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Thermal basics : a.k.a. What thermal paste.....

kirik

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Oct 20, 2008
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One little thing about temperatures. Heat transfer, in the most basic form, is governed by 2 factors. First is the heat transfer coefficient. This is basically what percent of the heat energy flows from Point A to Point B. Second is the difference in temperatures between Point A and Point B. So let's say that a computer has a CPU idle temp of 35C in a 22C room. If the room temp was raised to 25C, and all else being equal, the new idle temp would be 38C. In other words, if Person A is seeing CPU temps 10C higher than Person B with the same hardware, one factor to consider is the room temperature.

What isn't clear to me is whether or not the higher room temperature would affect the heat transfer coefficient.
 

BrainEater

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Absolutely it does.(but it's reaaaaaly small.)

The ambient temp changes the physical properties of every material and interface.For example , the warmer a liquid is the less viscosity it has generally , it's 'wetter' which allows it to get into small surface cracks etc more easily.. Think T.I.M......

Here's the thing tho ;

These variations are waay less than a degree , from a 'thermal management' standpoint they can be ignored.

:thumb:
 

eunoia

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Has something changed in the intervening 11 years that I would change from applying "three grains of rice" of thermal paste to "gooping it on like toothpaste" I see professionals doing on Twitch and Youtube today? (Other than the intelligence of professionals, i mean.)
 

Izerous

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Has something changed in the intervening 11 years that I would change from applying "three grains of rice" of thermal paste to "gooping it on like toothpaste" I see professionals doing on Twitch and Youtube today? (Other than the intelligence of professionals, i mean.)
As long as your not using electrically conductive thermal paste you can basically blob it on an make a mess and let is all squeeze out. If you did that with the classic AS5 you would ruin things and have a pile of e-waste. Otherwise all your doing is wasting a relatively expensive material.

Edit: Some CPUs like threadrippers and their much large size have different recommendations. As a force of habit for over 20 years I have been a pre-spreader as it has the most consistency regardless of whatever CPU model you look at and going any further into application patterns than that is a good way to start a fight/debate between the different camps.
 

eunoia

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I can get behind a thin pre-spread with a credit card, but what I'm seeing makes no sense. The TIM has to be oozing out before any heat even comes into play. Why are they doing this?
 

Izerous

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I can get behind a thin pre-spread with a credit card, but what I'm seeing makes no sense. The TIM has to be oozing out before any heat even comes into play. Why are they doing this?
Because there is no negative beyond making a mess to clean up later, and waste of money / materials.
 

Bond007

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Has something changed in the intervening 11 years that I would change from applying "three grains of rice" of thermal paste to "gooping it on like toothpaste" I see professionals doing on Twitch and Youtube today? (Other than the intelligence of professionals, i mean.)
Wow...that was a thread necro from more than 10 years ago. New record?
 

eunoia

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Because there is no negative beyond making a mess to clean up later, and waste of money / materials.

Is there no thermal downside though? Any extra would be squeezed out? I seem to remember tests between application methods determining too much TIM created more gap in the interface and cooled less efficiently.
 

moocow

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GN did a test using different application methods with both Threadripper and regular desktop CPU. I personally use spread because I can control how much paste to use so I can extend the tube as much as possible. I'll probably move to Kryosheet for my next build and server maintenance. 1 to 2 degree C increase in temp using Kryosheet doesn't matter much if I'm going with custom loop anyway.

Conclusion: What is the Best Way to Apply Thermal Paste?​

So again, the bigger goal is to cover the IHS. Once that’s accomplished, assuming you’re using a non-insane amount of paste, like an entire tube of TG, it really doesn’t matter how big the blob is. If you’re using conductive thermal paste, be mindful of shorting SMDs and small components. Also be mindful of cleanup later on. Beyond these non-thermal considerations, the biggest goal is not doing “too little.” The pressure from the cooler will take care of the rest.

 

eunoia

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The influencer suggests less is more, but these results don't indicate any difference, and even the "thin" spread which does marginally better is quite thick IMO. Look how thin a pre-applied product is on a cooler. Is this all just to sell more thermal paste?
 

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