Don't season your CPU with salt, says PC cooling company

People have been adding salt to their thermal paste, and that's probably not a good idea.
Don't season your CPU with salt, says PC cooling company
Don't season your CPU with salt, says PC cooling company /

It's another normal day in video game land and people are salting their gaming PCs. 

TikTok content creator 'mryeester' put out a video where he mixed in salt with thermal paste to see if it helps to keep temperatures down. 

According to the video, the thermal conductivity of salt is higher than a lot of brands of thermal paste. The content creator mixed some together to make an unholy concoction and lathered it onto a CPU before testing the temperatures when powered up.

It turns out, unsurprisingly, that it's not a good idea. 

The thickness of salt creates a gap that traps heat, resulting in higher temperatures. It makes you wonder what would happen if you used red salt. Spicy. 

PC Gamer reached out to hardware manufacturer Noctua, who confirmed the findings. 

"The thermal conductivity of salt is much lower than that of traditional filler materials such as aluminum oxide or other metal oxides," the company said. 

"Also, salt particles keep the cooler from making good contact with the CPU, so thermal performance will be poor due to poor contact. Last but not least, there's a high risk of corrosion issues."

There you have it. If you see anyone suggesting you season your CPU, take it with a pinch of salt. 


Published
Kirk McKeand
KIRK MCKEAND

Kirk McKeand is the Content Director for GLHF.  A games media writer and editor from Lincoln, UK, he won a Games Media Award in 2014 in the Rising Star category. He has also been nominated for two Features Writer awards. He was also recognized in MCV's 30 Under 30 list in 2014. His favorite games are The Witcher 3, The Last of Us Part 2, Dishonored 2, Deus Ex, Bloodborne, Suikoden 2, and Final Fantasy 7.  You can buy Kirk McKeand's book, The History of the Stealth Game, in most bookstores in the US and UK.  With a foreword written by Arkane's Harvey Smith, The History of the Stealth Game dives deep into the shadows of game development, uncovering the surprising stories behind some of the industry's most formative video games.  He has written for IGN, Playboy, Vice, Eurogamer, Edge, Official PlayStation Magazine, Games Master, Official Xbox Magazine, USA Today's ForTheWin, Digital Spy, The Telegraph, International Business Times, and more.  Kirk was previously the Editor-in-Chief at TheGamer and Deputy Editor at VG247. These days he works as the Content Director for GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage, serving media partners across the globe.  You can check out Kirk McKeand's MuckRack profile for more.  Email: kirk.mckeand@glhf.gg