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Compared thermal paste application methods and the difference was huge
I've been building PCs for about 5 years now, mostly on the side for friends and family. Always used the pea method for thermal paste, just a little dot in the middle and let the cooler spread it. Last month I built a system for a guy in Phoenix who wanted a quiet gaming rig. I went with a bigger CPU cooler than usual and tried the spread method instead, using a plastic card to cover the whole IHS evenly. Idle temps dropped by 4 degrees and under load it was 7 degrees cooler. Made me wonder if I've been doing it wrong this whole time. Has anyone else compared methods and seen a real difference like that?
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harris.aaron20d ago
That 7 degree drop under load is pretty solid though. I mean, are we talking like a 10-15 dollar tube of paste making or breaking your build? Most people aren't gonna notice a few degrees unless they're overclocking to the max.
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Gamers Nexus tested this and found the pea method is usually better than spreading.
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