# PCSX2 runs slow on my high-end computer



## Delta517 (Feb 5, 2013)

Hi!  So I've downloaded PCSX2 both version 1.0.0 and 1.1.0 and tried every single configuration I could find on YouTube and Google, but I just cant get it to run on 60FPS on my PC :/ I tried both Sly 2 and 3, and I even found a video on YouTube where he showed his configuration and then running Sly 2 on 60FPS and I think his specs were worse than mine :S

My specs are:
Intel i7 2.8GHz
ATi Radeon HD 6850
4GB DDR3 RAM (1333MHz I think  )
1 TB HDD with 5400RPM

Shouldn't this be enough to run PCSX2?


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## Thanatos Telos (Feb 5, 2013)

What model is the processor?


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## Pablitox (Feb 5, 2013)

try OC it


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## kristianity77 (Feb 5, 2013)

Yeah Deffo give your CPU an overclock if you can.  Everything else in your system is fine.  If you can bump up to 3.4 or 3.5 etc, it will make a fair bit of difference.


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## Delta517 (Feb 5, 2013)

Is that really what's necassary?  I thought a 2.8 quadcore should be able to run it totally fine :S


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## Celice (Feb 5, 2013)

Have you tried playing with different rendering plug-ins, and at different resolutions--both display and internal? Antialiasing? 

Have you tried other games?


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## Delta517 (Feb 5, 2013)

Celice said:


> Have you tried playing with different rendering plug-ins, and at different resolutions--both display and internal? Antialiasing?
> 
> Have you tried other games?


Yeah :/


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## Deleted User (Feb 5, 2013)

Delta517 said:


> Yeah :/


hmm thats strange... i can play it on my 3rd gen i7 2.3 turbo perfect


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## Delta517 (Feb 5, 2013)

I just downloaded CoreTemp and found out my CPU Temps were from 90-99C on all the four cores  I don't know what average CPU temps should be, but isn't this extremely high?


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## Pong20302000 (Feb 5, 2013)

high end?

my i7 does 3.5GHz 8 cores and 8GB of ram and 550Ti
runs emulators fine

maybe you haven't enabled Visualization on your Mobo or something as your spec is enough



Delta517 said:


> I just downloaded CoreTemp and found out my CPU Temps were from 90-99C on all the four cores  I don't know what average CPU temps should be, but isn't this extremely high?


 

DANG thats reallly bad
i7 should be 78C Max or your gonna have a bad time

mine are all running at 32C or lower
maybe you need to sort out your fan speed or something


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## Foxi4 (Feb 5, 2013)

Your CPU doesn't need any OC - it's a freaking i7.

If anything, the emulator itself needs some tweaks in the settings and you could switch your card to "Performance over Quality" in Catalyst. That, and check if you're not running a Power Saving or Balanced plan in Windows, just to be sure.


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## Celice (Feb 5, 2013)

Delta517 said:


> I just downloaded CoreTemp and found out my CPU Temps were from 90-99C on all the four cores  I don't know what average CPU temps should be, but isn't this extremely high?


I assume you're on a laptop--if so, perhaps it isn't an unexpected high. High, yes; but you're on a laptop and should expect such high temps if you push your system.

That is a big thing to consider, however: if you're hitting high temps without overclocking, and still getting some slow performance, you may not want to overclock and risk heating the system further.

When it hit the high temps, what's your CPU performance read? Is the emulator using close to 100% on each core?

You may also want to research if a certain plugin has better performance with ATI cards over nVidia ones. In my experience, Intel and nVidia seemed to run better on PCSX2 than their competitors.


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## chyyran (Feb 5, 2013)

Perhaps try the dev builds, most of the time, it helps performance, albeit slightly. 

http://buildbot.orphis.net/pcsx2/


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## Zetta_x (Feb 5, 2013)

Did you enable the multi-core hack?


