Question Thermal Paste too much?

[chenjohn274]

Will anything bad happen to the CPU if you apply too much thermal paste?

 

[SamirD]

If the paste gets on the pads, pins or socket, it can. You should only use enough that it will not squeeze out the sides. The whole point for it is to simply fill the microgaps between the processor and heatsink.

 

[chenjohn274]

If the paste gets on the pads, pins or socket, it can. You should only use enough that it will not squeeze out the sides. The whole point for it is to simply fill the microgaps between the processor and heatsink.

thankyou for replying. Do you recommend any good brands?

 

[SamirD]

I've just used the tg-7 available at best buy and have had good results. I've even done some more aggressive things like run 95w processors on 65w heatsinks using this paste, but this is with a cpu fan running at 100% all the time (pwm pin pulled). There's supposedly better pastes, but this does the job imo.

 

[CountMike]

There's very little difference in temperatures between "best" and "worst" brand name pastes, 2-3c at most. There are other specs more important like for instance how it's spread, electrical conductivity, curing time etc.
Based on those criteria, last few years my favorites are Mx-4 and Nt-H1/2 pastes.

 

[schmuckley]

thankyou for replying. Do you recommend any good brands?

Mx-4

 

[drea.drechsler]

Will anything bad happen to the CPU if you apply too much thermal paste?

Unintentionally humorous and much panned for it, The Verge posted a video on YT concerning computer building not too long. The amount of paste he applied to the CPU was absurd; and yet nothing bad happened.

The only really bad thing is the mess it can create. That's why the rule of thumb to use a pea-sized blob in the middle of the heatspreader for Intel and Ryzen (non-Threadripper) CPU's seems to work out pretty well. It minimizes the mess while getting enough to cover it with only tiny amount of squeeze out, if any.

And a hearty seconding for the post to be sure and avoid electrically conductive pastes.

 

[rubix_1011]

When I test Threadripper coolers for Tom's Hardware, I use multiple dots of paste over the entirety of the TR4 IHS rather than one blob.

When testing smaller IHS CPUs, the single, centered blob works well (smaller than a pea, larger than a grain of rice...a lentil is about right from what I have found).

 

[chenjohn274]

When I test Threadripper coolers for Tom's Hardware, I use multiple dots of paste over the entirety of the TR4 IHS rather than one blob.

When testing smaller IHS CPUs, the single, centered blob works well (smaller than a pea, larger than a grain of rice...a lentil is about right from what I have found).

That is quite the precision when describing the size. Admirable