MX-2

Pea size would be way too much...think about using about the size of a grain of rice or roughly that size. Don't use your bare finger...at least stick it in a plastic baggie and then dab it around. You really don't even need to do that...the heatsink should spread it out as you install and apply pressure.
 

Thank you very much. I read an article that said to use a dime size amount http://img.tomshardware.com/forum/uk/icones/smilies/non.gif
 
If i am not noticing any temp difference between my stock hsf and my new arctic 64 did i do something wrong? The fan hasnt gone above 800rpm. Too much compound maybe? Something else maybe ?
 
Have you run the CPU under load? Then you might see a diff.

Thats when a good HS shows it's charms.

Benching software and such is very varied. I use these for each purpose:
These are pretty standard and used by many.
Monitoring the PC temps overall: HWmonitor aka hardware monitor
CPUZ for CPU info
GPUZ for GPU info
CPU only: RealTemp
GPU only: ATI Tool, I have a Nivida GTX280, so it works on Nvidia

Loading/benching tools:
CPU loaders: Prime95 and OCCT
GPU Loaders: ATI Tool and the best one is Furmark, nothing pushes the GPU harder right now.
Benching for overall graphics/gaming performance is 3DMark06
 

Does Realtemp work with AMD ?
 
Here is a link to the Arctic Silver 5 instructions for applying thermal paste. It is not MX-2 but... same difference really.
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

Don’t be afraid to test the temps under load and remove the heatsink a few times... I usually do this 4 or 5 times until I’m satisfied i have achieved lowest temps possible.

Use a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol to clean the MX-2 off each time.
 

Thank you. Well i put on my arctic 64 pro once and used WAY to much compound. Took it back off along with my radeon 4830 and cleaned the old compound off with tuniq-2 cleaner. Applied two small thin lines on the cpu and one small line on the gpu. Speedfan now says idle temp1-39c temp2- 33c temp3-46c core 36c. So i think after reading the arctic silver way i am going to do it again. It definitely seems like my idle temps should be lower.