Threadripper Thermal Paste Methods Benchmarked

We look at the best thermal paste application methods & patterns for AMD Threadripper CPUs, featuring the Threadripper 1950X.
Ad: EVGA 1080 Ti SC2 on Amazon (goo.gl/FgnJcM)
Article: www.gamersnexus.net/guides/301...
We have a new GN store: gamersnexus.squarespace.com/
Like our content? Please consider becoming our Patron to support us: / gamersnexus
** Please like, comment, and subscribe for more! **
Follow us in these locations for more gaming and hardware updates:
t: / gamersnexus
f: / gamersnexus
w: www.gamersnexus.net/
Links to Amazon and Newegg are typically monetized on our channel (affiliate links) and may return a commission of sales to us from the retailer. This is unrelated to the product manufacturer. Any advertisements or sponsorships are disclosed within the video ("this video is brought to you by") and above the fold in the description. We do not ever produce paid content or "sponsored content" (meaning that the content is our idea and is not funded externally aside from whatever ad placement is in the beginning) and we do not ever charge manufacturers for coverage.

[@GamersNexus]

Article, for folks who prefer a skimmable format: www.gamersnexus.net/guides/3013-amd-threadripper-thermalpaste-application-methods-benchmarked

[@zachpfeif]

You've gotta update that article author photo....

[@CompatibilityMadness]

I use AMD's method on all CPU's (I call it "x-dot" :D). It gets great coverage with small use of paste (5 dots isn't enough for this CPU). I still would use more on mid dot, and smaller ammount on corner dots. That is one HUGE IHS... is it 4-6 times as big as LGA 775 ? An all IHS CPU's history live comparison would be great :)

[@CGFUN829]

have you seen latest linus video, he showed a heat sink the make a dull contact with the cpu that's what should be used as amd stock cooler.

[@johnbeer4963]

i love the little barbs you are throwing out lately, so funny.. you're sharp lol

[@seanmcmunn88]

RIP, work network blocks gamersnexus

[@superman55566]

I always just make a smiley face when applying thermal paste. If the paste is happy, then the cpu is happy, and the cooler is happy too! They'll all be happy friends, unless you set the voltage too high then they all burn to death.

[@dumyjobby]

Hahahaha

[@armstrong2450]

aw that is cute. 😆

[@eduardbaniceru]

9:48 "Wait... That hand's okay". 9:56 *puts other hand in hair too*

[@AbhishekThakur-wl1pl]

😂 That legitimately made me laugh.

[@liberty610]

Dude, thank you SO much for the videos you upload, specifically for these threadripper ones. I run a small project studio for audio and video work, and I am pre-ordering the 1950x with the Gigabyte AORUS Gaming 7 board. I JUST bought my Corsair H115i cooler a couple weeks ago (before I knew I was going to able to swing the Threadripper setup) and your videos on the cooler/paste topic have helped a great deal! Keep up the great work!

[@motamorpheus1553]

This is still handy almost 4 years later...I just Frankensteined a 1920x system together using spare used inventory I scraped together from the darkest corners of the interwebs. Your results were a perfect match to my field tests (as discovered when I put the cooler on backwards lol). Thanks for such a great collection of very useful info!!!

[@ratslayer4202]

Oh boy this is going to be the new "blob vs spread" internet argument for the next coming decade.

[@johnbeer4963]

spread is better and you know it

[@johnbeer4963]

also i take issue with the paste used, this is not my favourite paste. I'm out, you're both fired and the weakest link, so triggered

[@caseypowell2497]

Blob master race!

[@abigailpatridge2948]

So what should people without a cock do, Filmer?

[@fredocuomo5386]

thermal grizzly kryonaut blob master race

[@TheCgOrion]

Nice video guys! Taking the time for practical testing is much appreciated. It saves many of us a day of our own testing. Thanks again!