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## Attila13 (Feb 5, 2013)

Pong20302000 said:


> high end?
> 
> my i7 does 3.5GHz *8 cores* and 8GB of ram and 550Ti


You mean 4 cores and 8 threads!
There aren't octa core i7, at least not yet!


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## Delta517 (Feb 5, 2013)

Wow! Thanks for all the quick replies  Really appreciated ^^

Here's a pic trying to show some of the info you guys are looking for 







Note: I have a feeling theres alot of dust in my computer since its been awhile since I last cleaned it, so maybe thats the problem? 



Celice said:


> *I assume you're on a laptop*--if so, perhaps it isn't an unexpected high. High, yes; but you're on a laptop and should expect such high temps if you push your system.


 
That's the problem...Im on a desktop :/



Zetta_x said:


> Did you enable the multi-core hack?


If you mean the MTVU option in Speed-Hacks, then yes 



Foxi4 said:


> Your CPU doesn't need any OC - it's a freaking i7.
> 
> If anything, the emulator itself needs some tweaks in the settings and you could switch your card to "Performance over Quality" in Catalyst. That, and check if you're not running a Power Saving or Balanced plan in Windows, just to be sure.


I know it's on High Performance on the Windows options, but I haven't checked Catalyst yet  Will do now


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## Foxi4 (Feb 5, 2013)

Disregard Core Temp completely.


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## Pong20302000 (Feb 5, 2013)

Attila13 said:


> You mean 4 cores and 8 threads!
> There aren't octa core i7, at least not yet!


 





gotta love them cores


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## Deleted User (Feb 5, 2013)

Pong20302000 said:


> gotta love them cores


it shows 8 but it has 4 (or something like that) i have that 2


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## Attila13 (Feb 5, 2013)

Pong20302000 said:


> gotta love them cores


Yeah, I understand what are you trying to say, but it shows 8 (4 physical cores and each core has 2 threads) because of Hyper Threading!
It shows the same in Task Manager too!
If your CPU had 8 physical cores with HT, then instead of 8 cores it would show 16! 
I know, because I work as a PC technician, but if you don't believe me, then check this out!


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## Delta517 (Feb 5, 2013)

I don't know what I did, but suddenly it works now with 55-60FPS  Very playable  I can still see that its very stuttering at most part, but its a huge improvement over what I had earlier  I still think I should clean my PC, since the cores temperatures are so high 

EDIT: Wow...I knew as soon I was going to post this everything would start to lag and well...it did -.-


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## Originality (Feb 5, 2013)

Lol Attila, don't forget that Windows cannot differentiate between cores and threads.

Btw, depending on the Core i7, 3.5Ghz is a very mild overclock that can be achieved on air cooling. It's fairly easy to get an overclock of around 4Ghz too.

Quad core doesn't really make much difference in emulation since most of it only uses one or two cores. My old E8400 ran on 3.6Ghz most of the time with just a single BIOS tweak (no overvolting, etc) and it greatly outperformed my brothers Q9550 at 2.8Ghz in emulation. Naturally when it came to real games, his HD4870X2 got much higher framerates than my HD4870.


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## Attila13 (Feb 5, 2013)

Originality said:


> Lol Attila, don't forget that Windows cannot differentiate between cores and threads.


Yes, I know!
I was just trying to say that if you have a CPU with HT, then Windows will show it as an octa core!


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## Delta517 (Feb 5, 2013)

I like how my thread is turning out to some discussion about cores instead 

But OT though... I downloaded SpeedFan and it shows that my CPU is on 72C and thats when I don't even have anything running  Do you guys think that cleaning the computer could help?  It sure wouldn't hurt 

Note: It's slowly sinking now  Its on 68C now


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## Pong20302000 (Feb 5, 2013)

Delta517 said:


> I like how my thread is turning out to some discussion about cores instead
> 
> But OT though... I downloaded SpeedFan and it shows that my CPU is on 72C and thats when I don't even have anything running  Do you guys think that cleaning the computer could help?  It sure wouldn't hurt
> 
> Note: It's slowly sinking now  Its on 68C now


 
cleaning the computer and checking your fan speed in the bios
if the fans are at max and temp isnt dropping below 70C id would get some new fans before hard plastic becomes soft plastic


