Best way to apply paste to a direct-contact heatpipe cooler?

[adcx64]

Should I just follow the normal pea sized method?

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Have a read of this too
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Thermal-Paste-Application-Techniques-170/

 

[peche]

direct-contact heatpipe cooler?

You mean laptop cooler?
or which cooler is it, please specify,

Regards,

 

[newtekie1]

Should I just follow the normal pea sized method?

Yes.

 

[thesmokingman]

Should I just follow the normal pea sized method?

If the pipes are exposed which is typical of direct contact, then you SPREAD. Pea will get caught in the ridges.

 

[eidairaman1]

I use spread method no matter the cooler

 

[peche]

I use spread method no matter the cooler

If the pipes are exposed Its pretty great to tint a little bit of tim to them... for making a greater bond surface....

Regards,

 

[RejZoR]

If pipes aren't smoothed out almost perfectly it's almost better to apply tiny bit more TIM than necessary to fill the slightly bigger gaps. It's better to have slightly more thermal paste than having an air gab which is the worst heat conductor you can imagine.

 

[Jetster]

I never spread. Just squish and its good. Peche direct contact is like the CM 212 not a laptop

As far as Direct contact Ive use as little as a grain of rice and not spread. Always worked for me. The only one I spread is CPUs like the old Duron type with no heat spreader

The only thing you could do wrong is use too much, reuse the paste or forget to take the sticker off

 

[silkstone]

I always just go with a grain of rice in the middle and a smidgen in each corner.
Though I have lapped all of my cpus so even just a grain of rice blob covers 66% of the CPU.

Every other method I have tried, give me higher temps and I've found that the less compound, the better.

 

[Dethroy]

X-shape has proven to be the most reliable method with the best coverage from my experience thus far.

by way of illustration

Cisco's recommendation:

 

[peche]

and I've found that the less compound, the better.

agreed, but there may be also a correct mount or block seat that might do the rest of the great job sir,

X-shape has proven to be the most reliable method with the best coverage from my experience thus far.

by way of illustration

Cisco's recommendation:
View attachment 77981

video was going great till he spread Coollab over the IHs, personally i just use and recomend coollab for delid porpuses, not for single use on proceesor's IHS,

also its quite curious that he didnt tried Arctic Silver 5

Regards,

 

[sneekypeet]

This is the way I have always pasted my HDT coolers. Not my image, just used as reference.

 

[95Viper]

Some nice examples here --> Application on HDT Coolers

Cisco's recommendation:

It may be just me... I see to many areas for the possibility of air being trapped.

 

[Dethroy]

It may be just me... I see to many areas for the possibility of air being trapped.

I was curious and actually tried this method several times today at work. Was very pleased with the results and I can confirm that no air will be trapped, since the X will push the small peas outwards. Will have to admit that I used too much thermal paste throughout the first 2-3 attempts though.

 

[sneekypeet]

Normally, with solid base coolers. I use a five dot method. Have used this for years on many coolers and have great success with an even spread. Much like the example from Dethroy, but it uses much less paste. Would also tend to work with HDT coolers, as the paste is where the pipes are, rather than trying to set it in the middle and spread that glob outwards. Again, not my image, just an example I found.

 

[Norton]

I use the thin line method on HDT coolers- haven't had a problem with any installs that I've done

Like this (image from a TweakTown review):

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/47...ht_hawk_edition_cpu_cooler_review/index6.html

 

[erocker]

X-shape has proven to be the most reliable method with the best coverage from my experience thus far.

by way of illustration

Cisco's recommendation:
View attachment 77981

This is what I use. Before that, if I'm using an exposed heatpipe cooler I will "tint" them as @peche mentioned above, to fill in the creases/gaps between the pipes.

 

[sneekypeet]

I use the thin line method on HDT coolers- haven't had a problem with any installs that I've done

Like this (image from a TweakTown review):

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/47...ht_hawk_edition_cpu_cooler_review/index6.html

Someone dug deep to find that image!

 

[Norton]

Someone dug deep to find that image!

Wasn't hard considering the cooler in that picture is 3 feet away from me in my main rig...

 

[peche]

I use the thin line method on HDT coolers- haven't had a problem with any installs that I've done

Like this (image from a TweakTown review):

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/47...ht_hawk_edition_cpu_cooler_review/index6.html

ill perform a little tint over there.. i dont trust the space between every heatpipe and cooler base...

 

[sneekypeet]

ill perform a little tint over there.. i dont trust the space between every heatpipe and cooler base...

The aluminum plate/base of such coolers do very little to cool the CPU anyways. You want the paste on the copper bits.

 

[peche]

The aluminum plate/base of such coolers do very little to cool the CPU anyways. You want the paste on the copper bits.

not just over the cooper, check this elemental fact:

tim is used to fill al the gaps between cpu and heatsink right?
Since the heatpipes are little bit exposed and not joint togheter there is a space, that might be tinted or filled for trying to get a flat surface for optional contact or heat exchange between both surfaces, helped by TIM



Regards,

 

[sneekypeet]

not just over the cooper, check this elemental fact:

tim is used to fill al the gaps between cpu and heatsink right?
Since the heatpipes are little bit exposed and not joint togheter there is a space, that might be tinted or filled for trying to get a flat surface for optional contact or heat exchange between both surfaces, helped by TIM



Regards,

That image is for a solid base cooler. I am simply stating this. When using an HDT cooler, even feeling the two components, the aluminum does not warm up like the pipes do near the base. With such little contact for the Aluminum to make with the CPU IHS, it does very little for cooling the CPU. However, the wider copper parts take on the majority of the heat dissipated into the base of the cooler, and is where it is important to get the TIM. If you look closely at the image that Norton added above, you will see that Xigmatek did not even use TIM between the pipes and the aluminum spacer plate. This means thermal transfer from the pipes to the base is very limited. Some companies will paste this surface during assembly, and you will see a bit of the TIM squeezing out. Then again, when you use the finger test or an IR thermometer to get readings of the spacer plate versus the heat pipes, it is plainly obvious that the aluminum does very little for overall results. To each their own though! Thing is though, when using a line on each pipe, the paste will fill the gaps, I can take images and prove to you what I mean if you would like to see this in action rather than just words.

 

[FR@NK]

I need to pull my cooler off and see how well the paste has spread.

Also, doesnt anyone use AS5 anymore? Maybe I need to get a better paste...