I been around a while in the PC scene, I think a lot of this conversation has got muddled over time application was important when high end pastes tend to contain conductive materials. Overspill when you used those could kill your stuff. This is less of an issue today since high end pastes are within 1C of each other in performance and are also non-conductive making overspill not a problem. GPUs specifically are naked dies unlike CPUs today which have Integrated Heat Spreaders. It's less important to cover the entire CPU IHS so long as you paste the hot spots where the die is underneath it. GPUs therefore require full coverage since every inch of that surface will get hot. Also it's a requirement to use non-conductive pastes with GPUs as the general application recommendations will cause some overspill inevitably.
Good to know that, as long as you apply enough of it, the specific method doesn't really matter. As for what might give better performance... I mean... I suppose liquid metal would the only comparable thing that could give you better heat transfer. But I don't think that'll really be worth it for most people. :P
There was old article on an overclocking website that did like a dozen different application methods and did it over like a suite of 100 tests. It covered all your points but even through some more esoteric ones(spiral for bigger dies that some server manufacturers suggest, smiley face for the meme etc). The tests were consistent across make and model they tested. Ironically the smiley face did the best - but even that was written off as well within variance. long story short - doesn't matter. Its an argument for no reason.
Pretty cool video even after 2 years. Can't believe you got the exact same temps 8 times over. Sapphire says to put 0.2 mm of thermal paste on their Pulse Vega 56 (~9 cm²). That would equate to 0.45 grams of MX-6 or 1/4 of a 2 g syringe.
Only danger is to use too little with the dot application, like way less than a pea-sized amount. When spreading, the paste might not reach the corners. So better use a bit too much than too little :)
I recommend to try phase-change material Honeywell PTM7950. It comes as a sheet and you don't have to mess around with any applying dots, dashes or crosses. Just cut out a piece the size of the IHS/core and stick it on. Also don't have to worry about whether the paste is too little or too much - it will be just right. In addition, it lasts longer, performs works better than traditional pastes and there is no pump-out effect.
I always do an X and have had 100% coverage on tge heat spreader when I've removed the cooler. Honestly, its really weird people gets so animated about this issue. I've seen nasty fights in comments of pc groups over thermal paste applications. On a gpu I just do a grain of rice blob in the middle.
Great video! I think that this is quite a underrated channel for the amount of effort that goes into making these amazing videos. And one other thing, I have run into a bit of an interesting issue in your Discord server.
@@HardwareHaven IMHO the best way to prove intelligence is to admit error and learn. Trying to prove a point just indicates to me they have a lot of growth.
The most important thing is the kind of paste. MX-4 is a good paste for CPU with an integrated heat spreader but it's a horrible choice for GPU which has an naked die. It will work for 2-3 months but eventually it will pump out because it's a very liquidy paste. For a GPU you need a very viscous paste that is more like a clay. Good examples of GPU pastes would be DowsilTC-5026, TC-5688, Shin-Etsu X7921, Prolimatech PK-3, IC diamond 24. Bad choices would be TG Kryonaut, MX-4 and 5, Noctua NT-H1 and 2 are all very liquidy and doesn't dry out but has trouble sticking to the naked die surface and Arctic Silver 5 because of its mostly oil properties which dries way too quickly. Quantity, Application method doesn't matter that much as long it's full coverage than it's good enough.
@@heroicsquirrel3195 While Turuu recomends some good ones, you can also go with these: Honeywell PTM7950 (it comes like A thermal pad, but, in fact, it's a paste that changes consistency at around 40°C and becomes like a a past. This is in layman therms) Another good one for die application is Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut (recommened by der8uer himself) Another good one is Gelid GC Extreme. I've used these in the past for my job (IT) on Laptops, my own graphics cards, etc.
That is nonsense. I used noctua ntnh1 2 all good till now. I used also arctic mx 6 with worst result but maybe I didn't made a good spread or I used to much. Anyway nocturnal is performing well enough. When the rtx 4060 laptop is using 100-105W ,with fans around 5000rpm,it stays around 76-77 °C. 77 is the max I have seen till now.
I personally like the idea of the thin spread method but from what I hear, theoretically, you could introduce tiny bubbles into the application doing it that way and in doing so, add a small layer of insulation between the die and the paste. But this is just heresay and I've not done enough testing (or have done an application poorly enough) to run into this issue myself.
