proper installation of SHIMS

[colour]

ok, i must admit that i am a bit confused.
at another forum, ive read posts where people are talking about putting thermal compound on the bottom of the "shim" which is in contact with the cpu. ive always thought that you just put it on, no compound on the shim at all just between the cpu core and hsf.

i would think putting compound on the shim is messy and a waste when using Arctic Silver. could get expensive if swapping cpus or hsf all the time. i would also think it could be damaging to the cpu.

fill me in here!

[colour]

ive got different, replies at other forums.

thanks though.

[coleslaw]

If you put thermal paste on the bottom of the shim, you risk shorting the bridges on the CPU. I can see maybe putting some on the top of the shim though. Thermal paste should only be used on the CPU core only, and used very sparingly. You just want to close any microscopic gaps present between your core and cooler.

[colour]

familiar with compound application on the core and hsf.

just got confused when people started to say to put compound on the shim.