Paste vs Pads

Ragnaraz

Ragnaraz

Ragnaraz

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Joined
29 Jan 2021
Posts
93
I need a little clarification here.

There are several instances where paste or a pad can be used in an application, depending on what you're doing which is better?

The example I will use is my Nintendo Switch (don't judge me lol) it uses pads and pastes all over the show, I've seen people use pads, paste... pads with a little paste on top to boot. It is confusing me a little. I mean I have a paste and a pad strip both rated at 12w/mk, wouldn't the pad actually work a little better through a better connection in this instance? Which ever I use is going to give me better cooling compared to stock. Just I know TM Kyronaut can dry in about 12 months and I heard somewhere that pads can take a couple of years before they need to be replaced?
So it's sorta like less mess and more longevity too. That said, most GPUs use thermal pads over paste and they're just as hard working as a CPU (if you're gaming at high/ultra) so surely they're worth their salt.

Any and all incite would be good, I wanna redo my switch and this conundrum is annoying me now lol
 
Paste is normally used for direct contact, most pads normally are of a set thickness to bridge gaps or to allow a single heatsink to cool multiple chips of differing heights.

Ragnaraz said:
Just I know TM Kyronaut can dry in about 12 months and I heard somewhere that pads can take a couple of years before they need to be replaced?
Click to expand...
Arctic MX-2 and MX-4 are good for 8 years from application.

Ragnaraz said:
So it's sorta like less mess and more longevity too. That said, most GPUs use thermal pads over paste and they're just as hard working as a CPU (if you're gaming at high/ultra) so surely they're worth their salt.
Click to expand...
Most GPUs use thermal paste on the core, and pads for memory/VRMs.


Edit:
A quick look at the Switch internals online, looks like a reapplication of paste on the main chip, and adding some thin thermal pads on the RAM should be sufficient.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JN0Bg5dwU0
 
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