TIL I was wrong about thermal paste application

I was helping my buddy Alex in his shop in Tempe and he said 'a pea-sized dot is fine for most chips, but for a big Ryzen 9 7950X, you need an X pattern or it won't spread right.' I argued with him, but we tested it on a hot system and he was right, the temps dropped by 5 degrees. Anyone else find the pea method doesn't work on newer CPUs?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugo_schmidt1mo ago

Yeah, the pea method really does fail on those big chips. I had the same thing happen with my 13900K, the corners were totally dry. It's a lesson you only learn the hard way.

leelewis1mo ago

Wow, I always swore by the pea method too.

joseph_adams661mo agoMost Upvoted

Right? I used it for years and it never let me down...