• Fedizen@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    Not sure I see a problem here, this all looks intended. I’m not familiar with this device though. Since the heat sink plates are so big and the screws are so far apart I’m not sure they could get away with less without potentially missing contact with a sink. It seems more like bad mechanical engineering than bad application.

    • wewbull@feddit.uk
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      4 hours ago

      Thermal compound has a thermal resistance. It’s better than air, but not as good as metal. The best application is a layer that fills all the air gaps, and no more.

      • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        Who is saying that is the major consideration here?

        Its obvious the major problem here is ustable movement and flexing when those large sink plates are screwed down will not distribute the paste very well resulting in a higher risk of air gaps. So they left a lot of room for it to press out and it doesn’t look like they used a ton of that space.

      • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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        3 hours ago

        Adding to this… Airgaps is not emphasized enough here. There is a reason why you don’t do closed shapes when applying thermal paste, and why so many system builders have strong opinions on how to apply it.

        Personally, I go for an X or a % where the os are actually dots.

        • DarkSirrush@piefed.ca
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          43 minutes ago

          I still do the just under pea sized amount right in the middle, have always gotten a good spread with it.