Editing Thermal paste (section)

== Uses ==
Thermal paste is used to improve the heat coupling between different components. A common application is to drain away waste heat generated by electrical resistance in semiconductor devices including power [[transistor]]s, [[Central processing unit|CPU]]s, [[Graphics Processing Unit|GPU]]s, and LED [[Chip on board|COB]]s. Cooling these devices is essential because excess heat rapidly degrades their performance and can cause a runaway to [[catastrophic failure]] of the device due to the negative temperature coefficient property of semiconductors.

Factory [[Personal computer|PC]]s and laptops{{Mdash}}although seldom tablets or smartphones{{Mdash}}typically incorporate thermal paste between the top of the CPU case and a heat sink for [[Computer cooling#Thermally conductive compounds|cooling]]. Thermal paste is sometimes also used between the CPU [[Die (integrated circuit)|die]] and its [[Heat spreader|integrated heat spreader]], though [[solder]] is sometimes used instead.

When a CPU heat spreader is coupled to the die via thermal paste, performance enthusiasts such as [[Overclocking|overclockers]] are able to, in a process known as "delidding",<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ekwb.com/blog/what-is-delidding/|title=What is delidding? - ekwb.com|date=2016-08-25|work=ekwb.com|access-date=2018-10-18|language=en-US}}</ref> pry the heat spreader, or CPU "lid", from the die. This allows them to replace the thermal paste, which is usually of low-quality, with a thermal paste having greater thermal conductivity. Generally, liquid metal thermal pastes are used in such instances.