20/09/2015 TheDifferencesBetweenAMDAndIntelHeatSpreadersThermalPasteComparison,PartOne:ApplyingGreaseAndMore

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermalpasteheatsinkheatspreader,36003.html 1/5

ConvexandConcaveHeatSpreadersTomakemattersworse,heatspreadersarenotmerelyrough,butduetothewaythey'remanufactured,theyaren'tlevel,either.Thefollowingdiagramexaggeratestheproblemforthepurposeofillustration:

AMDsheatspreadersareslightlyhigherinthecenterandIntelshavehigheredges.Frommyperspective,AMD'sapproachisbettersuitedforcooling.DuetothemountingpressureoftheCPUcooler,thethermalcompoundisthinnestwheremostoftheheatneedstobetransferred.Thus,IntelCPUsdeserveperhapsatouchmorethermalpaste,andyoushouldtakecarethatnoairgapsforminthecenter.

HowThermalPasteSpreadsunderPressureThefollowinganimationillustrateshowthermalpasteescapestothesideswhenpressureisapplied.Later,welldiscusstherelationshipbetweenapastesfluidity(how"liquid"itis,theoppositeofviscosity)andthemaximummountingpressureindetail.Fornow,letsjustsaythatapastewithlowviscosityismoresuitableforlowpressuremountingmethods,likeIntelspushpinmethod,thana"hard"paste.

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ThermalPasteComparison,PartOne:ApplyingGreaseAndMoreByIgorWallossek OCTOBER10,201311:00PM

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20/09/2015 TheDifferencesBetweenAMDAndIntelHeatSpreadersThermalPasteComparison,PartOne:ApplyingGreaseAndMore

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermalpasteheatsinkheatspreader,36003.html 2/5

SUMMARY

1. EverythingYouWantedToKnowAboutCoolingACPU2. InteractionOfTheHeatSpreaderAndHeatSink3. TheDifferencesBetweenAMDAndIntelHeatSpreadersg4. ChoosingTheRightPaste:MoreThanAMatterOfPrice5. ApplyingThermalPaste,PartOne6. ApplyingThermalPaste,PartTwo7. WhyDoWeTestEachPasteInFourScenarios?8. GetReadyForTheThermalCompoundBenchmarks!

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Displayall136comments.Thisthreadisclosedforcomments

6 rolli59,October10,20139:29PM 38 Hide h

Nicearticleandbookmarkedforreference.Lookingforwardforthenextpart.

6 alidan,October10,20139:35PM 10 Hide h

pleasetellmeyoarealsogoingtodothesoldertheheatsinktothecpumethod?iforgetwhatitscalled,butthatiswhatiwanttouseformynextcomputerandwouldlovetoseehowitstacksup.

38 Hide

ThetechnicalspecificationsofathermalpastesthermalresistancedonotnecessarilypredictitsrealworldperformanceforaspecificcombinationofCPU,paste,andcooler.Agoodheatsinkcanbecrippledbyamismatchedthermalcompound.Agoodmatchbetweencoolerandpastecanachievemorethanjustblindlychoosinganexpensivethermalcompound.

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