iv tried to fill out the gaps and i've tried multiple ways of applying thermal paste but none of it seems to make any difference... the end result is always idle temps of around 45-55 degrees.
i even tried turning the speed of the fans up and instead of cooling things it made my idle temps worse (around 58ish)
Iv gone from idle temps of 42 in a smaller case with no cable management and 1 fan to 55 in a larger case with cable management and 3 fans.
i give up, everything i do makes things worse
edit: one thing i haven't been doing is using a cleaning fluid everytime i re-apply thermal paste, instead iv just wiped it off with a cloth. Is this likely to make a big difference to temps ?