Thermal paste is a layer of heat-conducting compound between the cooled surface and the heat-removing device. Most often, thermal grease is used for heat-generating components of personal computers, namely on a processor, video card, etc.

In simpler terms, thermal paste is needed to improve the radiator, thanks to which the first is much better cooled. And as we know, the processor has a maximum temperature, which is not recommended to be brought up to in order to preserve the device's performance.

How big is the difference between a processor with and without thermal paste? It is large enough and can reach up to 20 units! For example, a test carried out on a sufficiently powerful Intel Core i3 processor showed that the processor temperature without using thermal paste is 45 ° C without load and 70-73 ° C under load, while the processor on which the thermal paste was applied heats up much less: 37 ° C no load and 60 ° C maximum under load. The difference, as you can see, is very significant. It is quite enough for the device to serve you for a long time and not cause any problems, because in case of overheating, they tend to arise.

How does thermal paste work?

Let's try to figure out how thermal paste works. I will say right away that by itself it does not know how to cool the processor. What, then, is its meaning?

If you take the processor in your hands and run it over its surface, it will appear as smooth as glass. But if we examine the surface under a microscope, we will see that in fact this surface is rough and contains many flaws. In order for the processor to cool as best as possible, it is necessary that its surface is as tightly connected to the surface of the heat sink of the radiator. This is where thermal paste will help us, which allows us to close all the notches on the surface of both the processor itself and the heat sink of the radiator.

True, there is one very important detail that not everyone knows about. When buying thermal paste, you probably paid attention to the fact that it is sold in very small tubes, although it is not so cheap. And all because the paste is used in extremely small volumes - it only needs to be lightly applied to the surface and evenly distributed. For a processor used in a PC, a small drop of thermal paste is sufficient.

That's all. Now you know what thermal paste is used for.

Today they brought a computer for diagnostics with a suspicious malfunction, it turns off when you start a chrome browser or some other program. As the owner of the computer said that he had already given it to two masters, and they said that the motherboard or processor is faulty. In short, I accepted it and put it on diagnostics under the load of the aida64 program, it worked for about an hour and turned off while not displaying the blue screen, but immediately turned off. I threw in a knowingly working power supply, the situation did not change, I turned off the automatic reboot in case of an error in the settings in the hope of surprising the Bsod error code, but this did not help anything, I somehow did not look at the processor temperature, but then I looked and aida64 showed 119 degrees and the computer turned off, well, I think you need to lift the processor heatsink and see what is underneath it, and when I raised it, I saw there a thick layer of thermal paste kpt8, before that I had never seen such a thick layer of thermal paste.

What is thermal paste for?

In simple terms, thermal paste is needed to have a good thermal contact. The processor cover looks like a smooth surface, but this is not the case, when you install a heatsink on a processor on a dry basis, due to the roughness and unevenness of the surface, micro voids remain, in which air remains and there will be poor thermal contact in these places, and when we smear with a special thermal paste, then these voids are filled with thermal grease and contact with the radiator in these voids occurs through the thermal grease. Well, something like this.

To apply thermal paste, we need a plastic card from a SIM card or an expired bank card, and you can also use an index finger, I always use it. A tube of thermal paste, kpt 8 do not recommend it dries quickly. Pick up anything other than KPT8 from your nearest electronics store. We apply a small drop of thermal paste to the center of the processor and smear a thin layer over the entire surface of the processor, the thinner the better, but without gaps, if the heatsink is with a copper core, then you can apply thermal paste directly to the core and when you wake up to install the heatsink in place, you need it twist a little so that the excess paste comes out. And you don’t look at all the clever guys on YouTube as they show off when applying the paste, there is one rule to apply with a thin layer, and what you’ll do is not important when installing a radiator, the excess will be squeezed out.

From the article you will find out why you need thermal paste. What is her role? Is it really necessary?

So why do you need thermal paste?

In simple terms, both for the processor and for the video card - the purpose is the same: "so that it doesn't get so hot." But such a primitive answer can only be given to a 70-year-old grandmother (no discrimination, she just has no need for details)

Let's analyze the question in more detail.

Thermal paste alone does not cool. Her role is different. She allows dissipate heat more efficiently from the processor to the heatsink. As a result, the temperature of the first decreases. Sometimes by 10-15 degrees!

What's the whole point?

If you look at the surface of the processor / heatsink under a microscope, you will notice roughness in the form of various irregularities and depressions. Because of this contact will be incomplete, there will be air between the surfaces. Thermal paste just designed to better adhere surfaces, fill in all the bumps and crevices.

Note: Johanson tiles are almost ideal for smooth surfaces. They are so clean (i.e. they have no roughness) that when they come into contact with one another, they literally stick together!

With active use of the computer, some of its parts begin to get very hot. If the system unit or laptop suddenly turns into a hot frying pan, you don't need to be a computer expert to understand that something is wrong. Overheating affects the speed of operation, system performance and the viability of the entire PC as a whole. To prolong the life of your computer, it is worth regularly dusting it and changing the thermal paste.

Do you need thermal paste?

And what is thermal paste for? Perhaps we will begin to answer this question a little from afar. You all know what a processor is. It is literally the heart of the computer. Similar to what beats in your chest, this heart continuously performs many different operations, supports a lot of processes within the system.

