More Thermal Paste Isn't Better

I recently tried a different kind of thermal compound that I hadn't used before. Instead of reading the instructions, I applied the paste the way I always had, and mounted it to my motherboard.

The system booted up, and I checked my system temperatures only to notice, my system was running warmer, by up to 4 degrees under a full load, with a higher quality paste. Since I overclock a lot, I got a pretty good clock speed out of it, but nothing great. I simply thought this was all I was going to get out of it, and left it alone for several months.

A couple of days ago, I did a system cleaning. The only way to get the CPU cooler dust all off, was to take the entire CPU off and blow it out with compressed air. Of course after doing so, the paste needs to be cleaned off, and reapplied. Instead of just assuming the application was the same, I actually went to the manufacturer's website and checked.

Lesson learned. My application was completely wrong with this new paste, so I followed their instructions perfectly. Now with my system under full load, I'm at the lowest temperatures yet. 4 degrees or more. At idle, my fan is half the RPM, 12-15 degrees cooler. A clean CPU cooler, and correct heatsink thermal paste application make an even bigger difference than I thought.

Seeing the numbers for myself will make me follow directions of thermal paste application more closely in the future.

Dave says

Heatsink thermal paste application is one of those things I am sure people just have to learn for themselves. I did, and so has everyone I know that loves computers.

If you are building a system, or just mounting a new cooler and want the best results. I strongly suggest you follow the manufacturers instructions on putting it on your CPU. Think of it this way they did design and test it every which way, and are giving us the best method, would be a shame not to get the best results.