fans and paste

My T60p fan was making noise and I ordered a new one. The machine kept running hotter and hotter so I got some heat transfer paste and slathered it on liberally.

The new fan came and I installed it - not with liberal paste - very carefully following the instructions about the paste.

The upshot was that after doing the paste "their way," (super thin and never applied beyond specified surfaces) the temp jumped 10 degrees (low 40's to low 50's).

What's wrong with this picture? Is this a desk jockey problem? (I intend to redo it with a lot more paste.)

 

Get some paste and put it on the chip and the heatsink and rub it in,then wipe it all off. Put a Large grain of rice in the centre of the chip if it's half a pea it's too much,don't twist the heatsink just clip it down hard.

It's all to do with pressure,the less you use the more force is acting on that small area meaning it's squashed thin and spread evenly,less is definitely more. Also the top of cpu chips are concave,if you get any paste on the edges or corners the whole heatsink is raised away from the chip.

Way I've always done it and the one that offers he best performance every time I've tested,I use Arctic silver 5.

Spreading doesn't offer the best performance but it's definitely safer for inexperienced users.

 

Put rice on the chip?

Your reply does seem to say my OP is falsified.

I've had decades of computer experience, so I'm no fool, and I don't make things up.

 

A large grain of rice sized blob of thermal interface paste? Context:-D

I'll correct myself anyway-

BTW you haven't proposed a theory just experiences so there's nothing to falsify,I post what I consider a fact that spreading performs worse than than a blob,I have not seen any data that falsifies this and I think I've stop searching this kind of discussion was put to bed long ago.

 

If your opening statement is that using more thermal paste is better when spreading,then yes I disagree with this.

Thermal paste is a much worse conductor that metal but it is used to fill the microscopic surface gaps is the heatsink and cpu heat spreader. The more you use the larger a barrier the heat has to pass through and the larger area and amount of paste the heatsink spring clips have to squash down.

My point is I don't use either method anymore at all,as with your results there are too many variables that can causes erroneous performance results such as paste viscosity,application temperature,compression pressure,heatsink and cpu surface quality ect.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/What-is-the-Best-Way-to-Apply-Thermal-Grease-Part-1/1303/1

 

My OP merely stated facts. The temps were 10 degrees better. I was careful not to state more than that. In fact, anyone who read the whole post should know I posited a question about the whole thing, rather than declare assumptions.

 

You're right, I proposed no theory, rather stated facts, which some people habitually falsify. By definition, you can't falsify by theorization, because theorization is merely the positing elaborated opinion.