After working with so many different GPU models over the years, I came to a conclusion that using spread method can be very questionable with some coolers. To sum it up - Dot method is great for small dies. X for larger ones. X with tiny dots between lines for really big dies/IHS. I never spread because of accidents when coolers did not made perfect contact with die (which resulted in GPU extremely overheating).
I've seen Brian on Tech Yes City, just spread a thin layer around, as it comes out of the tube. Making sure to cover the entire area. And he's been selling hundreds of gaming PC's for years.
Penny wise, pound foolish. Just apply a thin uniform layer. It’s the reason they all include the little spatula these days. The paste is non-conductive (unless you’re using liquid metal), so a little over the edge of the die won’t hurt anything.
the topic of applying thermal paste is a super controversial topic on RU-vid but it has shown that the people who give it controversy really do not have much knowledge (excuse my English, it is translated hehe)
Yeah that was a complete blunder. To be clear, I really don’t care for gigabyte as a company, but that’s not gonna stop me from using a solid power supply that I got for a good deal from a friend if that makes sense haha
@@HardwareHaven I fully understand, I have a gigabyte motherboard and their SSD in my main system, I have nothing against their products, in fact they will probably now make sure something this stup1d never happens again and make some great power supplies to make up it
Great Video! Never got the whole thermal paste debate, I think if it’s a good quality compound and covers the surface (even with overspill) it’s good enough.
Wow I already thought dot is the best too btw i wana make hardware video like u and mryeester but i still in high school I don't have that much money to buy so what should ido? Saving up to buy the pc part i need or jut wait to grow up and get a job and start when I grow?
I think really just whatever you want and are able to do. I would start trying to make videos now with whatever you have or can find. It will force you to be creative with it and also see if it's something you actually enjoy doing. That's my advice at least
The best paste for a CPU, isn't the best paste for a GPU. The better ones are optimised for a lower temperature range. They dry out and crack at GPU temps.
This was a pretty good follow up to your short. Again, learnt something new and had fun. Now, how much thermal paste do you recommend people apply on their food?
sadly the best way to test this is with a GPU that reports HOTSPOT temps (like a 5700 XT), edge temps or regular gpu temps don't display the temp of the hottest part of the gpu die :(
That probably would be helpful. I'm not sure though how much of a difference there would be with consistent mounting pressure and enough paste to cover the entire surface of the die. Do you have a link or anything to a similar test that uses hotspot monitoring? I'd be curious to see.
@@HardwareHaven sadly no video, this is a topic i discussed with others on discord a few months ago and tested myself (when i repasted my 5700 XT Red Devil). The "thin" method dropped my GPU hotspot temps from 110ºC to 98ºC compared to the dot method and i made sure mounting pressure was extremely consistent, the "edge" or "regular" gpu temp was just 1ºC better (this is all with a 60% gpu fans speed with a 190W PL, running unigine superposition max everything for 2 hours).
@@HardwareHaven i don't have a way of testing ambient temps but it was tested on the same day in the same hot room but no way a mild shift in ambient temp (it all felt the same to me) would account to a 12ºC drop on Hotspot temps. I wish i had taken pictures of the paste patterns after application but the dot method while it can spread across the die the corners did not have much paste applied on them but i used a thermal paste that isn't very liquidy so idk if that is the main reason the corners lacked enough paste (the dot was small like a rice grain since that i what i kept hearing was usually done but noctua recommends a pea sized blob). I did not test any other methods since i was happy with the temp drop with the "spread" method.
Gotcha! It’s cool that you did that and got some lower temps. I’m getting tired of doing thermal paste content, but if I ever come back to it I’ll try to bring hotspot measurements into consideration. I imagine for most users it’s really not as big of an issue. There will most likely be an improvement if the paste hasn’t been changed in a while, and at most the GPU might slightly throttle a bit sooner if one hotspot sensor is getting too hot.
Maybe.. I definitely plan to do more GPU content with prices coming down, but it might not necessarily all be gaming stuff. I also don’t have any “modern” consoles to compare to haha
@@HardwareHaven I love used part content meta builds and diy fixes that can be cheap like an office PC turned gamings PC or 1st gen Ryzen with a 1650 or entry level machine you do not need newest and coolest to enjoy gaming