Having a good thermal paste can help any CPU dissipate heat better to help with additional performance and increase the life span of your equipment. Thermal paste may seem like a small supporting part, of which standard is good enough, but the right thermal paste stands to make more of a difference than the average CPU cooler upgrade.
What Is Thermal Paste
As a CPU draws power to process your work or game, it will generate heat. Heat is a standard and unavoidable by-product of any CPU, and often scales with the power draw of the CPU. A CPU cannot function over a certain temperature threshold, and thus, needs to get rid of the excess heat to function optimally.
On top of the CPU is generally a square or rectangle metal surface referred to as the CPU lid, the job of the lid is to act as a heat spreader to increase the surface area with which the heat can be dissipated. From the CPU lid, heat is then transferred to a cooling tower or water cooler to efficiently vent the excess heat to outside air.
In a perfect world, the CPU lid and the bottom of the cooler would be perfectly flat down to the nanometre, allowing for perfect metal on metal contact for incredibly efficient heat transfer. Unfortunately, perfection like that does not exist in large scale manufacturing. While not visible to the naked eye, the CPU lid and contact surface of the cooler are both covered in imperfections from the manufacturing process. These imperfections cause air gaps between the two parts, preventing efficient heat transfer.
To aid in the heat transfer, we need to use a substance which can fill these imperfections and transfer heat, allowing for efficient heat dissipation by the CPU. Thermal paste is the common name for the range of substances which are used for that task.
Quality Matters
By the year, it is becoming less and less common for higher end CPUs to come with stock coolers from the manufacturer. Because of this, a lot of new PC builders will be tasked with buying their own thermal paste for their new gaming computer. Otherwise, they can enjoy mobile slots games in Canada on their phone or tablet instead.
Most good CPU coolers will come with their own generic thermal paste, using it may hinder your computer’s performance. For the best possible solution, buying a good quality thermal paste will generally be recommended. There are some questions any person should ask when choosing the right thermal paste.
- Budget – Thermal paste is typically not cheap, especially if replacing thermal paste on an older computer, it may not be worth buying the best on the market.
- Performance – How much cooler the thermal paste can make your CPU is the most important factor. Fortunately, there are great comparisons available on most good tech forums.
- Longevity – Thermal paste doesn’t last forever. How often you will need to replace it should play a part in your final decision.
As long as the performance figures point towards a good thermal paste, and you follow the CPU manufacturer’s guide for application, you should have a fantastic combination.