference. There's no substitute for data and testing. Like I've said before, always test conventional wisdom, cus it ain't always wise. Edited December 14, 20187 yr by martin-w
December 15, 20187 yr In all of my builds I have obsessed over getting just the right amount and perfect coverage of thermal paste on my CPU cooler, now real tests show there is little to no difference in technique. There may be an ultimate answer to blob vs. spread and that would be the thermal pad. One year ago, thermal pads were for GPU's only. Today, there are thermal pads for CPU's. Perhaps in the near future, thermal paste will be history. My computer: ABS Gladiator Gaming PC featuring an Intel 10700F CPU, EVGA CLC-240 AIO cooler (dead fans replaced with Noctua fans), Asus Tuf Gaming B460M Plus motherboard, 16GB DDR4-3000 RAM, 1 TB NVMe SSD, EVGA RTX3070 FTW3 video card, dead EVGA 750 watt power supply replaced with Antec 900 watt PSU.
December 15, 20187 yr I've also 'obsessed' over the years about this, always being totally convinced that I either over did it, or under did it. Its one of those things where, even touched with the lightest amount of OCD, becomes a total nightmare lol I remember once, re seating the cooler FOUR times before realising this could be a never ending loop lol Windows 10 (x64) - X-Plane 11 - M/B: Asus ROG Maximus IX Hero - CPU: i7 7700k (@5.0GHz) - RAM: 32Gb Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 @ 3200MHz - Video: GTX1080ti - Cooling: Custom water loop (EK 140 Revo D5 pump/res combo, EK EVO CPU block, EK XE360 Rad)
December 15, 20187 yr Author 3 hours ago, Dougal said: I've also 'obsessed' over the years about this, always being totally convinced that I either over did it, or under did it. Its one of those things where, even touched with the lightest amount of OCD, becomes a total nightmare lol I remember once, re seating the cooler FOUR times before realising this could be a never ending loop lol Well I know you just mean a bit fussy, but I certainly know all about OCD Dougal, as I think I mentioned to you once. The real thing. Even typing this I have to hold it back. Awful condition.
December 15, 20187 yr Author 3 hours ago, stans said: Today, there are thermal pads for CPU's. Perhaps in the near future, thermal paste will be history. The IC Graphite Pad seems to work great, and I think in time it could be even better. Someone here tried it and said it's pretty close to paste re cooling.
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