[@TechDeals]

A bit wild to see that a X62 isn't really able to cool this CPU effectively with that power draw... Time for a 420mm AIO cooler with a larger mount designed for TR! Come on NZXT, impress us! :)

[@mojomomo1475]

It’s the size of the tubing and the thickness of the plate. Threadripper probably could do with a super slim cold plate, and a larger pump block with slightly thicker tubing

[@1.0xY.m0r0n]

This is why I subscribe!!! Where else will you see medium blob and heavy blob in a graph? Plus I'm sure tons of people out there are wondering what to do when it comes to this!

[@samh1022]

Alex Collins truly they are blob masters

[@philscomputerlab]

Thermal paste application always seem to get people divided for some reason. I've always just put a bit in the centre.

[@vietnecheese]

PhilsComputerLab this has four processor dies under the heat spreader

[@ColtaineCrows]

Looking at the tests though... Just put a bigger blob.

[@philscomputerlab]

ColtaineCrows Yea that's it.

[@philscomputerlab]

And it seems the blob method still won.

[@BoomBox02]

I have always spread a thin layer of paste over the whole CPU, but in my last 2 builds, i have used the small blob in the center method. I am not sold on the blob method as the temp differs a lot more between cpu cores when idle. Spreading a thin layer over the whole cpu gives me a similar temp on each cpu core when idle. I dont think i am going to use the blob method anymore. It would have been good if we say an even spread over the whole cpu here for comparison.

[@phatec]

Personally, because there is 4 sectors to cool on the Threadripper, they should be putting a small diagram on the Threadrippers cooling plate to begin with. They can have their current logo still visible, then also put the 4 rectangles on the cooling plate as an outline of the 4 sectors. Doesn't make sense that we as customers have to use stencils of sorts. Something so simple, yet the end result would be magnificent, then we would surely, more accurately be able to put the thermal paste on the CPU for proper coverage.

[@DragonlordSVS]

Basically, it doesn't matter. You are supposed to have a thin sheet of "paste", to as much of the contact area between the cooling apparatus and the CPU, as possible, ideally the 100% of the supposed contact area. Sure covering just the cores provides the greater efficiency between cooling and quantity of paste and actually is good enough but still having all the contact area (barely) covered will provide an improvement, even if less so if you take into consideration the paste wasted. More paste is detrimental only if it translates to thickness of the sheet OR if it means that the sheet became larger than it should and dropped out of the CPU's surface (which might or might not short circuits depending on conductivity and what it came into contact with).

[@macleod1592]

Excellent video! Love the plexiglass idea. Definitely learned me something new from this.

[@Praxics0815]

Damn I have to sub. You doing stuff no1 else seem to do. Thanks.

[@pierce_fierce]

Have SC2, can confirm its baller. Also, glad you guys "got" the go ahead to show thermals!

[@JonasVilander]

I like that you do this stuff methodically as humanly possible. Though the webpage articles are more concise, your videos are more comprehensive, and yet don't have a bunch of gimicky fluff like many other techtubers. This vid was extremely informative, and will keep a lot of this info in mind when I build my TR rig.

[@jonc7579]

I love this stuff, this channel is not nerdy, its HARD nerdy. I feel like I am taking a mini I.T. class when i watch this channel.

[@TechToolsMichael]

Great video mate. Such simple tests for any cooler vs cpu thermal coverage. This us a test that can be done on any build to test coverage and temps and to me is a bit of peace of mind for the small cost of a syringe of TP. 10/10 👍😎

[@heart0fapoet07]

Hey man I've watched your videos before and always found them useful and full of information. You're doing great work and I finally subscribed to you today. Only one thing annoyed me in this video, the table isn't exactly leveled and I can see everything on the table rocking. Easy fix! :-) Thanks! Keep up the good work!

[@RexinOridle]

While everyone else is still screwing around, Gamer Nexus is posting what theally matters.

[@katastrofe6388]

Rexin Oridle Tyson is that you??? Lolz

[@RyeinGoddard]

That was fun to watch. Thanks.

[@absurd207]

ill just draw "amd" on mine and call it good.

