How to apply thermal paste?

[Kanishk Modi]

In this thermal paste comparison video between the Arctic mx-4 and mx-5, the person spreads the thermal paste with the incl. spatula. Is it recommended to not do that? Or it doesn’t make a difference if you spread it or not. I’m gonna repaste CPU and GPU of my 2017 Alienware 15R3. Also, which one of them should I buy?

Thank you in advance !

Back story: So my Alienware 15 R3’s 7700HQ thermal throttles at 100C even with just only CPU stress. I believe it’s because my generic Dell pre-applied  thermal paste dried up after 3yrs of heavy usage.

[Murasaki]

Personally I don't bother with a spatula, just a pee-sized dot in the middle and the cooler's pressure will spread it well enough. Plus I have this low-key fear of paste being pushed off the edges of the IHS if I started with a full surface of paste. I'd recommend MX4 because I've been using it for ages and well... I'm used to recommending it

[CommanderAlex]

I've spread the thermal paste using my spudger from my iFixit toolkit on many CPUs and GPUs and I've never encountered any issues. I've read in the past that you can trap air bubbles in between the paste/IHS and the coldplate but I guess it depends on how thinly and smoothly you apply it. 

 

 

Also, MX-4 is a pretty reliable paste and has been recommended in the past from other users, so I'd go with that. 

[Radium_Angel]

As @Murasaki said, a pea-sized dot works just fine.

For the record, I do not suggest spreading it with your finger or nose, it just makes a mess 

[HanZie82]

A little dot is enough.

You have more chances of making air pockets using the spread method afaik (altho very uncommon).

Here you can see some of the differences:

 

 

[ramava]

It doesn't matter near as much as people think. Here's a comparison of different methods to debunk the "My way of pasting the CPU is right and yours is wrong."

 

 

[Yo Whats Up]

On 5/29/2021 at 5:28 PM, HanZie82 said:

A little dot is enough.

You have more chances of making air pockets using the spread method afaik (altho very uncommon).

Here you can see some of the differences:

 

 

The X/Cross covered a much bigger area at the end than the pea. So it seems like it's better. Only the corners were left really. Ofc you could also make a big pea with likely similar effect, but why.

[HanZie82]

37 minutes ago, Yo Whats Up said:

The X/Cross covered a much bigger area at the end than the pea. So it seems like it's better. Only the corners were left really. Ofc you could also make a big pea with likely similar effect, but why.

Nah that just because he only used his hands.

Putting the screws on will make sure even the tiny dot in the beginning of the video covers the whole IHS.

Also for most CPU's (excluding high core CPU's) they heat up from the center anyway.

[Yo Whats Up]

14 hours ago, HanZie82 said:

Nah that just because he only used his hands.

Putting the screws on will make sure even the tiny dot in the beginning of the video covers the whole IHS.

Also for most CPU's (excluding high core CPU's) they heat up from the center anyway.

What would be high-core? And also what downside is there to applying a cross just in case to cover the whole cpu? If it spills out u can just wipe it right? I think it's better safe (spill out some) than sorry (not get the entire chip covered for maximum performance), unless ofc it's metal paste

[HanZie82]

5 hours ago, Yo Whats Up said:

What would be high-core? And also what downside is there to applying a cross just in case to cover the whole cpu? If it spills out u can just wipe it right? I think it's better safe (spill out some) than sorry (not get the entire chip covered for maximum performance), unless ofc it's metal paste

If you know whats under the IHS you realise 100% coverage isnt neccesary.
Note this is an older Intel CPU, newer ones and Ryzen have more chiplets under there. But the idea is the same.

That metal thing is just another layer of protection, and like the title IHS says its an (internal)heatspreader, so you're fine not covering 100%.

The safest is to make sure you have non conductive thermal paste before you put to much on there.