Finally gave thermal paste spreading a real shot after years of dot method

Used the pea method for like 8 years until a Ryzen 5900X kept hitting 90 degrees even with a good cooler, then I tried spreading it thin with a credit card and my temps dropped 12 degrees, anyone else see a big difference going against the usual advice?

3 comments

3 Comments

riverdavis14d ago

I've been using the pea method since my old i7-3770K build and never had issues until I slapped a 5900X in. Spreading it thin with a credit card dropped my idle temps by 5-6 degrees and load by about 10, which was a huge surprise. I spread it like I'm frosting a tiny cake, just a thin even layer across the whole IHS, and it made a real difference. Also helps that you don't get those weird air pockets under the die that sometimes show up with the pea method.

the_tessa14d ago

Did you guys find it made a bigger difference on the 5900X compared to other CPUs? @riverdavis I had the exact same shock when I switched from the pea method to spreading it thin, my 5900X dropped by a solid 10 degrees under load too.

morgan_king3614d agoTop Commenter

Wait, you spread it with a credit card? I always just used the nozzle on the tube, but hearing that you got a 10 degree drop makes me want to TRY that. I bet it's way easier to get a perfect thin layer that way compared to trying to squeeze it evenly. I always end up with too much paste in the middle and it squishes out the sides, which probably explains why my temps are always a bit higher than I'd like.