Too much thermal paste can cause overheating and damage components.
Too much thermal paste can cause overheating and damage components.
I consistently apply thermal paste uniformly across the entire IHS area in a very thin layer. This ensures complete contact between the IHS and the cooler cold plate, which is ideal. Using only a small amount—like a pea-sized drop—makes it impossible to guarantee full coverage, and since it's concealed, you can't verify it. Shrodinger's thermal paste really is tricky. Applying just enough to cover the IHS without making it visible works perfectly. I've used this approach for about 20 years and it consistently delivers results. I don’t know who first introduced the pea-sized method or the X-shaped paste, but it’s clearly a flawed process.