Intel still recommends using only a grain of rice/pea sized amount of thermal paste?

Eshelmen

Eshelmen

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Feb 3, 2004
Messages
6,641
Unless Intel forgot to update their "How to" page.... it appears Intel is still recommending pea/grain sized portions of thermal paste.

According to a lot of you, this seems to be WAY too little of paste these days. And sure enough - my 5900x definitely favored A LOT more than a pea sized amount thanks to your recommendations. Average temps dropped dramatically.
With the newest generation of CPU's out now, my 5900x is probably considered in the mid tier for TDP. Yet, Intel still recommends only a small amount of paste.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/resources/how-to-apply-thermal-paste.html

From Intel's own website:
  • Make sure to use the correct amount of thermal paste, which is roughly the size of a pea or a grain of rice. An insufficient amount might not cover the surface area needed in order to be effective. Too much reduces the efficacy of the paste, due to the metal surfaces being too far apart, and also risks spilling out onto the motherboard during installation.
As well, they insist on letting the cooler do the work for spreading out onto the CPU instead... which is something I thought wasn't as viable anymore:
  • It might be tempting to spread the thermal paste onto the CPU yourself. We recommend letting the pressure from the base-plate or waterblock being installed do it for you. Incorrect manual application can cause air bubbles to form in the paste, which can negatively impact the thermal conductivity.

Wondering why they would still recommend an awfully small amount of paste? Anyone else feel this is kind of odd?
 
Last edited:
Eshelmen said:
Unless Intel forgot to update their "How to" page.... it appears Intel is still recommending pea/grain sized portions of thermal paste.

According to a lot of you, this seems to be WAY too little of paste these days. And sure enough - my 5900x definitely favored A LOT more than a pea sized amount thanks to your recommendations. Average temps dropped dramatically.
With the newest generation of CPU's out now, my 5900x is probably considered in the mid tier for TDP. Yet, Intel still recommends only a small amount of paste.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/resources/how-to-apply-thermal-paste.html

From Intel's own website:
  • Make sure to use the correct amount of thermal paste, which is roughly the size of a pea or a grain of rice. An insufficient amount might not cover the surface area needed in order to be effective. Too much reduces the efficacy of the paste, due to the metal surfaces being too far apart, and also risks spilling out onto the motherboard during installation.
As well, they insist on letting the cooler do the work for spreading out onto the CPU instead... which is something I thought wasn't as viable anymore:
  • It might be tempting to spread the thermal paste onto the CPU yourself. We recommend letting the pressure from the base-plate or waterblock being installed do it for you. Incorrect manual application can cause air bubbles to form in the paste, which can negatively impact the thermal conductivity.

Wondering why they would still recommend an awfully small amount of paste? Anyone else feel this is kind of odd?
Click to expand...
I think Intel probably hasn't been concerned with DIY user training. And pages like this have been left to stagnate. A single rice sized dollop no longer works for their CPUs, because their IHS is no longer square. It is very much a rectangle. You need a few strategically placed dollops. Or better yet----spread it.
Also, the idea of 'air bubbles' which they parrot in there, is not really true. If you spread decently, there shouldn't be any visible gaps in the thermal paste. Any tiny pockets will get smoothed out when the heatsink is fully pressured/installed onto the CPU. And then the CPU heats up, further encouraging the air to escape and for the thermal grease to displace it.
 
Last edited:
I did the pea-sized application in the middle with LGA 15xx and older CPUs and it worked well enough for me.

On the other hand, Noctua has updated their guidance for thermal paste application for the LGA 1700 CPUs with one 3-4mm dot in the middle and four 2mm dots near the corners of the IHS. That's what I now follow for my 12th and 13th gen cpus.
 
I also strongly prefer to spread on a thin and even layer that covers the entire heat-spreader. You want there to be full contact between the heat-spreader and waterblock/heatsink, not just where the thermal-paste decides to spread. It is important to not use too much paste. It takes a surprisingly small amount to spread across the entire heat-spreader. Start with less than you think that you will need and only add more if you can't spread it any further. The worry about air-bubbles is silly given that we are talking about metallic surfaces, and the clamping forces involved.

My guess is that the advice about a "pea or a grain of rice" dates back to when stock heatsinks had a circular mating surface about the size of a penny, and so obviously it didn't matter if the entire heat-spreader was covered.

stockheatsink.jpg
 
More is not necessary better and unless you are running a RBMK(Chernobyl) reactor for a PC void coefficient issues(air bubbles) is not an issue LOL.
 
