I'm not going to name names (that would be cruel), but there's a bloke in the office who insists on spreading thermal paste with an old credit card.
To be fair, he tends to achieve a fairly even layer, but it has sparked plenty of discussion on how it ought to be done. Some prefer to place one blob in the middle for the contact plate to disperse, another takes the approach of one medium blob in the centre surrounded by four smaller dots in each corner, and we have even had it suggested that drawing an X is what works best.
What's for certain is that the application process, plus the type of paste, can have a distinct impact on performance. Good cooling relies on decent paste, so for this week's question we're asking: how do you apply yours? Let us know using the comments facility below.