Applying Thermal Paste to Lower Your CPU Tempurature

With processors becoming more and more powerful every day, it becomes increasingly difficult to prevent them from overheating and possibly short-circuiting and/or damaging other components in your PC. This is an especially big concern for those who wish to overclock (to run a processor faster than the speed it has been tested and approved in order to increase performance) their PCs as well as notebook users who grow tired of being nearly burned while using their computers on their laps. One fairly simple way to lower CPU temperature is by using thermal paste. Thermal Paste is a compound which is applied between the processor and the heatsink in order to create a better connection between the two components. This allows the heat to transfer from the processor into the heatsink at a faster rate thus lowering the overall temperature. Applying thermal paste is a relatively simple process, however, if you're a novice when it comes to working with computer hardware it can be a bit tricky. This tutorial will guide you step by step through the process.

What you will need:

You will need the following items (shown in picture #1) in order to apply the thermal paste:

A syringe of thermal paste

Tape

Screwdriver(s)

An alcohol wipe

Any thin plastic card, such as an ID card, credit card, or gift card

Step 1: Preparing your computer

Before you apply thermal paste or do any other work on your computer you need to shut it down, unplug it, and remove the battery if it's a laptop. You also need to make sure you're electrically grounded so that you don't transmit any built up static electricity from yourself to your computer hardware. To discharge static electricity touch something metal before you begin.

Step 2: Locating and accessing your processor

Once you have everything you need together, the first thing you will need to do is locate your processor. The exact location of the processor will vary from computer to computer. On my laptop, the processor is located in a compartment on the bottom of the computer which is covered by a screwed-shut lid. In order to access the processor, you must first unscrew this lid. Once you get the lid open you will see your heatsink which is located on top of the processor as shown in picture #2. The heatsink, which is usually held in place by 4 screws, will also need to be removed. Upon removing the heatsink you'll be able to see your processor (picture #3).

Step 3: Preparing and cleaning the heatsink and processor

Before you can actually apply the thermal paste you'll need to clean the surfaces where the processor and heatsink meet so that they will have the best possible connection. As you can see in picture #3 there is a metal, silvery, usually reflective part of the processor that sticks up past the rest of the chip. Take an alcohol wipe and gently clean off this part of the processor, taking care not to touch the lower portion of the chip. Now take your heatsink and use an alcohol wipe to clean the bottom surface of the heatsink where the metal part of the processor normally touches it.

Step 4: Applying the thermal paste to the heatsink

Once you have cleaned both the heatsink and processor, it's time to actually apply the paste. When applying the paste it is very important that the paste only touches the shiny metal portion of the process and not the lower portion. If you get the thermal compound on the lower circuits of the processor it may damage it when you turn your computer back on. In order to avoid this you will actually apply the paste to the bottom of the heatsink. First, you will need to use the tape to make a border on the heatsink that is the same size and location as where the metal part of the processor meets the heatsink. Usually a slight outline can be seen where the processor was connected to the heatsink. If not, you will have to take some measurements to ensure you tape-off the right area. When the taping is complete you should have an outline in the shape of the metallic part of the processor (shown in picture#4).

Take the syringe of thermal paste and squeeze out a very small amount onto the center of the area bordered by tape. The thermal paste on the heatsink shouldn't be any larger than approximately the size of a BB. Now use your plastic card to spread the paste smoothly and evenly across the bordered area. Don't worry about getting thermal paste on the tape as you will be removing it later. You should have a very thin layer of paste on the heatsink (about as high off the heatsink surface as the tape is) when you're finished. Remove the tape. You should now have a thin layer of thermal paste in the shape of the metallic part of your processor remaining (as shown in picture #5). You're almost done now.

Step 5: Replacing the heatsink and completing the process

Gently place the heatsink back on top of the processor, taking care not to move it side to side and smear the thermal paste. Screw the heatsink back in place, replace any lids or covers on your computer and voila...you're done. Plug your computer back in and turn it on. After applying the thermal paste you're computer may run as much as 10 degrees cooler depending on the brand of thermal paste you used.