SpongeBob said:
I've been doing this for 20 years. Use an old credit card and bam done in 5 minutes.
Click to expand...
5min to paste a cpu?! aint nobody got time for that, especially when it barely makes a difference. put a "pea" size gob in the middle and four smaller corner dots, slap on the heatsink/block.
 
pendragon1 said:
5min to paste a cpu?! aint nobody got time for that, especially when it barely makes a difference. put a "pea" size gob in the middle and four smaller corner dots, slap on the heatsink/block.
Click to expand...
Well some people like seeing a nice even spread after they pull the cooler off and intel cpus need every bit of help they can get with their loud pipes save lives engineering.
 
I used pea for years, now I either use a bigger lump or a line that matches the die depending on the paste. I still get near full IHS coverage and minimal squeeze out. Better get a lotto ticket now
 
pendragon1 said:
5min to paste a cpu?! aint nobody got time for that, especially when it barely makes a difference. put a "pea" size gob in the middle and four smaller corner dots, slap on the heatsink/block.
Click to expand...
Perhaps that was in the single or dual core days nowadays with 24 cores don't you want to make sure the heat spreader is completely covered to make sure there is good heat transfer throughout the entire chips surface?
 
xDiVolatilX said:
Perhaps that was in the single or dual core days nowadays with 24 cores don't you want to make sure the heat spreader is completely covered to make sure there is good heat transfer throughout the entire chips surface?
Click to expand...

Not sure if you have saw a picture of a delidded CPU.. but the "cores" aren't spread out underneath the entire heat spreader. I can see the reasoning of the "dot" method in that case
 
xDiVolatilX said:
Perhaps that was in the single or dual core days nowadays with 24 cores don't you want to make sure the heat spreader is completely covered to make sure there is good heat transfer throughout the entire chips surface?
Click to expand...
no not really. just make sure theres enough so it spreads to cover the entire ihs.
 
xDiVolatilX said:
But how can you make sure when you can't see it once it's covered? Lol
Click to expand...
experience? i can eye ball what i need and have had full coverage on everything ive pasted for 20+ years
ps: you cant have too much either...

xDiVolatilX said:
What if it doesn't spread evenly? Lol
Click to expand...
an even spread doesnt really matter as it will compress out anything it doesnt need. its only to fill the tiniest imperfections.
 
Spread it or Dread it :D

I've been doing this since way back in the 80's and neveranottaproblemo, however, I am always careful to leave the border of the paste back a little from the edge of the cpu, so that nothing would spill out onto the surrounding areas....
 
I used the pea method on my 5800X3D. Does it really make that much of a difference? Feels like splitting hairs.
 
Maybe us spreaders just have OCD? Or we really like PB&J sammiches?
I dunno about you guys but I spread my peanut butter on my slice of bread, I don't just put a glob in the middle and hope it spreads on it's own. Lmao
 
xDiVolatilX said:
I dunno about you guys but I spread my peanut butter on my slice of bread, I don't just put a glob in the middle and hope it spreads on it's own. Lmao
Click to expand...
Unrelatable materials? Check. Unrelatable forces in question? Check. Unrelatable sizes? Check. Idk, analogy seems to miss the mark. It's not like it spreads "on it's own", there's pretty high clamping forces squashing it down...

*Edit* Try it yourself. Get a couple pieces of flat metal, and put a bit of paste in between an squeeze them together. Check the result.
 
pendragon1 said:
no not really. just make sure theres enough so it spreads to cover the entire ihs.
Click to expand...
Didn't the verge do an excellent how to video for this?

Oh and /s
Who says less is more?
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20230301-171953.png
    Screenshot_20230301-171953.png
    698.9 KB · Views: 0
Last edited:
toast0 said:
Maybe cooking spray?
Click to expand...
That's just canola oil. Any organic oil will oxidize over time, reducing effectiveness. Nearly all thermal pastes are just silicone oils with various sized metallic particles suspended in them to increase thermal conductivity. Particle size, material, and density are the only real differences.
 
I used to do blob and slap the cooler on top and still do with 'standard die' CPUs but since I moved to HEDT etc., if I get a larger non standard die then I use spread method. Put a blob on and then spread the paste around nicely with my finger in a plastic bag or latex glove. Get a nice even haze on the die. Jobs a guddun.

If you get spill out you are using way too much. I think a lot of folks think you need a butter like layer between the cooler and die. No you want just enough to fill the less than a micron imperfections.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top