lilyp37•24d agoMost Upvoted

Took me 3 years to realize I was using thermal paste wrong

I used to put a pea sized drop in the middle of the CPU and call it good. Last week I was swapping a cooler on a Ryzen 5 3600 and the temps were hitting 85C under load. A buddy told me to spread it thin with a credit card instead. Tried it and now I'm sitting at 72C max. All those years I thought the pressure from the cooler would spread it even but it clearly wasn't. Anyone else have a basic thing they did wrong for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim.jake24d ago

Pea method works for most people but that's like saying a sledgehammer works for most nails. People get stuck on "good enough" and never question if there's a better way. It's the same thing with how everyone tightens lug nuts until they can't turn it anymore instead of using a torque wrench. We all pick up habits early and just run with them until something forces us to look closer. Your friend did you a solid, even if the internet fights over which method is actually best.

henryp4024d ago

85C under load on a Ryzen 5 3600 is actually fine for that chip, the max temp is 95C before throttling. Spreading paste thin with a credit card can leave dry spots and microscopic air pockets that hurt heat transfer over time too. The pea method works perfectly on most CPUs when you don't overtighten or undertighten the cooler.

the_linda24d ago

Pea method has never let me down across like 8 builds so far. I'd also check your case airflow before worrying too much about 85C, those 3600s run warm even with decent cooling.