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## Fishaman P (Feb 5, 2013)

Delta517 said:


> I like how my thread is turning out to some discussion about cores instead
> 
> But OT though... I downloaded SpeedFan and it shows that my CPU is on 72C and thats when I don't even have anything running  Do you guys think that cleaning the computer could help?  It sure wouldn't hurt
> 
> Note: It's slowly sinking now  Its on 68C now


Don't wink about 68C, that's quite near the thermal limit for your CPU before it starts accumulating damage.
What CPU cooler is installed?  What thermal paste?  Is there thermal paste at all?

BTW, the reason it's running slow is because your CPU is hitting 100C and is underclocking itself in order to prevent irreparable damage.  Solving the temps will solve the speed.


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## Delta517 (Feb 5, 2013)

Okay, I'll do that


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## Dotmore (Feb 5, 2013)

Wasn't it so that PCSX2 Didnt support Quad Cores? Only Dualcore?


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## Alexrose (Feb 5, 2013)

Lol.. "high end". One dimm slot's worth of low clocked ram, the king of all value graphic cards and a mid capacity HDD with the lowest possible RPM.


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## Delta517 (Feb 5, 2013)

Alexrose said:


> Lol.. "high end". One dimm slot's worth of low clocked ram, the king of all value graphic cards and a mid capacity HDD with the lowest possible RPM.


Well sorry then...  I know my PC isn't "high-end" comparable with todays PCs, but I just wanted to point out that I wasn't playing on some shitty laptop


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## Fishaman P (Feb 5, 2013)

Dotmore said:


> Wasn't it so that PCSX2 Didnt support Quad Cores? Only Dualcore?


A while ago (maybe 6 months ago?) there was a huge speedup on quad, hexa, and octa core CPUs in the form of multithreaded MicroVU (iirc).
Now PCSX2 is up to 3-4 cores, and Dolphin is sitting at 3 (sound is now always a separate thread for HLE, and optionally separate for LLE).

EDIT: Wow, a year and a half already?  Time sure does fly!


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## the_randomizer (Feb 6, 2013)

Use the MTVU speed hack, it uses three cores.


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## trumpet-205 (Feb 6, 2013)

Attila13 said:


> Yes, I know!
> I was just trying to say that if you have a CPU with HT, then Windows will show it as an octa core!


 
Technically speaking with Core i7 it is 4 processor cores with 8 logic cores. So if you want to play technicality that's why Windows showed 8 "cores".


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## Celice (Feb 6, 2013)

Delta517 said:


> Well sorry then...  I know my PC isn't "high-end" comparable with todays PCs, but I just wanted to point out that I wasn't playing on some shitty laptop


And thanks for that.

I assume you built this yourself? Though I could easily be wrong again  I ask to know what heatsink you might've installed, and whether you've seen such temps before, or only up to now, with this machine. 

If you haven't installed an after-market heatsink, or applied your own thermal paste, it might be worth doing so if after cleaning your temps remain high. But, unless your fans are completely gunked up with dust and dirt (every fan in your system), I wonder if your problem will be gone after a cleaning.


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## Originality (Feb 6, 2013)

trumpet-205 said:


> Technically speaking with Core i7 it is 4 processor cores with *4* logic cores. So if you want to play technicality that's why Windows showed 8 "cores".


Fixed.

Now I can't remember this because its been too long, but doesn't PCSX2 run part of the emulation through the graphics card? If he's got the settings too high, and not the hardware t match, maybe that would also explain his low speeds?


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## 2ndApex (Feb 6, 2013)

Speed depends really heavily on the game.

Most of the Tekken games are fine with your average desktop but Tekken Tag Tournament is an absolute nightmare on almost any computer.


