Does anyone know why PB Tech doesn't sell thermal conductive pads?

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NglButiLoveTechnolog

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#315306 1-Jul-2024 16:15

Hey guys so Im curious to know why PB Tech doesn't sell thermal conductive pads but other small electronic stores like Computer Lounge and ExtremePC do? I tried asking the staff at PB Tech while I was at their store yesterday and they said theyre unsure.

tweake

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#3255201 1-Jul-2024 16:23

why would you want thermal pads when you can get thermal paste.

NglButiLoveTechnolog

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#3255202 1-Jul-2024 16:24

For VRAM and VRM. I've been told thermal paste shouldnt be used on VRAM and VRM.

timmmay

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#3255203 1-Jul-2024 16:30

I got some from Amazon Au (link). I used thermal pads on part of my m.2 SSD that was getting really hot, and thermal paste on another part of it. The chip thickness was different. Worked well.

richms

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#3255206 1-Jul-2024 16:33

Probably because they have lost the enthusiast market and are just a generic retailer now.

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tweake

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#3255207 1-Jul-2024 16:33

NglButiLoveTechnolog:

For VRAM and VRM. I've been told thermal paste shouldnt be used on VRAM and VRM.

i can't see why it would be a problem unless you put to much on a get it all over pins etc. it should always be a very very thin amount. there should not be enough on it to squish out.

the only time pad would be better is if your spanning a heatsink over a lot of chips and their heights are all different. which means you need thicker thermal paste. thats where pads would be better, fill up some of the low points.

NglButiLoveTechnolog

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#3255209 1-Jul-2024 16:50

timmmay:

I got some from Amazon Au (link). I used thermal pads on part of my m.2 SSD that was getting really hot, and thermal paste on another part of it. The chip thickness was different. Worked well.

Oh right I totally forgot about Amazon Australia being a thing haha thanks for letting me know this.

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timmmay

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#3255241 1-Jul-2024 18:37

tweake:

i can't see why it would be a problem unless you put to much on a get it all over pins etc. it should always be a very very thin amount. there should not be enough on it to squish out.

the only time pad would be better is if your spanning a heatsink over a lot of chips and their heights are all different. which means you need thicker thermal paste. thats where pads would be better, fill up some of the low points.

Thermal interface material is meant to be non-conductive. You're meant to apply enough that it spreads out to cover the whole surface of the chip, it would be virtually impossible to judge it so nothing goes over the edges. I've used thermal paste about three times and never had a problem, no doubt some went over the edges. It worked great to reduce the temperature of my m.2 ssd, combined with this.

Mehrts

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#3255636 2-Jul-2024 17:33

tweake:

why would you want thermal pads when you can get thermal paste.

@tweake Because they're designed to transfer heat for two types of situations.

Paste is for close-tolerance situations (CPU to heatsink), while pads are for larger gaps and uneven heights of components (memory chips & diodes etc to heatsink).

SomeoneSomewhere

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#3255785 3-Jul-2024 01:37

tweake:

NglButiLoveTechnolog:

For VRAM and VRM. I've been told thermal paste shouldnt be used on VRAM and VRM.

i can't see why it would be a problem unless you put to much on a get it all over pins etc. it should always be a very very thin amount. there should not be enough on it to squish out.

the only time pad would be better is if your spanning a heatsink over a lot of chips and their heights are all different. which means you need thicker thermal paste. thats where pads would be better, fill up some of the low points.

This is a very common situation when dealing with e.g. SSDs, but also sometimes VRMs, memory modules, and GPU heatsinks that also cover memory chips.

They're also lower mess and some types are self-adhesive, which can be convenient if you need to add more cooling to a board and don't have a way to solidly mount a heatsink.