In context: One of many oldest debates in PC constructing facilities on the proper option to apply thermal paste. A single blob, a number of blobs, a cross, or a butter unfold? Igor’s Lab lately tried to check strategies, however just for GPUs, whereas the talk often issues CPUs.

A brand new check from Igor’s Lab suggests making use of thermal paste in a “sausage-like” straight-line down the center is the very best method, no less than for graphics processors. The outcomes include caveats and are unlikely to resolve age-old arguments about how finest to unfold the paste on a CPU.

Igor examined three thermal paste strategies on a reference RTX 3080 working Furmark whereas utilizing Alphacool’s Aurora GPX-N water backplate and the identical firm’s Apex thermal grease at a 20C room temperature. A DIY liquid cooler, whereas a bit labor-intensive and never as low cost as a pre-installed air cooler, can get monetary savings in comparison with shopping for a liquid-cooled GPU.

To make sure dependable check outcomes, Igor took care to correctly clear the GPU earlier than attempting every methodology. He then spent 10 minutes warming it and 5 minutes measuring the temperature.

The sausage methodology achieved temperatures round 3C cooler than making use of a single dot (which Intel suggests for CPUs) and 5C cooler than spreading the paste throughout the floor of the GPU. Nonetheless, an vital element is how Igor screwed the cooler onto the GPU, firmly setting the screws on one facet, then the opposite earlier than tightening each. Igor claims that GPU producers do that to use stress to the paste correctly.

One other caveat is that the road methodology considerably differs with bigger, high-end GPUs. Igor admits that the standard dot fashion might be ok for smaller mainstream GPUs (just like the RTX 3060, which is rising in Steam’s survey charts) as a result of they’ve much less space to cowl.

Even for those who aren’t within the check, the article offers a radical information on making use of thermal paste, whether or not for GPUs or CPUs. It covers steps like cleansing the processor’s floor, paste viscosity, and safely attaching the cooler.