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## trumpet-205 (Feb 6, 2013)

Originality said:


> Fixed.
> 
> Now I can't remember this because its been too long, but doesn't PCSX2 run part of the emulation through the graphics card? If he's got the settings too high, and not the hardware t match, maybe that would also explain his low speeds?


Logic core is also know as threads, so it is correct to say it has 8 logic cores.

PCSX2 does allow hardware acceleration on GPU (OpenGL or DirectX), and does a good job on it. I personally use software acceleration which is the most accurate one (but a lot more demanding on the CPU).

HD6850 is good enough for native to 720p resolution on top of my head. You will want to stick with DirectX 9 for performance.


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## Rydian (Feb 6, 2013)

trumpet-205 said:


> Logic core is also know as threads, so it is correct to say it has 8 logic cores.


Actually a thread is the logical term for the line of work a program runs, and threads are assigned to cores.  Hyper-threading allows a physical core to work on more than one logical thread from a program.


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## Ericthegreat (Feb 6, 2013)

I had same prob and someone here posted a thread that helped me. You need to download a diff version of pcsx2 that enables more then 2 cores, on pc with 4 cores+ pcsx2 will run slower then on dual core unless you use the right version.


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## Kouen Hasuki (Feb 6, 2013)

Alexrose said:


> Lol.. "high end". One dimm slot's worth of low clocked ram, the king of all value graphic cards and a mid capacity HDD with the lowest possible RPM.


 
Tact is not your strong point there 

That said I never used to have that much trouble emulating PS2 on my old desktop with a 3GHz Core 2 Quad, 8GB of DDR2 800 ram and a HD4870


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## Rydian (Feb 6, 2013)

For the record, Core 2 Quad Q8400 here with an HD 5770, and the majority of Kingdom Hearts II ran fluidly.  Only a couple seconds or two of scenes with composite renders (1,000 heartless battle comes to mind) had slowdown at the long camera angles.


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## Kouen Hasuki (Feb 6, 2013)

now I am curious how my Core 2 Duo T8300 Laptop would fair with PCSX2 with its 8600GS 512MB Dedicated GPU and 4GB DDR2 ram


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## Coconuts 500 (Feb 6, 2013)

You need to disable Hyper Threading, as PCSX2 takes a huge performance hit from that.

Hyper Threading is almost entirely unneccessary unless you're doing video rendering, and such. It has no benefit for gaming, and - again - PCSX2 doesn't like it for some reason.

Also, your processor is very likely throttling heavily (downclocking itself) due to overheating. You need to sort that out. Your cooler is probably mounted incorrectly (too much thermal paste, perhaps) or clogged with dirt.

Download Aida64 (free trial here, and run the System stability test. It'll show you if your processor is throttling or not. It'll also show you how the temp increases when it's under load.


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## Rydian (Feb 6, 2013)

Coconuts 500 said:


> You need to disable Hyper Threading, as PCSX2 takes a huge performance hit from that.
> 
> Hyper Threading is almost entirely unneccessary unless you're doing video rendering, and such. It has no benefit for gaming, and - again - PCSX2 doesn't like it for some reason.
> 
> Also, your processor is very likely throttling heavily (downclocking itself) due to overheating. You need to sort that out. Your cooler is probably mounted incorrectly (too much thermal paste, perhaps) or clogged with dirt.


Could PCSX2 be splitting both main threads in such a way that they're being assigned to the same physical core?


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## Delta517 (Feb 6, 2013)

Coconuts 500 said:


> You need to disable Hyper Threading, as PCSX2 takes a huge performance hit from that.
> 
> Hyper Threading is almost entirely unneccessary unless you're doing video rendering, and such. It has no benefit for gaming, and - again - PCSX2 doesn't like it for some reason.
> 
> ...


