Thermal Paste Amount Calculator

It starts with a base quantity category from your CPU size class (small/medium/large). Then it adjusts for TIM type (standard vs thick/high-viscosity vs liquid metal) and cooler base style (flat plate vs direct-touch heatpipes vs offset/multi-contact). For repastes, it further considers whether the old paste imprint was uniform (allow slight reduction) or clearly incomplete/dirty/dried (recommend full clean-and-reapply).

Flat cold plates with standard paste usually work best with a pea-sized amount because mounting pressure spreads it evenly. Direct-touch heatpipe coolers often need a line (or multiple lines) so paste reaches around pipe gaps rather than relying on self-spread. If your TIM is thick/high-viscosity or your contact patch is uneven/large, spread-style application may be safer to ensure consistent coverage. Liquid metal is treated as a special case—normal paste sizing guidance doesn’t apply.

If you’re repasting, the calculator assumes the CPU and cooler are cleaned. If the old paste is contaminated with dust/particulates, hardened, or the imprint shows gaps/dry spots/pump-out, “leave as-is” is not appropriate—clean and reapply instead. Also don’t combine liquid metal with standard paste method guidance; use the correct procedure for that TIM. Finally, if your selected method is meaningfully smaller/larger than the recommendation, treat it as potentially under- or over-applied and adjust next time.