[@lenol0315]

i drew a swastica

[@chuckwolf9869]

What about putting the thermal paste evenly over the baseplate of the AIO Pump then applying that to the CPU instead of applying to the IHS.

[@kryzffr]

Why not just use a thicker piece of acrylic/ plexi and drill some holes out for the retention screws to mount it just like a CLC?

[@flograuper9294]

Christopher Morgado it would probably crack. But I guess you could cnc a metal frame.

[@bobedge3149]

I work in power electronics. The rep for the semiconductors we use recommends as thin a layer of thermal compound as possible, only a few molecules thick, spreading with a credit card. This is just to fill the microscopic gaps left in the machining of the heat sink. What he recommends even more than thermal paste is phase change thermal sheets. Just put one on, and when it gets to 52 centigrade the materials phase changes, and it becomes a perfect thermal interface. How about trying this on a cpu? I would be very interested to see the results.

[@deathorb]

Good technical comment - those sheets sound interesting (googling intensifies)

[@anthonyclark2873]

Way to go, Steve! This is exactly what I wanted to see! Thanks, Buddy! #VisualLearner

[@m0rtl]

This is actually a very valuable piece of information.

[@pineappleandolives]

I can always count on Gamers Nexus to make a long, in depth , methodical and detailed video on the smallest of tasks.

[@HimothyOHooligan]

Are you Montez from workaholics

[@stephanievarrette5082]

Great video, as always. I really liked seeing the plexi even if it isn't representative of real world spread; I've always worried about air bubbles being trapped when using anything but the blob in the centre method but seeing the spread with all the methods really put my mind at ease! Thanks!

[@tisjester]

^^^ Exactly This ^^^ So all the people saying you should have used this or that over the plexi - Or Full Spread - or any of the other nonsense.. This video gives you the real world use case example; not some super long drawn out fringe unneeded complexity.

[@Joseph-C]

@@tisjester As far as I can tell, from observing every "Full Spread" benchmark I could find, spreading all over basically always results in the lowest temperatures on the bench given enough compound is used. From a physics standpoint this makes sense because theoretically, if the goal of thermal paste is to fill in tiny air gaps between the cold plate and the IHS, you would want to cover every square millimeter of IHS coldplate contact area right? Then why would you ever use a method than only covers part of the contact area if done incorrectly? Just spread it all over, more is more when it comes to thermal paste. There is a video on YT of a gentleman taking some Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste (literally has silver in it) and putting it UNDER an AMD cpu, installing it and the computer booted up just fine. Full Spread with a blob on top of it if you're worried about "air bubbles'

[@Hirens.]

Keep up good work !

[@macg5srock]

I love your videos for what they cover, but they're SO LONG for the information that they present, and often your conclusions could use more in depth analysis of the data you gathered. Keep it up!

[@LucasSirias]

nice work guys

[@sblantipodi]

very interesting. congrats!

[@FoltynD]

can't wait for you to test those new Noctua coolers released for ThreadRipper

[@chriseiberger7805]

The covers on the tubes of the clc look awesome!

[@M45KY]

Do we know roughly how much paste we need for the most prefered "heavy blob" method...? i.e. 5g, 10g, 15g or 20g etc etc... Thanks in advanced 👍

[@wildorb1209]

Thanks for testing it! I don't even want to know how long you spent on it. But I've asked myself that question more than once. :-)

[@CoalitionGaming]

Great vid. What if going forward for tests like these, you make the plexiglass piece more of the size of the IHS and you mount a cooler on top of the plexiglass for a more accurate spread? Then you just pull it off and boom, more accurate then just pushing down on it with your hands.

[@EndersSaga]

From my optical contacting attempts, starting from a single blob introduces far fewer (insulating) bubbles which is a good reason for why the blob performs the best.

