subject: How to Buy a New CPU Heat Sink [print this page] In addition to the newly acquired heat sink, you will need thermal paste between it and the the processor. Thermal grease, or paste, fills the small naturally occurring rough spots on these two parts and enhances the heat transfer between them. Different thermal greases are made of ceramic, metal, carbon and liquid metal materials and they are all considerable alternatives.
One of the reasons processors cooling is widely thought as the first step into sufficient computer cooling is because of the easy installation process. Installing the heat sink requires some dexterity but the real challenge comes in when the thermal grease is applied. One common mistake is to apply too much of the grease and seeing that the processor temperature values haven not changed after all and this is because the grease is now slowing down the heat flow instead of conducting it efficiently.
The rules to remember when applying thermal grease are that one tube of thermal grease should usually be enough for about ten processors and the main idea as previously said, is to fill the rough spots of the heat sink and the processor, nothing else. With these two pieces of advice in mind, thermal grease will be easier to spread properly.
