Why does nobody talk about the difference a proper thermal paste spread makes?

Had a gaming rig in the shop last week. Client complained about random shutdowns. Opened it up, saw the old paste job. Looked like someone put a tiny pea in the center and just slammed the cooler down. Temps were hitting 95C under load. Cleaned it off, used a spreader tool to get a thin, even layer across the whole IHS. After that, max temp was 72C. Night and day. What's the dumbest thermal paste application you've ever seen?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray35626d ago

My first build I just did a single dot in the middle. Figured it was fine. Seeing a 20-degree drop after properly spreading it was a real eye-opener. I don't skip that step anymore.

elliot_gibson2726d ago

Yeah, I saw a video showing the same thing, crazy difference.

the_claire26d ago

My buddy used toothpaste once, said it worked for a week.