[@calypsojordana3274]

"Air bubbles are not a issue at all; the spread of the thermal paste, a solid, with pressure, and heat cycles, totally kicks out any air between the thermal paste and the surfaces. If that was a issue, placing those silicon gel protections on smartphone displays would be way harder because of the surfaces being drastically different, or doing a display change would be almost impossible to kick air bubbles. Also, not the X method, but a + plus sign method, is the one that spreads the most without yourself spreading it."

[@EndersSaga]

@@calypsojordana3274 it is much easier to peristaltically pump the air bubbles out when you have fl3xible surfaces to work with and can see the bubbles you are trying to remove. Mounting a heatsink you have neither

[@calypsojordana3274]

@@EndersSaga ?

[@thewhitefalcon8539]

​@@calypsojordana3274 It pushes the air out towards the edges if you start from the center. If you push on a bubble from all sides it doesn't go anywhere.

[@richiec7700]

Getting the most use out of their cool Plaque! I love it!

[@MadMexism]

Good job fellas!

[@dragonracing80]

even though I have no desire to buy a Threadripper...you sir are freaking awesome to take the time and abuse for doing this especially considering there isn't a proper cooler at launch for these cpus..

[@Jurcacristian]

Thanks dude, cool stuff. One Question about the winning "blob" any chance you can guesstimate the weight ? I'm only asking because i have an "Artic Silver 5" syringe with 3.5 g and i'm not sure i enough for a second try , just in case i fail the first one .

[@rick5078]

method i've always used is an x with four dots, one dot in the middle of each v part of the x. always had the paste spread perfectly across the entire cpu lid.

[@wingman99ful]

Gamers Nexus thanks for testing without thermal paste, I was always wondering what it would produce for temperature.

[@alessandrosuppini943]

Hi Steve, any chances to do the same testing now with the Enermax Liqtech TR4 given the 32 cores 2990wx is out? Would be interesting to see any differences in temperatures using different methods to apply thermal paste. Thanks for your reviews, always very detailed and useful 👍

[@Kawayolnyo]

Result: Two straight long lines are the best for THREADRIPPER, *IF* you have a cooler with wide rectangular plate that fully covers it. Worst: "X"-shape and "one single drop in the middle". Medium tier - "five small drops". Runner up - "two lines with mid drops". P.S. Enermax just now has announced LiqTech 240 AIO that has a FULL wide rectangular plate footing for TR4. So there's that.

[@Toastmaster_5000]

I'm guessing AMD's recommended method is so the load is even among each core. Depending on your compound, a giant blob in the middle could be enough to indent the IHS. Meanwhile, the parallel lines likely create air pockets. I think concave lines would work better.

[@Kojiro3210]

Great vid

[@EldaLuna]

i always just used card or something thin and manually spread it thin layer all over the heat spreader then let the cooler press out uneven spots always worked fine for me even gotten some what cooler results then using just blob in middle method since not insanely caked on

[@michaelwplde]

Also, is there a reference for the AMD TR die layout itself? Would be great to gauge TG application. Thanks again!

[@rotiseriejones2137]

Great video! I am going to buy a Threadripper probably around December, and I was wondering how to apply the thermal paste on the CPU. I have always used the blob method on my applications of compound, but I thought the line method would work on Threadripper. Who would have though a bigger blob method would still would on a bigger CPU.

[@zaydoonal-jebur9122]

GN can you localize the active parts using an IR camera? just curious, off course before overheating shutdown.

[@budthecyborg4575]

Steve is having way too much fun with this video.

[@Hellginato22]

Nice video

[@staiain]

Thank you for another really interesting and thorough test! A bit of an offtopic question, is the reason you haven't done any benchmark/performance test videos for this yet because you're not allowed to until release date? I would love to know how this processor handles some very specific x264 presets before i consider getting one of these myself.

[@tisjester]

Yes it is still under NDA..

[@carbonsx3]

Gamers Nexus - My first resource for *useful* tech information.™

[@evilmonkeygroup6470]

Hello. I know this is an older video, but I’m looking at liquid metal for cooling a thread ripper 2950 X. Could you confirm what metal the IHS is made of? There’s lots of conflicting information out there.

