5 minutes to understand silicone grease those things

When installed, the silicon grease on the CPU is a very inconspicuous matter, but if it is not done well, it will reduce the cooling effect, 5 degrees or even larger gaps are possible, which need to understand silicone grease those things.

Which of the three types of grease is best?

The first type is an ordinary thermal grease with a pure white appearance. The thermal conductive adhesive composition is mainly a carbon germanium compound, also called a carbon silicon compound. This kind of grease has a low density of thermal conductive adhesive molecules and loose links between molecules, so its thermal conductivity is not very good. However, its advantages are lower manufacturing costs and cheaper prices in the market. In addition, most of these greases are insulated, unlike other metal greases that contain metal components.

The second type is silver-containing silicon grease, which contains a silver oxide compound or silver powder in the thermal conductive paste. The strong thermal conductivity of silver is used to compensate for the lack of thermal conductivity of the carbon germanium compound. The appearance of this grease is gray, of course, does not necessarily contain metal powder

The third type is gold-silicone grease, don't think it is to give you some gold, and it is similar to the silver-containing silicon grease. Now it is rarer. The other is that some of the grease is also golden, but it does not contain gold, but the name is also on the gold ** like, do not care ... ...

In fact, no matter what kind of composition of silicone grease, the most important thing is his fluidity (stickiness) and thermal conductivity, especially the latter thermal conductivity (unit W/mk), the general thermal conductivity of silicone grease It's about 5W/mk, and better is 8W/mk. Sometimes, the low-end gold grease thermal conductivity is as low as 3W/mk or so, meaningless, so the thermal conductivity, fluidity, and material content can be measured together.

How to apply silicone grease?

The main purpose of applying grease is to fill the gap between the heatsink and the top cover of the CPU, allowing them to fully and tightly combine to achieve better heat conduction.

Just now, the thermal conductivity of silicone grease is between 5W/mk and 8W/mk. Generally, the thermal conductivity of pure copper is about 390-402W/mk, and that of silver and aluminum is about 420W/mk and 220W/mk, respectively. But do not underestimate the role of grease, without its conduction, the radiator has no ability to use it.

The correct effect of applying silicone grease should be as shown in the figure below. Many people like to use a paper towel to cover a little bit of a circle, but it becomes increasingly uneven. The correct approach is to squeeze out a certain amount of silicone grease in the center of the CPU (not sure of a little squeeze point, try twice to know), and then use a card like a bank card to push around until uniform (some grease Direct delivery tool, better use). Pay attention to this time around if you have deposited the CPU surface, be sure to wipe clean, otherwise it will easily seep into the base under the CPU heat sink, once the conductivity may be burned. In the end, Xiao Bian suggested that if possible, apply a little silicone grease to the bottom of the heat sink and wipe it evenly. This will make the contact more compact and the heat dissipation effect will be better.