Best Way to apply MX-4 to i7 2630QM?

Hi therem im considering to repaste my toshiba x770, and im wondering what is the BEST way to apply MX-4: i ordered Mx-4. Ive heard of the rice method/dot method and the line method.
The laptop's cpu is a i7 2630QM And the Gpu: is a 1.5gb 560m.
The cpu/gpu die is smaller then a desktops one so what is the best way to apply thermal paste to a laptop cpu/gpu?
The rice grain method basically means a very small amount, but i dont want to apply to little. but i dont want to apply to much.
so what is the best way?
thanks

 

With the inconsistent contact pressure all mobile solutions suffer from (even from one application to the next...), I would say the surface spread method is the preferred choice (including 'tinting' the heatsink.

See:
http://www.arcticsilver.com/pdf/appmeth/int/ss/intel_app_method_surface_spread_v1.1.pdf


Good luck.

 

I'm thinking that applying a little and letting the heatsink spread it for you is a better way (at least it's easier) than spreading it yourself.

There's a lot of threads around that go over this around herd though, maybe half a look at a few and decide for yourself before you decide.

 

Never use surface spread method. You will always get air bubbles that way. It is tough to tell you how much to use since I don't know the size of the die you are applying, but basically what I do is if the die is roughly square I use a dot and if it is a rectangle I use a rice grain. Maybe you can watch a lot of videos or something online to get an idea of how much to use. Its hard to tell you in words.

 

Generally if I were to repaste using a new compound I would try the rice grain method and take off the heatsink to see how it spreads. You do waste an application's worth of paste, but it helps to confirm contact.