[@CuriousTinkering]

@Gamers Nexus, do you think that OEMs will come up with updated cold plates that properly support Threadripper in the future?

[@tisjester]

Of course they will.. This way they can SELL more coolers..

[@WavveBoi]

Enermax

[@TheUniversalEyes]

The Spread Method has always worked the best for me.

[@fredocuomo5386]

ive always blobbed it..nice to see steve PROVE its the superior method lol....nice work guys

[@derrydobbie8375]

Am thinking about swapping my AIO with a noctua air cooler for my 1950x. Curious if youd be willing to revisit this with Threadripper 2 but instead of different patterns, play with the blob method and weigh the thermal paste tube to get an exact gram measure of how much is needed before the point of diminishing returns is reached.

[@teardowndan5364]

If you want patterns with normal mounting pressure, put cling-wrap on the bottom of the heatsink/cold plate. Wouldn't recommend doing a burn-in with that setup though.

[@AndresGarcia-tz9gx]

Thanks for the info, this is my first Ryzen, could you tell us how to overclock it?? cheers!!

[@mytech6779]

My old method is hand spread very thin with a bit of a peak, ridge, or pyramid near the middle. Conceptually like a thin spread for coverage plus dot in the middle to displace air.

[@standuporshutup]

Those temps look promising compared to the i9 lineup(solder vs paste?), cannot wait for the full review!

[@gigasoto]

With those temps in mind from using that cooler, I think a Ryzen CPU will be the first CPU I buy that will actually benefit enough from a custom cooling loop where the cost is actually justified from performance more than aesthetics.

[@jackwiedemann]

How about messure where the heat spots on the chip are, to gain knowledge about the location of the dyes?

[@epicenter713]

Great video! I wonder if manufacturers will start building AIOs with bigger blocks/pumps. They've got all that contact space to use- why not take advantage of it by fitting a stronger pump or larger reservoir to the CPU socket assembly? :D

[@tisjester]

They will, but remember they have to use Asetek designs for their CLC's; due to patents..

[@davidmonk1121]

Very informative video. What case is that featured in the video?

[@goldsquadron]

David Monk It's a Thermaltake core p3. They have a review of it as well.

[@epicenter713]

I imagine heat is also a contributing factor to those pastes thinning out and spreading across the IHS (partially explaining the difference from the plexiglass "dry run")

[@ChannelZeroOne]

I am guilty of over spreading, but I also get some high over clocks on air that run fairly cool. My method is a big glob in the middle and spread with a razor blade. I barely have an seepage, and I always run at about 26c/45c no matter the chip. people have always question my temps. I have never killed a cpu so far.

[@TrantaLocked]

Explain why blob is stupid? The spreader will make it even with pressure. Sure it won't be absolutely perfect, but air bubbles will be less with the pressure method.

[@nickferguson7574]

Good video

[@jukkapekkaylitalo]

What thermal paste does AMD use between dyes and housing. Would that legendary, warranty voiding change your own paste between dyes and housing improve cooling on this size processor?

[@KenS1267]

How long till TR4 specific coolers will be on the market?

[@OldMan_PJ]

If full coverage of the bottom of the cold plate is what is desired then it seems like using the spread method on the bottom of the cold plate would be the best and most optimum method.

[@Ceremco]

so which dies are active? do some thermal reading between above every die on the ihs and a cooler.

[@clayjohnson3736]

What if you make a template like the plastic one and cut the die spaces out then apply the paste with the template on top of the chip then pull it off and then apply the full coverage plates?

[@0ptimismPrime]

That's why i love you guys. 100% up front about where inspiration comes insteam of stealing entire video scripts wholecloth and trying to be hush hush about it.

[@infernaldaedra]

Where can you get those tubs of thermal grease? I think I'm going to try a good sized bit in the center of the IHS and additional 4 smaller globs on the die itself.

