Readynas Pro heat issues

tony359 wrote:
You do not need MORE paste! Too much paste is actually counterproductive, it will act as an insulator. Buy some arctic pro paste and apply a very very thin layer of paste using a business card or a plastic card. More paste is not needed.

1) put a dot of paste on both cpu and heatsink underside.
2) wrap a finger in plastic food wrap / use throwaway plastic glove / plastic ziplock bag - anything to avoid getting paste on your finger
3) using your wrapped finger, with a circular 'polishing' motion, rub the paste evenly over the surface area of CPU and heatsink contact surface. Don't worry too much about getting all the edges covered, unless you are a little OCD - in which case go right ahead. :-)

This tiny amount basically acts as filler to smooth out the imperfections in the contact surface - if you are doing it right, it will seem like there is no visible filler on the surface; the surface will appear dull, and you should be able to read the CPU information etched on the surface more clearly.

4) Add a blob of no more than 2mm of paste in the centre of the CPU. That's about half the length of a medium grain of rice, or about the same space as the lower part of the letter 'B' on your keyboard.
5) install CPU, then fit cooler (taking care not to over-tighten).

Fitting the CPU cooler will spread the blob of paste out to a suitable size to cover the CPU core.