Probably a silly question.....
- Thread starter cjayjay
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Thermal interface material?
Its used to fill the microscopic gaps between two surfaces, such as the cpu metal heatspreader and the heatsink, or the gpu core and the gpu heatsink.
Without it the two surfaces only make contact in a few places (although it might be difficult to see with the naked eye) and heat transfer is poor. Thermal compound often contains metal such as silver in tiny particles in a grease which will fill the gaps in the two surfaces and provide good heat transfer.
A lot of people use too much of it and forget that its filling the gaps in the surfaces, not mating them together.
Its used to fill the microscopic gaps between two surfaces, such as the cpu metal heatspreader and the heatsink, or the gpu core and the gpu heatsink.
Without it the two surfaces only make contact in a few places (although it might be difficult to see with the naked eye) and heat transfer is poor. Thermal compound often contains metal such as silver in tiny particles in a grease which will fill the gaps in the two surfaces and provide good heat transfer.
A lot of people use too much of it and forget that its filling the gaps in the surfaces, not mating them together.
Thermal Interface Material (TIM) is used to displace air in all the micro grooves and spaces between the surface of the CPU and the heatsink. Air is a bad heat conductor, so replacing it with a material that is a good heat conductor results in a much more efficient transfer of heat from the CPU to the sink.
TIM isn't as good a conductor as the actual top of the CPU or HS so you want to use as little as possible.
Not using TIM will possibly see your load temps exceeding safe working temps, resulting in a P4 throttling, or a A64 crashing or locking up. If you lap (polish) the HS and heatspreader (the bit on top of the CPU) you can also reduce temps by improving the flatness of the surface.
Jokester
TIM isn't as good a conductor as the actual top of the CPU or HS so you want to use as little as possible.
Not using TIM will possibly see your load temps exceeding safe working temps, resulting in a P4 throttling, or a A64 crashing or locking up. If you lap (polish) the HS and heatspreader (the bit on top of the CPU) you can also reduce temps by improving the flatness of the surface.
Jokester