 
Okay, thanks, I'll try that  I cleaned my CPU Fan today and it was A LOT of dirt in there, but it wasnt so much help since its still on 72C when idle  However all the thermal paste is used up, but I'm going to get some later today and apply it then


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## Delta517 (Feb 6, 2013)

Okay, so I think we found the problem  But as I said, removing the dirt didn't help that much, but do you guys think that applying thermal paste will help alot?  I know thats its very, very important ( Im not stupid  ) or do you guys think that its the CPU fan?  I couldn't find anything wrong with it when I was cleaning it and its also on 100% Fan Speed in the BIOS settings


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## The Real Jdbye (Feb 6, 2013)

Delta517 said:


> I just downloaded CoreTemp and found out my CPU Temps were from 90-99C on all the four cores  I don't know what average CPU temps should be, but isn't this extremely high?


This is definitely your problem. The CPU is getting too hot and underclocking, so you aren't getting the max performance out of it. You can verify this by checking with CPU-Z while you're running PCSX2.

My previous Core 2 Duo, GeForce 8600GT and 2GB RAM desktop had no problems running PCSX2 so there's nothing wrong with your specs.

The reason for your high temps could be bad CPU fan, bad case fan, bad air flow in case, bad BIOS settings, bad thermal paste... the list goes on. Definitely check the BIOS settings, thermal paste and air flow first as they could have a big impact and don't require replacing any components. Make sure internal wiring is out of the way, that all the fans are hooked up properly and show up in the BIOS (they only show up in the BIOS if they're connected directly to the motherboard), and that you haven't tampered with any fan/CPU related settings.
Too much thermal paste is as bad as too little, you should have a thin, evenly distributed layer that covers the entire CPU.



Delta517 said:


> Okay, so I think we found the problem  But as I said, removing the dirt didn't help that much, but do you guys think that applying thermal paste will help alot?  I know thats its very, very important ( Im not stupid  ) or do you guys think that its the CPU fan?  I couldn't find anything wrong with it when I was cleaning it and its also on 100% Fan Speed in the BIOS settings


That could definitely help a lot, but it's not the only possible cause. Read what I said above for some other causes.


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## Delta517 (Feb 6, 2013)

The Real Jdbye said:


> This is definitely your problem. The CPU is getting too hot and underclocking, so you aren't getting the max performance out of it. You can verify this by checking with CPU-Z while you're running PCSX2.
> 
> My previous Core 2 Duo, GeForce 8600GT and 2GB RAM desktop had no problems running PCSX2 so there's nothing wrong with your specs.
> 
> ...


Okay, thanks for all the help! 

This is a little embarrissing for me too say, but I failed on putting the CPU Fan on properly, but I got a lot better results now on AIDA64 


Spoiler










 
Okay, but when I tried PCSX2 I barely get around 4-5fps now :S Whats going on?? o_0

EDIT: Actually my whole PC is running slow now :S No clue to whats is wrong


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## iron_man99 (Feb 6, 2013)

Not to get off topic here but my preferred thermal paste is artic silver. My CPU almost never overheats


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## iron_man99 (Feb 6, 2013)

It should properly be mounted. If you have a stock fan it should click when you set it properly


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## Delta517 (Feb 6, 2013)

iron_man99 said:


> It should properly be mounted. If you have a stock fan it should click when you set it properly


It is now :/ The PC can detect the processor and everything, but the PC is running so slow now!  I have no clue what it can be


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## iron_man99 (Feb 6, 2013)

Do you have a crap ton of processes starting up when you start your os?


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## The_Dragons_Mast (Feb 6, 2013)

Delta517 said:


> Okay, thanks for all the help!
> 
> This is a little embarrissing for me too say, but I failed on putting the CPU Fan on properly, but I got a lot better results now on AIDA64
> 
> ...


Well seems like you might have messed up something during the cleaning. Did you move the heat sink in the process? Are you sure everything is fitted tightly? Did any part of the fan get broken accidentally?

Also if you aren't sure about whether its placed correctly or not you can post a picture of your pc open & see if someone can help.


