Beginner PC Building: How to use and find the right Thermal Paste

Jan 07, 2024

Are you building your PC for the first time and wondering what and how to use thermal paste? You have come to the right place, my friend. In this article, we will guide you on how to use and find the right thermal paste for your new PC!

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Thermal paste is a substance applied between the heatsink and the device it’s intended to cool. It’s also well known as thermal grease or conductive grease. It enhances conductivity between the CPU and heatsink. The heatsink safely disperses the processor’s extra energy outside of the device, where the fan or another cooling device removes it.

The thermal paste works fantastically as a conduit to improve heat transfer. It is crucial for Gaming PC, particularly, that the CPU grease absorbs all the energy to guarantee that it only gets to the heatsink and not to any of the internal computer circuits.

This is why a thermal paste is crucial, especially a premium one from reputable manufacturers like Artic Silver, Noctua, Cooler Master, and Thermal Grizzly.

There are a lot of techniques to apply thermal paste. Everything is different depending on what kind of paste you want to apply. For example, a thicker paste requires a different application technique than a thinner one.

There’s no one true method to apply thermal paste. However, there is a simple method that most PC users, especially beginners, use to apply the paste.

If you are applying paste to a previously pasted CPU, don’t forget to clean the used one first. Use a cotton swab and alcohol to scrub the dry paste off the CPU gently.

There are several types of Thermal Paste, each with a unique purpose.

These have the best heat conductivity, but they also have excellent electrical conductivity. This means that the paste must be applied to the metal contacts of the motherboard with the utmost care.

The ceramic thermal paste is not conductive because it contains no metal.

This is the best option to use if you are a beginner. They won’t, however, result in a temperature drop as significant as the liquid metal thermal paste.

The silicone thermal paste is pre-applied to thermal pads and then positioned between the processor and the heatsink. Although silicone thermal pastes are very simple to use, they don’t give the same efficiency level as other compounds.

If you are reading this article, we can assume you are a beginner in PC building. Therefore, our best recommendation for you is to use ceramic thermal paste. Here is a list of some of the best ceramic thermal paste brands you can buy:

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