Installing Hyper 212 EVO - Thermal Compound Question

[supahughman]

Ok so I thought this would be the best place to get answers to this outstandingly tedious and never cycle of different instructions on applying thermal paste.

To all of you out there who have a 212 EVO, what do you recommend and don't recommend when applying thermal paste. E.G.
- Dot in the middle of CPU method?
- grain of Rice and spread with something like a credit card method (and if this technique then do you have to be careful about such things as putting too much on and bleeding over the edge when the heatsink is installed and what are the consequences of this.
- Cross Method?
- 2 (or) 3 lines (cannot remember) down along the heatsink copper ridges.

Also just a side note, do you recommend buying after market thermal compound such as something from Arctic Silver or will the stock CM suffice.

Anyone I'm hoping to get this sorted once and for all and know that if I follow proper instructions given to me taht I should be fine. I don't want to end up using some method that ends up with unusually high temps or a method that ends up with thermal compound bleeding onto the motherboard.

 

[dingo07]

no method matters as long as you don't have more than .5mm worth between the cpu and heatsink, and if you put the heatsink on square and flat with equal pressure on all sides at the same time, the TIM will spread evenly from a pea size in the center

if you think you're not capable of putting the heatsink on square and level then it would be best to spread it thin yourself first

if you're not going to overclock then the standard TIM will suffice

 

[supahughman]

no method matters as long as you don't have more than .5mm worth between the cpu and heatsink, and if you put the heatsink on square and flat with equal pressure on all sides at the same time, the TIM will spread evenly from a pea size in the center

if you think you're not capable of putting the heatsink on square and level then it would be best to spread it thin yourself first

if you're not going to overclock then the standard TIM will suffice

And if I were to OC in the future what would you recommend.

 

[dingo07]

a better TIM than stock...

which one that is, is open for debate - http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=138&Itemid=62 (it's 4 years old, but still worth the read)

here's an application guide - http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=170&Itemid=1

 

[popatim]

CM tim is actually decent, you won't need as5. As for the application method if the cpu is square then a dot will work fine, if its rectangular then a line seems to work quite well.

 

[papablista]

I just added the EVO cooler I like the even spread method that way your sure it is covered, I applied the rice and dot method and pulled it off just to see the results there is always bare areas and that just freaks me out. In reality most compounds are pretty close the same and 80% of them are made by 3m . Mine idles at 29c and I havent seen it over 52c after a sesion of heavy gaming, it's a great cooler...Thats with the CM compound, Not long ago I bought some gold compound on E-Bay 3 tubes for $3 and it is just as good as any other I have used and I've tried them all, I dont pay $10 for it any more, I read reviews some where and some of the more expensive ones came in pretty close to last, pink lipstick (yea the kind your mom wears) actually beat out many of them. Dont use chocolate it didn't fair well also toothpaste works good,I think it my dry too hard though but it smells minty fresh, LoL

 

[supahughman]

I just added the EVO cooler I like the even spread method that way your sure it is covered, I applied the rice and dot method and pulled it off just to see the results there is always bare areas and that just freaks me out. In reality most compounds are pretty close the same and 80% of them are made by 3m . Mine idles at 29c and I havent seen it over 52c after a sesion of heavy gaming, it's a great cooler...Thats with the CM compound, Not long ago I bought some gold compound on E-Bay 3 tubes for $3 and it is just as good as any other I have used and I've tried them all, I dont pay $10 for it any more, I read reviews some where and some of the more expensive ones came in pretty close to last, pink lipstick (yea the kind your mom wears) actually beat out many of them. Dont use chocolate it didn't fair well also toothpaste works good,I think it my dry too hard though but it smells minty fresh, LoL

Thanks for the great response. I'm curious about what you used to spread it and how much you put on. Like a literal grain of rice?

 

[papablista]

I just put a little bit in the middle about the size a of a long grain of rice and I use my finger to spread it around, you can put a stiff match book cover or any thing I like my finger spread it until all but 1/16 of an inch around the edge is covered the pressure will spread the rest, just look before you install the heatsink and make sure there are no lumps or air pockets and you'll be fine, some people just put the dab in the middle and put the heatsink on thats ok too but i feel better knowing the paste is covering the whole surface no matter how well somthing is machined there are gaps and flaws

 

[InvalidError]

I applied the rice and dot method and pulled it off just to see the results there is always bare areas and that just freaks me out.

As long as the IHS area directly on top of the actual CPU die is covered (about 1/4th the total surface), extra coverage does not make much difference since most of the heat is already transferred to the HSF before spreading out across the IHS. With only a tiny temperature difference between the HSF and the rest of the IHS, heat transfer contribution from the rest of the contact surface 2-3mm beyond the core's footprint is almost zero.

In other words, 100% coverage is not worth obsessing over.

Also, the 'even coat' method has a much higher chance of leaving gaps/bubbles within the critical area over the core than the pea-sized glob that fills gaps and pushes air out as it spreads out. The 'glob' method is the easiest to get right since most mistakes you can do with it are self-fixing.

 

[papablista]

To each his own like I said in my previous post "some people just put the dab in the middle and put the heatsink on thats ok too"
I've tried it both ways I seem to get better cooling with the spread method, the fact is if you apply the right amount a large grain of rice or small pea size you'll be fine if after your temps arent right take it off and reapply,