Thermal Paste on the CPU Waterblock?

[Lalnage]

1. Should i apply some paste to the CPU Waterblock?
2. The procedure of applying thermal paste to the CPU with air cooling, is the same as the process of appling thermal paste to the CPU with a waterblock? i mean, same way of applying, same amount?

[ranker]

1. Should i apply some paste to the CPU Waterblock?
2. The procedure of applying thermal paste to the CPU with air cooling, is the same as the process of appling thermal paste to the CPU with a waterblock? i mean, same way of applying, same amount?

Each manufacturer's TIM is different. I'd suggest you read the instructions on the manufacturer's site. For AS5 or Arctic silver, apply a very thin line from top to bottom on the CPU. Less is more in the case of Arctic's line of products.

For MX-1, I believe the correct technique is a small jelly beans worth in the middle. A little more is used than arctic's stuff in general.

Check for TIM imprint afterwards to make sure you're getting contact in the important areas (like center of the CPU block).

[Lalnage]

its the D-TEK Fuzion and the AS5.

[GazC]

I always clean my blocks with Isopropynol and then "polish" thermal paste onto it until I get an even, dull haze (in other words, don't polish it off again). I then apply thermal paste onto the chip by using a thin, even spread and then assemble.

Works for me!

[Lalnage]

at the site of arctic silver, the instructions say to put some paste on the heat spreader, and then put the heatsink (block). isnt it better to spread with your hand or something else? this is what i know for as5 anyway.

[Xavior]

As far as I know, spreading TIM doesn't make any difference, as the mounting pressure spreads it quite well too.

[sick_g4m3r]

Its a grain size drop on the top of the CPU and you smoosh the block onto that. Thats what a lot of people do wrong, they put too much.

[SiGfever]

Get you some MX-1 or X-23 TIM and don't look back. A large BB size application works well but do NOT try to spread it.

[sick_g4m3r]

Get you some MX-1 or X-23 TIM and don't look back. A large BB size application works well but do NOT try to spread it.

exactly right hommie g. no spreading or you will feel deading

[Lalnage]

i should not spread the as5 also?

[sick_g4m3r]

no spreading whatsoever on anything. one grain/BB size drop on the top/middle of the CPU and then squeeze WB onto that. Nothing on WB, no spreading.

[whoodiestyle]

i always spread it on the block and wipe it down so it gets in the cracks and then spread it on the cpu with a credit card

[Lalnage]

Everyone says something else. one says spread, the other says dont. one says on block, the other one say dont. so who should i listen to?

[ForeverAgain]

Ever since iv started working with computers iv always done the BB size method and then let the pressure of the block spread the compound. I do rotate the block to help it out a bit. I usually turn the block 90 degrees each direction and then remove the block to check if it spread correctly and to check if iv added to much. Then i finish mounting.

[Capt Proton]

Ever since iv started working with computers iv always done the BB size method and then let the pressure of the block spread the compound. I do rotate the block to help it out a bit. I usually turn the block 90 degrees each direction and then remove the block to check if it spread correctly and to check if iv added to much. Then i finish mounting.
I have read this can lead to air pockets.

[ForeverAgain]

I have read this can lead to air pockets.

hmm haven't heard that one before. I'll have to look into it and see.

[SoulsCollective]

The way I see it is that the AS5 recommended method makes the most logical sense.

The purpose of TIM is to fill the microscopic gaps between the IHS and the bottom of the heatsink/waterblock and to displace any air that would otherwise fill those gaps. Attempting to spread by hand will result in an uneven concentration of TIM, with some areas having too much, some too little, and some the right amount. It will also "seal in" air pockets, as areas where there is too little TIM will be walled off by areas with too much.

Polishing in TIM into the waterblock and just using a dab on the CPU right in the middle will remove the uneven concentration problem. By polishing in the TIM into the block, you're aiming to get off all the paste except that which has been forced into the microscopic gaps that your polishing cloth can never reach. This will ensure one surface is essentially flat, with very little chance of having air trapped anywhere. This then means that when you plonk the block down on your CPU and tighten evenly, the pressure will spread out the TIM much more evenly than you ever could by hand, and as you will have essentially the same concentration of TIM over the entire surface at all times, spreading evenly outwards, you have no chance of air pockets forming.

[sick_g4m3r]

exactly right soulscollective.

Basically im just adding this, spreading by hand is unatural and fills in the wrong cracks versus the pressure by the WB which fills in the natural cracks.