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When applying TIM gets a little too personal...

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Exactly. And spreading it can leave some air bubbles there.

I'm not sure the risk of air bubbles with this method is any higher than other methods.
 

Lei

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It's not. Spreading TIM smooth and thin is a tried and true method going back many decades before TIM was used on PC parts. Air-gaps and "bubbles" have never been a problem. The physics of kinetic pressure prevent such.
Hello luke (lexluthblahblah) :D
Just wanted to say @freeagent uses TF7 like me. Yeap, it's so cool that TF8 and TFX are overspending

Airgaps maybe, but bubbles?!!! If you don't spread well, there could be airgaps. I like TIMs that are rather dry out of the tube, and TF7 viscosity is really satisfying.
 
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Just use a small but wide flat screwdriver and cover each part of the chip.
thermal_paste_screwdriver.png
 

phill

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Was expecting someone to say they use their yoohoo to spread their paste by the thread title..

Pretty glad it wasn't! :D

:laugh:
That's the way I always do it... Was there another way????.....

The finger method I mean...
 
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seems some ppl have not heard of something like gloves (latex/nitrile ..).

and as long as someone has data from more than 2000 (so its statisticly relevant) tim applications showing 7 out of 10 times it produces bubbles, its irrelevant.

boosted voltages using xmp on my ryzen setups had more impact on temps than me applying a thin layer with a finger wearing a glove.
seeing that my loop is below 30C on idle (5800x and 2080S), i dont see it being improper application..
 

qubit

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Always wear a glove for sure. Prevents skin oil from contaminating the TIM and protects your finger from the TIM, which isn't healthy.
 
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nope, still prefer small dabs than wasting TIM on your finger
 

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Just put a drop in the IHS and it's good to go. :)
 

phill

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Always wear a glove for sure. Prevents skin oil from contaminating the TIM and protects your finger from the TIM, which isn't healthy.
So many other ways you could reply to this but I'll try and remain professional as always :D........

I just go bare....
 
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Was expecting someone to say they use their yoohoo to spread their paste by the thread title..

Pretty glad it wasn't! :D

:laugh:
I was expecting it to be the baby batter being applied as the TIM.........for science of course!
 

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So many other ways you could reply to this but I'll try and remain professional as always :D........

I just go bare....
Oh dear! :laugh: :toast:
 

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Count von Schwalbe

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phill

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The new Ryzens are ribbed for your pleasure...

That's cousin Nick, what are you talking about?
I did notice, rather unique in the design for sure!! :)

Not heard of cousin Nick.... :eek:
 

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Ahah, I never even thought about using a bare finger xD
I always use a credit card and I always got some thermal paste on my fingers xD It's a pain to remove.
People are crazy, right ? Right ?
 
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Not really. There aren't any TIM's on the market that are toxic(none that I know off). Using a finger isn't common or even the best way, but it's not going to hurt you or your equipment..
I don't think it is toxic neither, it's just a massive pain to remove from your fingers xD
By the way, "we" now know that drinking in plastic bottles can lead to absorb plastic in some cases so...putting some metal composed thermal paste using bare fingers could lead to absorb nasty things through your skin heh :D
 
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Count von Schwalbe

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No, see edit. I was talking about rubbing alcohol. LOL! When you laughed, I thought for a moment you might think I meant an IPA beer...
Cleaning fluid either way, but the isopropyl will work better for excess TIM.
 
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