{"id":279495,"date":"2026-07-23T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T07:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/?p=279495\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T09:02:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T07:02:00","slug":"selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Selection of Older but Still Relevant Tests (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--nextpage-->HWC has published several analyses that deserve to be revisited. Although they are not from today\u2014or even yesterday\u2014we still consider them useful in practice. What is the best way to apply thermal paste? Which technique should you use, and how much paste? What about SSD coolers\u2014which of the available models is the most attractive? And how can you improve SSD cooling with small heatsinks originally designed for VRAM?<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The age-old dilemma: How should thermal paste be applied correctly to avoid reducing cooling efficiency at the level of thermal interface between the cooler and the processor\u2014or, more precisely, between their heat spreaders? We&#8217;ve tested several approaches and have the results. Of course, the outcome may vary somewhat depending on the cooler base and the thermal paste used.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-03.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-752\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-03-1024x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-03-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-03-253x168.jpg 253w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-03-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-03-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-03-600x398.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-03-872x579.jpg 872w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Link to analysis: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/spreading-a-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much\/\">Spreading a thermal paste: how and how much?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Another interesting topic is the use of SSD coolers. Should you install your SSD under the cooler included with your motherboard, or is it better to replace it with a third-party solution? We have a database comparing multiple options to help answer that question.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ssd-coolers-on-motherboards_00.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-190071\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ssd-coolers-on-motherboards_00-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ssd-coolers-on-motherboards_00-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ssd-coolers-on-motherboards_00-253x168.jpg 253w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ssd-coolers-on-motherboards_00-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ssd-coolers-on-motherboards_00-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Link to analysis: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/more-than-100-models-tested-overview-of-m-2-ssd-coolers-review\/\">More than 100 models tested. Overview of (M.2) SSD coolers<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Or perhaps you&#8217;ll take a completely different, DIY approach to SSD cooling? Some time ago, we also looked at how you can improve cooling using small finned heatsinks originally intended for memory chips\u2014primarily those found on graphics cards.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/maly-pasiv-vram-na-ssd-00-v2-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-4863\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/maly-pasiv-vram-na-ssd-00-v2-1-1024x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/maly-pasiv-vram-na-ssd-00-v2-1-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/maly-pasiv-vram-na-ssd-00-v2-1-253x168.jpg 253w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/maly-pasiv-vram-na-ssd-00-v2-1-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/maly-pasiv-vram-na-ssd-00-v2-1-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/maly-pasiv-vram-na-ssd-00-v2-1-600x398.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/maly-pasiv-vram-na-ssd-00-v2-1-872x579.jpg 872w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Link to analysis: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/small-vram-heatsink-on-ssd-nvme-cheap-and-efficient\/\">Small VRAM heatsink on a SSD NVMe? Cheap and efficient\u2026<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>English translation and edit by Jozef Dud\u00e1\u0161<\/em><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\n<!-- responsive -->\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block;background-color:transparent\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8150419924824893\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"6522017574\"\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script>\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HWC has published several analyses that deserve to be revisited. Although they are not from today\u2014or even yesterday\u2014we still consider them useful in practice. What is the best way to apply thermal paste? Which technique should you use, and how much paste? What about SSD coolers\u2014which of the available models is the most attractive? And [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-279495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-extra-tests","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Selection of Older but Still Relevant Tests (Part 2) - HWCooling.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Selection of Older but Still Relevant Tests (Part 2) - HWCooling.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"HWC has published several analyses that deserve to be revisited. Although they are not from today\u2014or even yesterday\u2014we still consider them useful in practice. What is the best way to apply thermal paste? Which technique should you use, and how much paste? What about SSD coolers\u2014which of the available models is the most attractive? And [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HWCooling.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-23T07:00:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-23T07:02:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-00.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"\u013dubom\u00edr Sam\u00e1k\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u013dubom\u00edr Sam\u00e1k\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/\",\"name\":\"Selection of Older but Still Relevant Tests (Part 2) - HWCooling.net\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-00.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-23T07:00:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-23T07:02:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/#\/schema\/person\/8c3d3f039a17b53fa674ec52c4145055\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-00.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-00.jpg\",\"width\":3840,\"height\":2550},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Dom\u016f\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Selection of Older but Still Relevant Tests (Part 2)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/\",\"name\":\"HWCooling.net\",\"description\":\"Performance can have many forms...\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/#\/schema\/person\/8c3d3f039a17b53fa674ec52c4145055\",\"name\":\"\u013dubom\u00edr Sam\u00e1k\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/372e2c3a432597cbf40e4814cb41a9b0ad53a9a969ffc5cd05a1e457d7cbc1e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/372e2c3a432597cbf40e4814cb41a9b0ad53a9a969ffc5cd05a1e457d7cbc1e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"\u013dubom\u00edr Sam\u00e1k\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/author\/lubsam\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Selection of Older but Still Relevant Tests (Part 2) - HWCooling.net","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Selection of Older but Still Relevant Tests (Part 2) - HWCooling.net","og_description":"HWC has published several analyses that deserve to be revisited. Although they are not from today\u2014or even yesterday\u2014we still consider them useful in practice. What is the best way to apply thermal paste? Which technique should you use, and how much paste? What about SSD coolers\u2014which of the available models is the most attractive? And [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/","og_site_name":"HWCooling.net","article_published_time":"2026-07-23T07:00:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-23T07:02:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-00.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"\u013dubom\u00edr Sam\u00e1k","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"\u013dubom\u00edr Sam\u00e1k","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/","url":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/","name":"Selection of Older but Still Relevant Tests (Part 2) - HWCooling.net","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-00.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-23T07:00:04+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-23T07:02:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/#\/schema\/person\/8c3d3f039a17b53fa674ec52c4145055"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-00.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/spreading-thermal-paste-how-and-how-much-00.jpg","width":3840,"height":2550},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/selection-of-older-but-still-relevant-tests-part-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Dom\u016f","item":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Selection of Older but Still Relevant Tests (Part 2)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/","name":"HWCooling.net","description":"Performance can have many forms...","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/#\/schema\/person\/8c3d3f039a17b53fa674ec52c4145055","name":"\u013dubom\u00edr Sam\u00e1k","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/372e2c3a432597cbf40e4814cb41a9b0ad53a9a969ffc5cd05a1e457d7cbc1e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/372e2c3a432597cbf40e4814cb41a9b0ad53a9a969ffc5cd05a1e457d7cbc1e5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"\u013dubom\u00edr Sam\u00e1k"},"url":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/author\/lubsam\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279495"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279496,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279495\/revisions\/279496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hwcooling.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}