[@tisjester]

1st Take a tour of CLC manufacturer.. 2nd Use your long gorgeous hair to distract the person giving the tour 3rd Swipe a few jars and hide them in your large cargo pants pockets. 4th Run like hell when they try to stop you and ask what that bulge in your pocket is!

[@johnlax38nsi]

Does it make sense to apply the compound to the heat sink so the entire surface is covered instead of guessing when applying to the chip?

[@Ultimra]

That photo of the 5 point method looks like the dots aren't placed very well compared to the dies. It seems like you could have gotten the rest of that edge coverage if they were more in the center of the dies.

[@shensai101]

Great use of their "gift". Basically a "Hey remember this gift when you review our product!"

[@fredjones554]

2:40 excellent demonstration of the dies on threadripper

[@teeblack06]

very interesting

[@christophertown7136]

Did you fully burn-in and cool for these results? Otherwise, the gradual increase would be indicative of the progression of testing alongside ambient water temperature...

[@sanymann]

Is the EPYC processor able to be used in a ThreadRipper Motherboard? Isn't the EPYC essentially a ThreadRipper with all 4 dies active? So then wouldn't the best cooler solution be to have a heat transfer plate re-designed so as to be rectangular in shape and to coverall 4 die locations so that a cooler solution would be both ThreadRipper and EPYC compatible?

[@Kojiro3210]

So my take from this is currently avaliable coolers have their limitations with this cpu because of its size. Are there any being made adapted for threadrippers size?

[@bloogaming8827]

I wonder if a push pull configuration on the X62 would significantly improve the temps.

[@TravelWithCesarin]

Will there be a bigger difference with a full coverage heatsink?

[@siskodata]

Nice Video. The heavy and medium blob method doesn't produce small air pockets as the others where thermal paste has spacing between application areas. How about the old method of making a thin layer on the copper plate of the heat sink covering the whole circle even filling the screw holes (we used to do it on the CPU but seeing that the CPU is bigger then the heat sink you put the layer on the heat sink)

[@DrB1900]

Is it possible that when you use multiple dots you end up trapping pockets of air (which is why the single dot did best)?

[@derekriggs7659]

it looks like what you need is the five dot pattern but spread out more. maybe a big blob in the middle with small dots towards the corners

[@m0rtl]

What are those white tubes you used on your corsair AIO?

[@gameboy3800]

they're from cable mod

[@theredscourge]

What would have been cool is to mount the heatsink, but have a super thin piece of clear plastic between it and the paste, such as an overhead projector transparency sheet, so that you could remove the heatsink and see how it looks without the paste getting pulled up when you remove it. You could compensate for the added thickness by not tightening it down completely.

[@mkiss73]

What brand/type of tim was used? Perhaps you could add that info to the description. Good video.

[@tisjester]

Any time you want to more more specifics read the article.. "We used an unbranded thermal compound from a liquid cooling factory for all tests; it is the same compound used on Asetek CLCs"

[@jayfortech7279]

Ordered the 1950x and a motherboard. Does the 1950x come with thermal paste included or is that something I need to buy separately? -Jay

[@PongoXBongo]

It would only come with thermal paste if it comes with a cooler, as the two generally go hand in hand.

[@DanielRichards644]

so basically just make a huge splodge at the middle of the Z. Also DAMN, them temps when Overclocked leave a good bit to be desired, but given the number of cores I'm not surprised, will be interesting to see how the full coverage plates turn out, I suspect some more significant temp changes.

[@johnnythegeek]

New camera? You guys shooting on a GH5?

[@vabese]

have you guys tried reverse application rather than on the cpu on the cooler before it goes on, yes it may be a little more messy but it would optimize contact for the cooler since the cpu's contact is the bigger than most coolers...

[@user-nt7kw7bu1y]

Is that active cooling on the zenith extreme vrm?

[@robodog7610]

Would be nice if you can get one of those copper coolers from Cryorig ( when they are released ), and use them on i9 or TR.