Thermal Compound application methods!

[Vinho]

I have a fairly warm ambient temperature in my home, more often than not the Air Conditioning isn't on; and room temperature is around 25-28 degrees Celsius. I've noticed since applying new paste that my temps under idle / load are noticeably warmer...

Running an i5-750 OC'd to 4.0 ghz on a Xigmatek Dark knight heatsink

I used some (what I've been told) "garbage" Masscool thermal paste for my CPU; and I'm fairly certain I used more than I should have, and was a little shaky/shifty/uneven when I screwed my heatsink back on.

Arctic Silver 5 came highly recommended to me, and I've seen many other forum users prefer it as their thermal compound of choice -- So I decided to pick up a 3.5g tube myself to re-do my CPU.


TL;DR

Arcticsilver.com for my CPU - recommended the Vertical Line application method; which I haven't heard of until today. I've only ever done the Surface Spread method before; will the Vertical Line actually yield cooler temps for my CPU? If so how much of a difference will it actually be if noticeable at all? And what application method do you find best / prefer to use?

Thank you for your time!

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

I do a small blob (about 2-3mm in each direction) in the centre of the CPU and let the heatsink do the spreading. Less chance for air bubbles to be trapped when placing the heatsink on the CPU (air is a terrible heat conductor).

[Vinho]

In addition to my question regarding vertical line vs surface spread; I'm also a little concerned with my heatsink, because it's base is not 100% flat, where the pipes connect next to each other there is a tiny hair-wide gap, I fear that this could leave some small air pockets, should I apply a thin layer of grease to the heatsink as well as a vertical line on my cpu :S?

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Only apply one single amount of paste. Too much and you will have the same result as not having any at all. Except that the excess will leak out around the processor, get into the electronics around and inside the socket and short the whole thing out (Arctic Silver conducts electricity).

[Vinho]

What I did was I lightly "tinted" my heatsink so that the in-between cracks would no longer house air pockets; and then tried the vertical line strip on my CPU;

Under load my temps are on average 6-8 degrees cooler;

And no, AS5 does not conduct electricity!

Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)

I could see there potentially being issues if I just gobbed the entire tube onto my cpu and it just mushed out everywhere when mounting the heatsink :P

I still feel I could have done a better job than just 6-8 degrees cooler. =\