20 years of fixing stuff before I learned about thermal paste

I used to just glob it on like peanut butter. Then I rebuilt a Dell Optiplex from 2008 last month and the CPU hit 90 degrees. A guy on YouTube showed me the pea method and now my temps dropped 15 degrees. Anyone else have a basic thing they overlooked forever?

4 comments

4 Comments

ward.kim1mo ago

The pea method saved me too! I think that happens with a lot of stuff honestly, we just do things the way we first learned and never question it until something breaks. It's like how I used to fill my car's oil to the top of the dipstick because that's what my dad did, turns out that's bad too.

christopherw341mo ago

Same here @ward.kim, I overfilled my washer fluid once and thought I was a genius.

ryanm6011d agoMost Upvoted

Laughing at that one. Overfilling washer fluid is harmless though, not like oil. You can dump a whole gallon in there and it just drains out the bottom. Kinda satisfying actually. But yeah, I've definitely done the "more is better" thing with other stuff too. Learned that one the hard way with brake fluid once. What a mess.

shanef341mo ago

Gotta call out the oil thing - filling to the top of the dipstick actually does damage, not just a waste. Too much oil can foam up and wreck your engine. But yeah, the pea method for thermal paste is legit, I was doing the same smear job for years.