applying thermal paste to a CPU

[Maz]

I've bought some Arctic Silver 5 paste.
Do you need to take the motherboard out of the PC to do this or do you do it in situ?

 

[paul04]

You can keep the motherboard in place. the cpu should be in place aswell. then apply the paste, then put the heatsink/fan on the cpu.

 

[fossala]

I would take the motherboard out, to be able to easily remove the heatsink.

 

[accountantpete]

I'd take the fan off, clean the top of the CPU with alcohol (google for alternatives) to get the old paste off and apply new stuff.

Then replace fan - job done.

 

[ushills]

Note, a thin smear is all that's necessary, I usually drop a small blob on then scrape around and off the CPU with a credit card, repeat on the heatsink then mate the two together, it only really needs to fill the microscopic gaps in both surfaces and should barely be visable just a thin film.

 

[Kies]

5 "dots" of paste,arranged as you would see them on a dice face.
Both surfaces should be free of old thermal paste before applying the new one to the cpu ONLY!!!
I do this on high end commercial servers on a regular basis,so trust me.

 

[fossala]

I don't think you have to be too particular. All you are doing is making sure the contact between the 2 surfaces is perfect. Just put a little on then do a stress test while watching the temps. If it's acceptable it's all good.

 

[2Loose]

Depends on the Heatsink and fan. Some clamp so hard that just unclamping and reclamping will bend the motherboard with the force required. Not desirable, so safer to remove the board and support it properly while removing and reinstalling the heatsink.

Defintely clean the old paste off of the cpu before applying new. Isopropyl Alcohol (Maplin) is best as it leaves no residue when it evaporates, although just scraping off the old stuff with a credit card is quite effective.

A dot of thermal paste, the size of a rice grain spread thinly with a credit card is enough and gets best results. You really want the paste to just fill the microscopic irregularities on the chip die, so don't over do it. - 20 years of overclocking CPU's so trust me.


The day my firm gets any server without a decent cooling solution is the day we don't buy them again. I suggest you trust me.

 

[Garz]

Note, a thin smear is all that's necessary, I usually drop a small blob on then scrape around and off the CPU with a credit card, repeat on the heatsink then mate the two together, it only really needs to fill the microscopic gaps in both surfaces and should barely be visable just a thin film.

+1 to this. Caking it on defeats the point of it.