Best way to apply Gelid GC Extreme

I'm going to re-paste my newly acquired Lenovo Y530. Figured GC Extreme would be a solid choice for that since I don't want the hassle of dealing with liquid metal. What is the best way to apply it on a BGA Core i7 8750H and GeForce GTX 1050 Ti? The package comes with a small rubber spreader so do I need to do that myself, or just apply a small amount directly to the dies of each component and use the heatsink assembly to squish it into place? It has been literally more than a decade since I've applied thermal paste myself, so a push in the right direction will be immensely helpful.

 

I normally spread it as thin as possible then at the middle bit I put a small very blob for the heat sink to do it's job. As long as you have a even heat sink pressure then gelid should be fine. Hope this helps. ^_^

 

I put a pea-sized blob on the CPU / GPU. I also spread a VERY fine layer on the copper heatsink just so that the metal sheen disappears. I get all cores at the same temp with this method plus or minus 1 degree C.

 

Put syringe of thermal paste into plastic bag and place it into cup of hot water. This will heat up thermal paste so it will be easier to squeeze it out and it will spread on cpu/gpu easier (no need to use included spreader)

 

Use the included spatula and spread it if the heatsink mounting mechanism in this notebook is flimsy and weak(low pressure from heatsink on die).

 

So it sounds like dab-and-squish is the best way to go. Since the die of the CPU is rectangular, rather than square, would I want to apply the compound more like an oblong grain of rice rather than a round pea?

 

i7 8750H is not 100% square. Use a 3/4 long thin line with paste.

 

Also applying decent pressure on heatsink so it will spread easier.

 

This is a mistake, as once you remove the artificial pressure, you may end up with a bad spread as the heatsink adjusts to the natural pressure from the tightened screws causing weak spots spread too thin from the
added pressure that is no longer present.

Best to equally, in turn, tighten each screw one turn diagonals 1-3-2-4, repeat for near equal natural applied pressure and a natural spread that will properly reflect weaker contact points with more compound.

Nevermind the fact you run the slight chance of damaging your chip if you press too hard.

 

Best way to apply any thermal paste is to spread it evenly by hand. This is the ONLY way you will be sure that the paste covers the whole surface of CPU or GPU. Unless you can see through the heatsink ;-)

 

A paste like ICD7 would make that nearly impossible to do.

 

Yea. That's one reason I don't use it anymore - this is the worst paste to spread not to mention it scratches the surface of CPU like no other paste I have seen.

Edit: I also don't understand - why can't IC use better paste dispenser packaging? Look at Coolermaster and their new spreading syringe - it is designed to create wide, thin sheet of paste when you squeeze it out. What, IC is too greedy to spend few extra cents on such dispenser?

 

Simple: the paste is designed to spread when it's warmed and compressed with the heatsink attached. This way it finds all those nooks and gaps itself. Also, it's ok to apply more than what is needed, since it's not conductive electrically.

As for scratching, use a solvent and let it do the work. If you find yourself rubbing the paste off, then you are doing it wrong. If it's too difficult to remove with just alcohol, a drop of Goof-Off will do it, and just rewash with alcohol afterwards. I've done repastes and removal of ICD7 many times, and I don't scratch my surfaces.

 

Oh, I've been applying and removing thermal interface material since 1996, I know how to properly remove it and which solvents to use (I prefer acetone which dissolves thick paste better than alcohol and which have never damaged anything else). The IC Diamond is the ONLY one which has caused physical damage to the surface of CPU (I do not mean IHS), regardless of the method of removing it. Luckily I never needed warranty repairs for any scratched parts. So I am sorry but I would rather believe my own experience and avoid making same mistake (using IC Diamond paste for anything) again. Especially after reading about the behavior of IC Diamond representatives ;-)
https://www.hardwarebbq.com/ic-diam...e-hand-thermal-pastes-damaging-cpu-gpu-cores/