Preferred methods for spreading thermal paste.

[angel_dust]

Hi all

What everyone's preferred method for applying thermal paste these days. I've got myself a i7 4930k and I've noticed that the cores are located on the top and bottom edges of the cpu so I have to make sure that they have coverage. In the past used to spread the paste about with a spreader, but I'm wondering if the line or blob method maybe better now. I?ve heard that spreading paste can lead to bubbles.
So what do you all do these days. By the way its GC extreme paste that I'll be using.

[zanzabar]

the blob method is the way to go since modern paste spreads easy under pressure. the spread was for back in the day with lead and silver pastes that required head and force to spread.

[SoulsCollective]

^+1; there is now no real need to mechanically spread about most pastes yourself, and from a performance perspective you're probably best off not doing so so as to avoid introducing air bubbles and pockets into the TIM. If you do have a good idea of whereabouts the cores are located under the IHS then a line along the appropriate axis may offer very slightly better temps than a central blob, but only very slightly (and don't dab your line all the way to the end of the IHS, modern TIM is mostly non-conductive but it still makes a mess).

[jupitersj]

This is one of my Gelid Extreme applications on a 4790k(vertical die); I'd probably try to cut it down to 1 mm width but it was difficult going thinner even when heated.