Thermal Paste Help

[CC268]

I did a test setup yesterday with my new build to make sure everything was working. I removed my Kraken X61 cooler from the CPU so I need to replace the thermal paste. Does it matter what thermal paste I use? What is the best way to apply the new thermal paste?

 

P.S. I know my local store has Artic Silver 5 and I know that is a decent paste.

 

Thanks.

[zzenigmaxzz]

as 5 is fine, just do a small pea in the center about the size of a grain of riceit will spread on its own

[Gabe]

No any thermal paste is fine, as long as it is good in your eyes then it will work just as well as what you had (maybe even better!)

[Oshino Shinobu]

Don't use Arctic Silver 5. It performs pretty much the same as cheaper alternatives, and it's conductive so there's a risk of damaging components with it. MX-4 and MX-2 are the ones I use, but there's such little difference between TIM that I'd just go for a non-conductive one that's fairly cheap. 

[CC268]

I ordered MX4 - should I just apply a pea sized amount?

[tabasco411]

I ordered MX4 - should I just apply a pea sized amount?

It depends on your cpu. If you have a 115x sized processor you want to put about the size of a pea or an uncooked grain of rice. On 2011-3 size processors you want a bit more. It all depends on the cpu heatspreader size. Just make sure that there is enough thermal paste to create a thin layer across the cpu heatspreader when the heatsink is installed.