snoopy wrote:

"David Maynard" wrote in message
...

Stacey wrote:


Max Coppin wrote:



I need to re-attach the heatsink to my processor, should I use a thermal
pad
or paste? What are the pros / cons?



Paste runs cooler, pads are easy for a dumbass to install i.e. stick one

to

the bottom of the supplied HS and the end user can't forget to install

it.

It's also less messy, more rugged, reliably repeatable, and readily

machine

applied in mass production.

Mention using thermal compound in most modern assembly facilities and
you're likely to be run out of the place on a rail.



Right pads lend themselves nicely to mass production.
(more rugged? i've
never been able to break that paste!)

To 'break' it is to do something that causes it to not serve the purpose
and thermal compound that gets smeared off during handling, as one example,
or wasn't applied properly in the first place, doesn't do its job. It's
function is 'broke'.

But is it better for the purpose of heat transmission?

Depends on how you define 'better'. If you mean what is the best that can
be achieved under ideal conditions, and ignoring long term effects, then
thermal compound is probably 'better'. If you mean being able to count on
all of the applications, and the devices it's applied to, working properly
without costly failures/rework then a pad is better.