For a computer, it's a very exaggerated and complex electronic system that emits so much heat that without the thermal silicone, even when you're playing a big 3D game, your quad-core processor will die in less than an hour. Is thermal silicone really so magical?
With processors like the Corei7, Intel advertises that their performance is so great, but their power consumption is so low. In fact, a Corei7 processor has a TDP of up to 130 watts, and they emit a lot of heat in a very concentrated way over a very small area, and we need to get that heat out of the CPU radiator very quickly. Thus, the thermal silicone grease becomes the link between the top cover of the processor and the radiator, the heat exchange and conduction.
You may be blind to the idea that the surface of the processor or the heat sink is smooth enough, but if you look under a microscope, you will find that the surface is not as smooth as you see. Tiny grooves and ridges prevent their surfaces from sticking together perfectly, so air can be trapped between them. And the air is bad heat conduction material, with the work of the processor and heat, the air in these cracks will expand, so the gap between the processor and the radiator will be further expanded.
But now we have a savior in the form of thermal silicone. It can fill the gap between the processor and the radiator surface and the gully, the processor and the radiator surface seamless fit, so that greatly increased the area of heat conduction, increase the efficiency of heat transfer.
Thermal grease is a paste and is usually carried in pouches, tubes, bottles, or syringes. Some low-end thermal grease is a silicon-based grease, usually a white, gooey mixture that works well in filling the gap between the processor and the radiator. And the better quality of thermal silicone grease is generally a gray viscous mixture.
When applying heat conduction silicone grease, you must not greed too much. After a long time of practice, Xiaobian I tell you that as long as a small amount of heat conduction silicone grease, can play a great role, the size of the rice grain of heat conduction silicone grease is enough to ensure the efficient heat transfer between the processor and the radiator. For older or mobile processors, such as Athlon XP and Pentium III, where the core is exposed, the amount of thermal grease is less.
Once you have the thermal grease on the surface of the processor, you can then stretch it out. You need to take a plastic film, stretch it, wrap it around your index finger, and then you have to use a small amount of pressure to push the thermal grease across the various lines of your processor, filling in all the tiny gaps and gullies. At this point you have to be careful not to put too much pressure on the processor, or your processor pins could bend if you push too hard.
Also remember that when you apply thermal grease, make sure that they have the same density. Perhaps some of the thermal silicone grease in long-term storage, its density will appear uneven. You have to use your sensitive fingers, these larger particles are one by one to find out, at the same time you can also by observing the processor surface thermal grease color to determine, if the color is not consistent, the thermal grease coating thickness is not the same.
Most people in the daub heat conduction silicone grease, there is a larger error need to pay attention to: a lot of people in the daub heat conduction silicone grease, will immediately install the radiator on the processor, this is not scientific, even the general heat conduction silicone grease also needs a certain time to set the solidification.