There are many limitations that prevent a conclusive answer – including but not limited to:
- Variety of Application Methods
- Variability in Coverage and Performance
- Impact on Thermal Performance
- Preference and Personal Experience
- Lack of Conclusive Evidence
To address these issues head-on – I have made a test rig that will / will use:
- One motherboard and CPU socket type.
- One thermal paste type/stock sample.
- A clear acrylic plastic to provide a visual for paste effectivity.
- Attempt to control the thermal paste volume (with 100ul being identified as ideal for a Haswell Xeon CPU for ~80% IHS coverage).
- An even amount of CPU-to-acrylic pressure of 3 lb-in on all four mounting bolts (measured with digital torque screwdriver).
- A reference volume of paste to estimate the volume. Accurate pipetting of viscous fluids like thermal paste is difficult.
- Realistically the volume will not be accurately controlled which will limit the usefulness of the outcome.
- Only one replicate of each pattern will be tested – mostly due to time efficiency – which does create the potential for measurement bias.
Vote for the CPU thermal paste application method that you believe will be the best method:
Dot Method – A single dot in the center.
Grain of Rice – A thin line or grain in the center.
Thin Line (Vertical) – A line across the center vertically.
Thin Line (Horizontal) – A line across the center horizontally.
Cross/X Pattern – An “X” shape across the center.
Four Dots – four dots around the edges.
Circle Method – A circle or ring shape in the center.
Square Method – Small dots arranged in a square or grid pattern.
Honeycomb Pattern – A hexagonal honeycomb grid for fun texture.
Double Line (Parallel) – Two parallel lines across the CPU.
Diamond Shape – Dots arranged to form a diamond pattern.
Smiley Face – For those Optimal spread dynamics.
Angry Face – For those Optimal spread dynamics.
Triangle Method – Dots arranged as a triangle.
Three Horizontal Lines – Covering the length of the CPU.
Three Vertical Lines – Going up and down along the CPU.
“Z” Pattern – A Z Workstation requires a zigzag pattern across the CPU.
Random Blobs – Random blobs scattered around (uneven spread).
Tic-Tac-Toe – Paste spread in a grid-like fashion across the surface.
Spreader Method – Completely cover the surface (time inefficient but effective?).
Spreader Method with 5 dots – Completely cover the surface (time inefficient but effective?).
Plus – There has to be a plus to this method?
Cross – We have to be able to cross this one off.
“S” Pattern – Surely starting symmetrical S’es Should Satisfy Superior Spreading?
Wheel – That’s a lot of paste to draw out a wheel.
Analogue Buttons – Why does this bring back memories of console controllers?
“H” Letter – surely the H pattern can help!
Bee Hive – Lots of paste and a simple pattern to apply.
Something else – A different pattern is actually better than all of these!