Apply Thermal Compound on Processors

Some components in a PC can get very hot and excessive temperatures can be harmful to the working of the computer. They may cause logical errors in many internal devices. The components which are the biggest source of heat are the processor and graphic cards. It is always preferable to keep the temperatures in your PC low in order to keep the CPU operation stable and increase the life of the components. However as the clock speeds of the processors go on increasing, the temperatures go on increasing and we have to find alternate solutions to keep the temperatures down.

The 2 most common ways to battle heat are:
1. Using Fans – To facilitate air circulation in the cabinet
2. Using Heatsinks and thermal paste – For better conduction of heat

Mostly we use both of them in conjunction with each other. We attach a Heatsink directly above the processor and a fan above the Heatsink to get optimum cooling.

Now, Heatsinks dont have perfectly smooth surfaces. If you place the Heatsink directly above the processor, there will be some tiny air gaps trapped in between the Heatsink and Processor surfaces. Air is a very bad conductor of heat. So it will cause improper dissipation of heat causing the temperatures to not decrease as much as they should have. So you apply Thermal compound in between the Processor and Heatsink surfaces to aid proper conduction of heat. As the thermal compunds are good conductors, the heat dissipation will increase greatly resulting in cooler temperatures.

Steps to apply the Thermal paste:

1. Take the Fan and Heatsink off the processor. You may need to clean the processor and Heatsink surfaces, in case you are reapplying the Compound. Clean both surfaces using a thin cloth and a slight amount of iso-propyl alcohol. Iso-propyl alcohol dissolves the Thermal compound making it easier to clean off. It is easily available at some hardware stores and chemists.

2. Apply some Thermal compound on the Processor core and spread it evenly. Take very less Thermal compound if your processor has an exposed core, slightly more if it is covered with heat spreaders.

3. Spread the Thermal compound into as thin a layer as possible. You can use a visiting card or any thin sheet to do this effectively. Scrape off the extra Thermal compound. Excessive thermal compound can decrease the conductivity of the layer. Keep the thickness of the layer to a minimum.

4. Mount the Heatsink back on the processor. If the layer of Thermal compound was uneven, it will get spread out evenly due to the pressure on the Heatsink. Attach the Fanback to the Heatsink. Put everything back together and boot up your PC. You can check the temperatures in your BIOS Temperature monitor or using external utilities like Speedfan. Most likely, they will have reduced to some extent. If not, you must repeat the whole procedure again properly.

Exposed Core:

Exposed Core

Heat Spreaders on Core:

Heat Spreaders

Recommended Thermal Pastes.
Arctic Silver 5.
Cooler master HTK-001/002

Note:
Always ground yourself before handling any component in your PC or use an antistatic wrist strap to prevent electro static discharge that may harm your components.