Applying Artic silver 5

chrisb1 · 7 Feb 2014 at 07:58

Building my new system this weekend and using Artic silver 5 thermal paste, my question is do you need to follow there instructions on application or is it overkill.
What is.the.best method?

kefan77 · 7 Feb 2014 at 08:13

grain of rice size in the centre of the CPU and let the cooler do the rest.

Havana_UK · 7 Feb 2014 at 12:23

kefan77 said:
grain of rice size in the centre of the CPU and let the cooler do the rest.

This is what I do and I've not had any issues.

Robzere31 · 7 Feb 2014 at 12:39

kefan77 said:
grain of rice size in the centre of the CPU and let the cooler do the rest.

+1
Always worked for me.

The Matrix · 7 Feb 2014 at 12:58

I tint the CPU and cooler surface first then use the grain of rice method.

bainbridge · 7 Feb 2014 at 23:44

Following the Arctic instructions works best for me, tinting both mating surfaces and then applying as per instructions for whatever cpu you are using.

wazza300 · 8 Feb 2014 at 00:13

giving it the finger never fails me

spread it as thinly as poss

Rroff · 8 Feb 2014 at 00:19

Depends a bit on the CPU - generally drawing a small line and letting the heatsink spread it works best but some CPUs work better with a blob - depends a bit on the core orientation/layout under the IHS which isn't always easy to tell.

Not a fan of manually spreading it unless your using stuff like the gelid thats got the viscosity to spread properly as otherwise you can get pockets where it doesn't properly fill in the geography of the surfaces.