I am wanting to replace the thermal tape on 2 9800GX2 GPUs and also on an EVGA 790I Ultra SLI motherboard. If you are familiar with these components and have applied tape and paste to them your input will be valuable.
 
My questions are as follows.
1. What thickness of tape should I use for the 790I Ultra SLI mother board, .5mm, 1.0mm, or 1.5mm?
2  What thickness of tape should I use for the two 9800GX2 GPUs, .5mm, 1.0mm, or 1.5mm?
3. Which brand and type of tape is best for these applications and where can I purchase it (best place price + shipping)?
 
Questions about thermal paste.
4. Which is presently considered the best type of thermal paste to use for my motherboard, IC Diamond, Shin Etsu,or Arctic Silver. If there is a specific type as with arctic silver what is it called?
5 Where is the best place to purchase the paste (price + shipping)?
 
I think I know the answers to most of these questions but I want to run this by the group first for confirmation so I get it right the first time around.

I use a thermal pad for my VReg heatsink... I believe it is the EK thermal pad 1mm thickness.
 
http://www.frozencpu.com/...0mm_x_155mm_x_1mm.html
 
Works well, beats stock thermal pads that come with mobos by a lot.

n9zn-extra

That makes since, is it safe to use TIM (paste) on everything besides the GPUs and if so which TIM would be best for a replacement for the tape presently on the voltage regulators and or other areas?
It would seem like alot of paste would have to be used in areas other than the GPUs (due to spacing between contact areas) and it might migrate into the electronics with heat and pressure. Depending on what is used this has potential for problems so I would need to get this right the first time around. Maybe this is not what your were suggesting but if paste can be safely used on the IC chips what product should be used and how should it be applied?

 
IC Diamond is non-conductive and you can use it on your GPU and not worry about it frying it...

I would recommend EK 1mm thick Thermal Pads for your Memory chips, the NF200 bridge chips and for any power regulators like mosfets and such. Use the TIM for the GPU.
 
IC7 Diamond is a highly regarded all purpose TIM, and a lot of people will tell you how to apply it. THe most common schools of thought are the spread it or mount it method.
 
People spread the TIM because it's very thick, and they're worried it won't cover the GPU, especially with Nvidia's huge heatspreaders. What they forget is that the heat emanates from the core, so as long as you get a majority of the center with TIM it'll be fine. Spreading TIM with a plastic card also risks the introduction of air bubbles, which can mess up your temperatures.
 
My preferred way is to apply just a pea sized amount in the middle, and then mount whatever cooling you're using on. As long as you tighten the GPU screws in a cross pattern, the mounting pressure will ensure a good spread. No air gets trapped and it's (IMO) the better way.

n9zn-extra

rafale

Avoid using tape when you can. They are easy to install but do not perform as well as pastes... 

That makes since, is it safe to use TIM (paste) on everything besides the GPUs and if so which TIM would be best for a replacement for the tape presently on the voltage regulators and or other areas?

For voltage regulators and memory chips, thermal pads are usually necessary.  Don't even think about pulling all the thermal pads off of your video card and replacing them with thermal paste.  Your video card voltage regulators and/or video card memory will probably fry if you try to use paste on them instead of pads.  The same goes for your motherboard voltage regulators.
 
Thermal pads are used in those areas because of inconsistencies in manufacturing.  All the voltage regulators and memory are at slightly different heights compared to eachother and therefore the heatsink is designed for this looser tolerance.  If you try to tighten a heatsink down on these parts with just thermal paste, only some will make contact with the heatsink and others will make no contact and overheat.

There are only a few remaining questions in the post above this one.
 
If someone could address these it will be helpful and I can get the order off.

rafale

ty_ger07

n9zn-extra

rafale

Avoid using tape when you can. They are easy to install but do not perform as well as pastes... 

That makes since, is it safe to use TIM (paste) on everything besides the GPUs and if so which TIM would be best for a replacement for the tape presently on the voltage regulators and or other areas?

For voltage regulators and memory chips, thermal pads are usually necessary.  Don't even think about pulling all the thermal pads off of your video card and replacing them with thermal paste.  Your video card voltage regulators and/or video card memory will probably fry if you try to use paste on them instead of pads.  The same goes for your motherboard voltage regulators.

Thermal pads are used in those areas because of inconsistencies in manufacturing.  All the voltage regulators and memory are at slightly different heights compared to eachother and therefore the heatsink is designed for this looser tolerance.  If you try to tighten a heatsink down on these parts with just thermal paste, only some will make contact with the heatsink and others will make no contact and overheat.

I agree with him. That's why I said when you can. There are cases where you cannot: When one heatsink needs to contact several devices and when the heatsink cannot lay flat on the surface you are trying to cool.

Try to avoid stacking pads. You are just adding thermal resistance by adding interfaces. It is better to have one thick pad than two stacked thin ones.
I am not a fan of the IC diamonds although I have 2 tubes sitting here. So I won't comment on it.

Initially I wondered about using paste instead of pads (IE: my comments about runoff) and what you have suggested, paste on GPU/CPU processors, pads on MOSFETS. I will have to evaluate the N / S Bridge to determine which will be best but paste may work well there.
 
As for IC Diamond my initial thought was to stay away from it. I did not like the abrasive effect it has nor did I like the viscosity of the material. I may end up using Shin Etsu or Arctic Silver, the jury is still out on which one I want to use.
 
The info on pad stacking is good to know. I will purchase an extra small pad of 1.5 mm tape in the event I need it.
Given the great help and answers I believe we can consider this thread closed unless another user has a follow up question. Thanks again, you folks are a great source of reliable information!