Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
roughly $10 to the overall cost of the PC build, but that expense is worth the
peace of mind of using a high-quality cooling compound.
True to its name, Arctic Silver contains silver, an excellent conductor of heat.
It is also a highly sticky substance that you don't want to have land on any-
thing but the top of the CPU cover.
Several schools of thought exist when applying thermal paste. Some prefer a
drop the size of a pea while others prefer the size of a grain of rice. Some use
a putty knife or the edge of a credit card to spread that amount evenly across
the surface of the CPU top cover. Others let the CPU fan's connecting surface
spread the paste when sandwiched between the CPU and the fan's connecting
flat metal surfaces. I have used the latter approach for years without incident.
I shy away from the spreading method so as not to accidentally sandwich any
foreign materials in between the CPU and fan surfaces.
Before squeezing out a pea-sized dollop of Arctic Silver in the middle of the
CPU cover, test squeezing out the measurement on a paper plate. This will
give you a sense of how much pressure to apply to the syringe while voiding
out any de-coagulated fluids that may have settled near the tip during ship-
ment. When you're confident of your measurement and squeezing technique,
place a small amount of Arctic Silver onto the CPU cover. Refer to the following
figure for details.
Figure 23—A pea-sized drop of Arctic Silver on the CPU cover
