holy smack temp hit when applying grease incorrectly

[masterskartrg]

after about 2years of applying generic thermal paste incorretly i always wonder why my temp climb from 34c to 48c so high but still stable. so today i reapllied it again after reading a thread on the general hardware forum and reaply just a drip of it and using my finger to smooth it out wow now temp goes from 34c to only 41c running prime95 and rc5 thats crazy.i feel really stupid now i gotta go do this to all the comp i've build these last couple years 700@1000 stable here i come.

 

[DaddyG]

Master, you made one very serious mistake, keep your fingers in your mouth when applying the paste . hehe. No, seriously, the oils from your skin can interact with most thermal compounds and seriously degrade the performance. Spread the grease with a razor blade or the edge of a credit card.

 

[masterskartrg]

really so should i try it again ,i mean im really so happy that i lost over 6c already you think i can lose some more by using a credit card?

 

[DaddyG]

I wouldn't bother messing with it but skin oil can mess it up. Keep an eye on your temps, and you'll probably be OK. My post was really just to warn others, oil from your skin and thermal paste do mix.

 

[SpunkMonkey]

the grease is only supposed to fill in the tiny imperfections on the surface of the cpu so that there aren't any pockets of air. that's why you should only use a minimal amount. And that's also why you should use a real clean flat surface like daddyG suggested. A thick layer of grease can cause your temp to increase like crazy.

 

[johncar]

Putting some numbers on the good advice given above by all posters.
"Relative" thermal conductivity of various substances relating to the chip to hs interface.

Let ZnO greases = 1, "generally" adequate.

Air = .041, "always" inadequate.

Silver grease = 11.5, best grease, but not nearly as good as metals.

Alum alloy = 290, Gold = 495, Copper = 622, Silver = 667

Point...yes silver greases are about 11.5X better than Radio Shack zinc-oxide greases...but 25X "poorer" than alum alloy/hs...so while they are the best of the interfaces, they are no where as good as metals and can lose performance if/when mis-applied, like contamination, too thick, etc.
Le Vieux