At first i put a spot in the middle and then spread it using card, and then used the heatsink to spread it around more. But then when i read the instructions on the arctic silver website i decided to clean it and then apply it again, this spread it in a vertical line, then using the heatsink to spread it! However either way the temp remains the same! Have had to leave case open with a fan running into the it, this way the temp remains at 45C when idle! I have read that the paste takes 200 hours before it starts working properly but without the external fan it stays around ~51-55C at idle and has gone to ~76C when under load!