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## iron_man99 (Feb 6, 2013)

Also did you clean off your fan and heat sink and apply a new drop of thermal paste?


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## Delta517 (Feb 6, 2013)

iron_man99 said:


> Also did you clean off your fan and heat sink and apply a new drop of thermal paste?


I did everything except adding thermal paste :/ I'm going to get some thermal paste later today, but I don't understand why my pc is running so incredibly much slower now, than before I cleaned it?  Since the PC can recognize the CPU it must mean that its properly inserted, right? :/


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## The Real Jdbye (Feb 6, 2013)

Delta517 said:


> Okay, thanks for all the help!
> 
> This is a little embarrissing for me too say, but I failed on putting the CPU Fan on properly, but I got a lot better results now on AIDA64
> 
> ...


Those results don't look better to me. It seems now it throttles down at 25% CPU usage instead of 100%, meaning it gets hot way quicker.



Delta517 said:


> I did everything except adding thermal paste :/ I'm going to get some thermal paste later today, but I don't understand why my pc is running so incredibly much slower now, than before I cleaned it?  Since the PC can recognize the CPU it must mean that its properly inserted, right? :/


It doesn't mean the fan is inserted though. Make sure the fan connector is all the way in and the fan spins up when you start the PC.
If you removed the heatsink in order to clean it better, that might be the issue too. I don't think it's a good idea to reseat the heatsink without applying new thermal paste, don't quote me on that though.
And definitely don't remove thermal paste without adding new thermal paste, but I assume you didn't do this


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## iron_man99 (Feb 6, 2013)

http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm


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## iron_man99 (Feb 6, 2013)

Clean the paste off with some isopropyl alcohol and then apply a small dab and spread it around the chip. Not too much though.if you have to apply more just a smidge more.


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## Delta517 (Feb 6, 2013)

So I removed both the processor and CPU Fan/heatsink and reinserted both of them and my system seems back to normal...for now atleast  I'll think I'm going to wait to try PCSX2 until later today when I get some thermal paste and have messed some more with the settings  Thanks for all the help so far


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## ShadowSora13 (Feb 6, 2013)

Actually all u guys have hyper threading on ht on emulation is bad cause the emulators atm are coded to run at 4 cores that means your cpu uses 2 cores instead of 4 cause ht splits the actual core into 2 "logical" cores...so pcsx2 uses your 4"logical" cores to run the emulator.Disable ht and post results again


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## Fishaman P (Feb 6, 2013)

Delta517 said:


> Okay, so I think we found the problem  But as I said, removing the dirt didn't help that much, but do you guys think that applying thermal paste will help alot?  I know thats its very, very important ( Im not stupid  ) or do you guys think that its the CPU fan?  I couldn't find anything wrong with it when I was cleaning it and its also on 100% Fan Speed in the BIOS settings


1) If there isn't thermal paste, put it on.
2) If thermal paste is dry/crusty/a giant mess (too much), take it off. 99% rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol and coffee filters are what I recommend, but I've heard that standard rubbing alcohol pads (much less pure) work just as well.
3) Reapply it, using about as much as a grain of rice. The CPU heatsink will smush it where it needs to be.

You need it on there, but as little of it as possible!

Ofc, if thermal paste isn't the issue, it could just be the crap stock fan. The Corsair H70 is on a HUGE sale at TigerDirect, and I must say that I'm very happy with the inferior H60 (can't argue with getting it for $40!) As an added bonus, it's easier to install than nearly every air cooler out there!


EDIT: ShadowSora13, I don't know if PCSX2 does that, but Dolphin is smarter than that.  In any case, you can manually set thread affinity with the Task Manager, and I've heard a batch file works too.


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## Coconuts 500 (Feb 7, 2013)

Thermal paste isn't as necessary as some may think. It doesn't do much, and it is a terrible heat conductor. It certainly doesn't matter what "brand" or "type" you use. Just go with the cheapest you can find. Even mayonnaise will work (and I am serious here - but I do not recommend it)!

