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Why do 95% of people spread the TIM? - Page 9

post #81 of 140
5/8/12 at 6:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blameless View Post

The biggest issue I see with people adopting one method over another is people not thinking and not realizing that one method cannot cover all circumstances.
Someone tells a fool that the dot-in the center method is best (and it generally is for flat based heatsinks used on chips with IHSes) and the fool uses this method even with HDT coolers (leading to higher temperatures), or worse on GPUs or CPUs with bare dies (which often results in disaster as the die is not an IHS and if it's not completely covered parts of the chip are totally uncooled.
Best method is always dependent on situation.

IDK, a dot on the bare gpu has always worked well for me.
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post #82 of 140
5/8/12 at 6:46pm
all these different methods of doing it, and so many people convinced that these differing methods are the correct one, makes me wonder why they don't (that i know of) sell some sort of strip to just place on it, kind of like the one that is preapplied to the corsair H series coolers. would have saved me soo much time and worry on my first build.
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post #83 of 140
5/8/12 at 7:12pm
  • Ganf
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Quote:
Originally Posted by -SE7EN- View Post

all these different methods of doing it, and so many people convinced that these differing methods are the correct one, makes me wonder why they don't (that i know of) sell some sort of strip to just place on it, kind of like the one that is preapplied to the corsair H series coolers. would have saved me soo much time and worry on my first build.

Because then you wouldn't have roasty temps doing it wrong and then have to clean and reapply. thumb.gif
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post #84 of 140
5/8/12 at 7:17pm
Pea method for CPU and spread for GPU
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post #85 of 140
5/8/12 at 7:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by -SE7EN- View Post

all these different methods of doing it, and so many people convinced that these differing methods are the correct one, makes me wonder why they don't (that i know of) sell some sort of strip to just place on it, kind of like the one that is preapplied to the corsair H series coolers. would have saved me soo much time and worry on my first build.

It doesn't actually mater that much how you do it. For fun, i reseated my Cooler Master Hyper 212 on my old i5-750 multiple times to test different methods and they were all within +/- .5C of each other. Both Real-Temp and Core Temp only show whole numbers (ie, no decimals) so i can't really be more accurate than to just say that the spread method, dot/pea method, and X-method all showed the same temperature but the line method was 1C cooler. That's doesn't mean it was an entire 1C cooler though because the sensor rounds to the nearest whole number. It very well could have only been .1C cooler, i have no way of knowing. The only thing that made any measurable difference in the TIM'ing process was tinting (or pre-TIM'ing) the grooves on the HDT style cooler, that resulted in a 2C decrease in temperature. But even without any TIM, it was only 6C hotter, so it's not as big a deal as most people make it out to be. One thing i wish i did test out though was using like 3-4 times as much TIM as required, my guess is it would have been close to the same temperature increase as using no TIM (so at least a 3C increase, up to 6C). I didn't want to take the risk of ruining my CPU though so i didn't try that.
Edited by SeanPoe - 5/8/12 at 7:22pm
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post #86 of 140
5/8/12 at 7:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HopeUTKN View Post

MANY people (if not all) who make videos on how to setup a system spread their thermal paste on their CPUs/GPUs/chipset,etc. Isn't it bad to spread it since it creates air bubbles? Why do they do it then? Or is it just an urban legend? Isn't it just better to put pea/rice grains? I'm confused... can someone help me out?
Thanks

There are numerous methods that work OK. Spreading TIM does not necessarily induce air bubbles if the layer is thin enough. There are many variables including the TIM viscosity. Ideally you want the highest metal-to-metal contact with the absolute thinnest layer of TIM as TIM is an insulator compared to proper metal-to-metal contact.

The pea or grain of rice method was developed to help those who can't apply a very thin layer of TIM, i.e. .003" thick or less. The pea or grain of rice methods are not the best but they are good enough for most folks. Most people use WAY more TIM than needed because they do not understand that TIM is only intended to fill the microscopic surface scratches and low spots. If you install a heatsink, use your PC for a day or two and then remove the heatsink and it has 100% TIM coverage you have WAY too much TIM. When you remove the HSF you should see mostly metal-to-metal contact with a tiny bit of TIM left in low spots. That's all you really want for TIM as it is an insulator compared to metal-to-metal contact.
Edited by AMD4ME - 5/8/12 at 7:31pm
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post #87 of 140
5/8/12 at 7:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by -SE7EN- View Post

all these different methods of doing it, and so many people convinced that these differing methods are the correct one, makes me wonder why they don't (that i know of) sell some sort of strip to just place on it, kind of like the one that is preapplied to the corsair H series coolers. would have saved me soo much time and worry on my first build.

Haha thought about this myself.. something that can be stuck on and people will think "It must be right!"

Time for some "Thermal Stickers" thumb.gif
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post #88 of 140
5/8/12 at 8:16pm
How much of a difference do heat pipe coolers make to the spreading pattern? I pulled my Hyper 212 off my 965 and noticed how terrible I did with the TIM. I've got the cooler on the i5 now and am wondering if I can improve temps.
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post #89 of 140
5/8/12 at 8:21pm
Method of the gods...
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post #90 of 140
5/8/12 at 8:24pm
IMHO, the only risk to spreading TIM is accidentally scraping or running too thin/little. Otherwise, it honestly doesn't matter.

Excess TIM + spread then heatsink will lay just as good a layer of TIM as a small strip/couple of strips + heatsink retention to spread.

That being said, I have only ever used the "line" method (unless I'm using a TIM that you brush on).
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