hello, this isnt really a question but was wondering about peoples TIM applying methods. i remember reading the TIM article on here and i thought hey that looks good and makes sense. my result says otherwise though. i have done a few tests using some generic TIM (with akasa NERO) and AS5. the tiny blob and spread method is CRAP and does not work at all. my temps were very high. i applied a small rice to 1 1/2 rice grains and spread it around the CPU then placed my cooler on. i used prime95 and coretemp for testing on win7 and XP using an akasa NERO. temps on AS5 on a i7 920 stock. idle 45-50C under load 85-90C with blob and spread. using the 1 to 1.5 rice grain in the centre then seating the heatsink on top results in 30-35C idle and 55-60C load. maybe i used too much TIM on the spread method but i was only maybe slightly more than rice grain method. anyone else have good results with blob and spread ??? or does everyone just use the rice grain one ?
were you allowing the TIM to burn in before retesting? personally i lap the cooler and the CPU, then apply a really thin mist of TIM to both surfaces as its only filling the tinyest of gaps where air come be trapped. the gain of rice method works, with a decent mounting pressure.
well AS5 run in time is 200hrs or so and even then says temps will drop a further 2-5C during this period. so i monitored temps maybe 30 mins after seating on both methods. but by doing the same it should give me the difference between the methods just maybe not the absolute value of what the temps are or will be after setting in
another trick is to use a credit card and cellotape apply to strips of tap either side of the CPU or HSF leave two edges free, apply some TIM and with the card spread and remove excess TIM, once fully covered remove tape and mount. This method insures even spread of TIM, takes a little pratice.