The thing is, though, that it's a better conductor than air - and there will always be air between a heatsink and a CPU base, as the surfaces aren't 100% flat.

It's a good thing to have, but not vital. Not having thermal paste won't be the end of the world as long as you have a properly installed and working CPU cooler.

In your case, there's something more wrong. Either the fan isn't working right, or the heatsink simply isn't installed properly - which is the likeliest problem here. Almost always when having problems like these, the heatsink has not been attached properly.

I noticed you're living in Norway, so I looked up a very, very good cooler for you, just in case. It's cheap, it's silent (it is literally the quiestest CPU cooler available - and inaudible during idle use), and its cooling performance is very high.

http://cdon.no/elektronikk/scythe_grand_kama_cross_rev_b-21349221


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## YayMii (Feb 7, 2013)

Coconuts 500 said:


> Thermal paste isn't as necessary as some may think. It doesn't do much, and it is a terrible heat conductor. It certainly doesn't matter what "brand" or "type" you use. Just go with the cheapest you can find. Even mayonnaise will work (and I am serious here - but I do not recommend it)!
> 
> The thing is, though, that it's a better conductor than air - and there will always be air between a heatsink and a CPU base, as the surfaces aren't 100% flat.


But Arctic Silver uses silver, which is the most conductive metal (electrical and thermal) :/ That might apply to other brands and types, but I don't see your logic.
Also, there's ways of minimizing the air space in between the CPU and heatsink (tinting the CPU fills the microscopic gaps and results in a flatter surface).


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## Coto (Feb 7, 2013)

Coconuts 500 said:


> Thermal paste isn't as necessary as some may think. It doesn't do much, and it is a terrible heat conductor. It certainly doesn't matter what "brand" or "type" you use. Just go with the cheapest you can find. Even mayonnaise will work (and I am serious here - but I do not recommend it)!
> 
> The thing is, though, that it's a better conductor than air - and there will always be air between a heatsink and a CPU base, as the surfaces aren't 100% flat.
> 
> ...


lol you put mayonnaise it'll wil fry, that means the heat transfer won't be as smooth as it should, and it¡ll end up frying up the processor (and having a cold heatsink, which is terrible if the heat is getting gathered on the CPU platter..)


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## Fishaman P (Feb 7, 2013)

I few years ago Tom's Hardware did a huge thermal paste roundup, and it turned out that toothpaste was the best in the group, even considering metallic pastes!

But yeah, it's mostly likely an issue with the cooler itself.


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## trumpet-205 (Feb 9, 2013)

Coconuts 500 said:


> Thermal paste isn't as necessary as some may think. It doesn't do much, and it is a terrible heat conductor. It certainly doesn't matter what "brand" or "type" you use. Just go with the cheapest you can find. Even mayonnaise will work (and I am serious here - but I do not recommend it)!
> 
> The thing is, though, that it's a better conductor than air - and there will always be air between a heatsink and a CPU base, as the surfaces aren't 100% flat.
> 
> ...


 
The purpose of thermal paste is to fill the microscopic gaps between heatsink and CPU. Sure mayonnaise and toothpaste can conduct heat, but no one recommends them because,

* Poor heat conductor than proper TIM
* Drys up faster than proper TIM
* They corrode heatsink and CPU surface unlike TIM

Thermal paste is indeed necessary, and does make a huge difference compared to no TIM.

One common mistake people make with thermal paste is using too much. In this instance thermal paste becomes insulator. A size of grain of rice is all you need.


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## Originality (Feb 9, 2013)

Or, if your thermal paste has an applicator (like my Zalman TIM, which has a brush), then spread it until it had the consistency of nail polish. That creates the ideal quantity of thermal paste between the two surfaces.

Also, it's probably worth reminding that if you do have to take off the heatsink for any reason, the thermal paste will be ruined so you will have to clean it off and apply new thermal paste in order to restore proper heat transfer.


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