Applying thermal grease...

I see there's another somewhat current thread posted about thermal grease, so I figured I'd post a question that's been kind of nagging at me for a little while... the newer 'tower' type of CPU coolers available tend to have "DHPT", or Direct Heat Pipe Touch.... meaning that the heat pipes actually make contact with the CPU....

Attached below is a pic of the base of my new CPU cooler, the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus. Here's how I applied the thermal grease: I put a VERY thin ribbon of grease along each heat pipe (4 ribbons total) and mounted the cooler. I then dismounted it a minute or two later, rotated it 90 degrees and remounted it. I repeated this until it had been mounted in each position, then looked at the top of the CPU and at the base of the cooler. I looked for any spots that weren't "filled in" with thermal grease. Using the tip of a toothpick, I put some VERY small threads of thermal grease in the 2 or 3 areas on the base of the cooler that were still exposed. I then mounted the cooler one last time, and that's where it sits today. It has shaved off about 12C from my idle temps, and about 23C off my load temps. :celebrate So, it's working. Duh. I guess I'm wondering if there's a "universally approved" method of applying thermal grease to the exposed heat pipe coolers.......
Anyway.... any comments, thoughts, ideas, suggestions, or whatever are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

BTW-
The CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus model# RR-B10-212P-GP is IMO perhaps the best value in CPU coolers available today. Only $30 at Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065, and it's compatible with EVERY socket including the newer Intel 1156 & 1366, and on AM2/AM3 sockets it can be oriented to blow either up or out the back; many other cooler for AMD chips have a mounting mechanism that forces the user to mount the cooler one direction or the other, and it's usually blowing the air upward into the PCU which is not ideal. The mounting mechanism on the Hyper212+ is a bit cumbersome, but it is SECURE and highly configurable so the end user can aim the air flow as they seem best. AND it includes a second set of fan clips so another 120mm fan can be attached for a push/pull configuration for even lower temps. An excellent site for CPU cooler info is www.frostytech.com, and a review of the Hyper212+ can be found at that site by clicking on this link.

If you couldn't tell, I really love my new CPU cooler!!! LOL LOL

 

OOOPS- I waited too long to edit... it should read "upward into the PSU" and NOT ". . into the PCU". Obviously. But I hate typos.

(PCU = Power Control Unit LOL )

 

It looks nice though it seems as if it would put a lot if stress on the mobo if only mounted with four pins. Is it otherwise free standing?

 

I'm running the cooler on an Athlon64 X2 5400+ at the stock speed of 2.8ghz. I know this CPU doesn't really require this type of high-end cooler, but I'm planning on getting a PhenomII Quad Core 945 3.0ghz CPU sometime in the next month or so, and I knew that I'd need a new cooler for it. The new Hyper212+ replaced an Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 which was working fine. The temp changes I posted above were comparing the Hyper212+ to the original AMD stock cooler. With both cores at 100% load, the Hyper212+ keeps core #0 at about 41C, and core #1 under 46C which is pretty impressive. The CPU at idle varies from 27C on core #0 to 34C on core #1. I use the system stability test in Everest Ultimate to stress the CPU and FPU by loading both cores to 100%.

Back to my original question: I'm wondering if there's a "universally approved" method of applying thermal grease to the exposed heat pipe coolers.......

 

The cooler doesn't seem to stress the motherboard as it uses its own backplate to mount to the motherboard. To install the cooler, I had to remove the factory installed cooler retention bracket surrounding the CPU socket, which required removing the mobo from the case. Yeah, kind of a pain in the a**, but all in all, it took only 10 minutes to get the whole thing finished. By "freestanding", I assume you're wondering if there's anything besides the mounting assembly and backplate keeping the cooler in place, and the answer is "Yes-It is free standing". It uses 4 spring-screws tightened in to the back plate and that's it. However, it is a TALL cooler and some smaller cases may have issues. I measured my case before purchasing and knew I'd have about a half-inch clearance. In reality, I think I have closer to a quarter-inch (maybe even a bit less), but it fits without making contact with the side panel.