During its activity, the processor generates a considerable amount of heat. And, if he constantly works at such high temperatures, he will inevitably die. Try to work in such a fry every day.

Therefore, every computer is equipped with a cooling system. Most often it is presented as a cooler. A cooler is a radiator with a fan. The first conducts heat from the heating elements of the computer to the second, and he disperses it around the room.

It seems pretty simple, but where does the thermal paste? Despite the fact that the efficiency of the cooling system directly depends on how quickly the radiator can remove heat from the processor. If the part heats up faster than the heat leaves it, then there will be no sense in the operation of the cooling system. At the same time, you cannot just take and attach the radiator to the processor - because, either air will pass between them, which will only make it worse; or the heatsink will simply scratch the chip, which will not do anything good either.

This is where thermal paste comes in. It is thus a conductor of heat from the processor to the heatsink. It "holds" the processor and heatsink together, allowing the latter to efficiently remove heat from the former. If the thermal paste dries up, heat transfer will decrease, the processor will start to overheat, and the computer, in turn, slows down or shuts down altogether. Therefore, you need to periodically change the thermal paste to prevent this.

How to change thermal paste correctly?

If you decide to change the thermal paste yourself, you need to first deal with disassembling all the parts that lead to the processor and video adapter (if necessary). Think carefully if you are ready for this.

Have you made up your mind? Then stock up on cotton swabs, acetone, free time, a mountain of patience and, of course, the thermal paste itself.

Let's say that you have already passed the stage of disassembling all parts and got to the processor. Now you need something that can painlessly wash away dried thermal grease for the chip. You didn't think of just applying a new one on top of the old one. You didn't think, did you? Okay, then regular acetone will do the trick. You can borrow a nail polish remover from your wife, just explain why you need it.

After that, you will need a suitable tool to apply the liquid to. It should be soft enough not to scratch the chip. Cotton swabs work best.

Dip the stick in the liquid and use light, gentle movements to remove the dried thermal paste from the processor. The main thing is not to put pressure on the chip, because any, even the smallest scratch will inevitably lead to your fiasco.

Once you've seen your reflection in a clean chip, you can apply new thermal grease. This should be done with a special scraper, which usually comes with it in the kit. It is soft enough not to scratch. If there is no scraper in the package, you can apply with your finger, but not with your bare, sweaty hand. Wrap your finger in soft cellophane (take a bag) or any other non-sharp film, because, as you remember, just one tiny scratch, even from the film, and thermal paste will no longer help your computer.

Apply a small, I would even say, an extremely small amount of paste on the chip and spread it evenly over the entire surface in a thin layer. Using a scraper, it is worth positioning it at an angle - you do not need to hit the chip perpendicularly, you still do not separate the heroin.

Once applied, there is no need to wait for the new thermal paste to dry as well. Cover it with a radiator and screw everything back.

Now you know what thermal paste is for and how to apply it correctly. Hope these simple tips help you.

Hello dear readers.

Today I would like to tell you about a small, but rather important component, about what it is and what is needed for thermal paste for the processor. Perhaps this is the first time you hear this concept. As we all know, the processor of our computer or laptop tends to heat up.

In order to prevent it from overheating, there is a processor cooling system: the heat goes to the radiator, and the fan already blows cold air on the radiator itself - this is called a cooler. So, there is also such a thing as a thermal interface.

A thermal interface is a kind of gasket between a heating element (for example, a core cover) and an element that removes heat (a cooler). Thermal interfaces come in the form of compounds, copper plates, thermorezin solder, and, of course, thermal paste (heat conductive paste).

Why is thermal paste used? Thermal paste differs from all thermal interfaces in that it has a viscous consistency.

No matter how well the heels of the radiators are polished, there will still be microscopic holes on them. These holes will contain air. And besides, the surface of the processor cover also has micro holes. Usually no one polishes the lid. :)

The air tends to heat up and, accordingly, the heat transfer will decrease, so you need to remove it from there. For this, they came up with such a wonderful thing as thermal paste.

In total, it has two functions:

• Naturally, it is used for better contact and, as a result, cooling, etc. But, remember the main function!

Thermal paste is needed primarily to fill the holes (microcracks) of the surface so that there is no air there.

Since it is precisely because of the air that the necessary cooling does not occur (the air must be removed from the heating element.) And so that it does not settle in these cracks, this paste is used.

• In addition to removing air, it is itself a heat conductor. In the characteristics of pastes, they write such a parameter as W / mK - Watt per meter per Kelvin. The higher the given indicator, the better the thermal conductivity, respectively, the better the paste.

The paste is also used for a video card, that is, it is applied to a video chip. The principle is similar to the processor - it serves to provide better heat dissipation and prevent overheating of the video card.

The thermal paste must be applied in an even, thin layer. You should delve into the definition itself, a particle of "paste" means that the consistency must be viscous; it must not be allowed to dry out, otherwise it will lose its original purpose. It must be replaced every 6-10 months (both on a PC and on a laptop) to maintain good heat transfer.

Somehow I will write a separate post about the application of the paste.

That's all for today, I hope my article is useful to you. Oh yeah, I also forgot something. Here on the Internet such information appeared that it is possible to replace the thermal paste with toothpaste :)). Do not in any way believe in these nonsense! The toothpaste was developed for other purposes, and if you apply it in a computer, it will instantly boil and dry. Tearing it off is not a rewarding business.

Now that's all.

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