I5 Thermal Paste

[TerrorBird]

I cant seem to get my temps down, im running my I5 at 4.2 @ 3.36V

After 11mins linx, temps in Everest are 75/70/72/72 with an ambient temp of 20/21c

Which is the best way to apply thermal paste? Vertical Line? Centre dot? Also would the paste that came with my waterblock (swiftech apogee XT) be worth a go?

 

[TerrorBird]

But 10mins in prime95 the temps are a lot lower at 64/59/64/61

 

[bhavv]

My I7 is also getting really hot, despite having a great cooler (Asus Triton 88). I have reseating it 3 times with the Asus paste that came with the cooler, and managed to get my temps to 70-73 degs for 3800 Mhz, 78-84 for 4000 Mhz, and 85-88 degrees for 4200 Mhz (HT on temperatures).

However my Asus cooler only slightly warms up and still doesnt seem to be drawing away as much heat as it could. It is rated for 180 watt cooling and doesnt really seem to be doing that.

I were using the blob in the middle technique, which I found out is wrong for a quad. I have ordered some Arctic MX-3 and will try the line across the middle as shown in this guide:

http://www.arcticsilver.com/pdf/appinstruct/as5/ins_as5_intel_quad_wcap.pdf

The Arctic MX-3 should be a few degrees better than the Asus thermal paste, and also if I apply it better, that might shed off around 5 degrees more if I get lucky. Also I werent previously using a lint free cloth but cotton wool. I found myself a small lint free cloth from a mobile phone screen protector kit I had lying around, so I will use that now to clean the surfaces after the paste is removed with cotton wool / buds.

Its still a lot better then the stock cooler though which would cause the CPU to reach 90 degrees at just 3.5 Ghz according to reviews.