In context: One of many oldest debates in PC constructing facilities on the right technique to apply thermal paste. A single blob, a number of blobs, a cross, or a butter unfold? Igor’s Lab not too long ago tried to match strategies, however just for GPUs, whereas the talk often considerations CPUs.
A brand new take a look at from Igor’s Lab suggests making use of thermal paste in a “sausage-like” straight-line down the center is one of the best approach, at the very least for graphics processors. The outcomes include caveats and are unlikely to resolve age-old arguments about how greatest to unfold the paste on a CPU.
Igor examined three thermal paste strategies on a reference RTX 3080 operating Furmark whereas utilizing Alphacool’s Aurora GPX-N water backplate and the identical firm’s Apex thermal grease at a 20C room temperature. A DIY liquid cooler, whereas a bit labor-intensive and never as low cost as a pre-installed air cooler, can get monetary savings in comparison with shopping for a liquid-cooled GPU.
To make sure dependable take a look at outcomes, Igor took care to correctly clear the GPU earlier than attempting every methodology. He then spent 10 minutes warming it and 5 minutes measuring the temperature.
The sausage methodology achieved temperatures round 3C cooler than making use of a single dot (which Intel suggests for CPUs) and 5C cooler than spreading the paste throughout the floor of the GPU. Nevertheless, an essential element is how Igor screwed the cooler onto the GPU, firmly setting the screws on one aspect, then the opposite earlier than tightening each. Igor claims that GPU producers do that to use stress to the paste correctly.
One other caveat is that the road methodology considerably differs with bigger, high-end GPUs. Igor admits that the standard dot type might be ok for smaller mainstream GPUs (just like the RTX 3060, which is rising in Steam’s survey charts) as a result of they’ve much less space to cowl.
Even in case you aren’t within the take a look at, the article gives an intensive information on making use of thermal paste, whether or not for GPUs or CPUs. It covers steps like cleansing the processor’s floor, paste viscosity, and safely attaching the cooler.