Making use of thermal paste in a straight line can decrease GPU temps by 5C

In context: One of many oldest debates in PC constructing facilities on the right technique to apply thermal paste. A single blob, a number of blobs, a cross, or a butter unfold? Igor’s Lab just lately tried to check strategies, however just for GPUs, whereas the talk normally issues CPUs.

A brand new check from Igor’s Lab suggests making use of thermal paste in a “sausage-like” straight-line down the center is one of the best approach, at the very least for graphics processors. The outcomes include caveats and are unlikely to resolve age-old arguments about how greatest to unfold the paste on a CPU.

Igor examined three thermal paste strategies on a reference RTX 3080 working Furmark whereas utilizing Alphacool’s Aurora GPX-N water backplate and the identical firm’s Apex thermal grease at a 20C room temperature. A DIY liquid cooler, whereas a bit labor-intensive and never as low-cost as a pre-installed air cooler, can get monetary savings in comparison with shopping for a liquid-cooled GPU.

To make sure dependable check outcomes, Igor took care to correctly clear the GPU earlier than attempting every technique. He then spent 10 minutes warming it and 5 minutes measuring the temperature.

The sausage technique achieved temperatures round 3C cooler than making use of a single dot (which Intel suggests for CPUs) and 5C cooler than spreading the paste throughout the floor of the GPU. Nonetheless, an vital element is how Igor screwed the cooler onto the GPU, firmly setting the screws on one aspect, then the opposite earlier than tightening each. Igor claims that GPU producers do that to use strain to the paste correctly.

One other caveat is that the road technique considerably differs with bigger, high-end GPUs. Igor admits that the normal dot fashion might be adequate for smaller mainstream GPUs (just like the RTX 3060, which is rising in Steam’s survey charts) as a result of they’ve much less space to cowl.

Even should you aren’t within the check, the article supplies an intensive information on making use of thermal paste, whether or not for GPUs or CPUs. It covers steps like cleansing the processor’s floor, paste viscosity, and safely attaching the cooler.