Thermaltake has turned the art of applying thermal paste to a CPU into a paint-by-numbers game with a single gray number. The use of a honeycomb template also prevents thermal paste from spilling over the side onto the motherboard when applying thermal paste to the processor, as Van Gogh did.

But does the technique of applying thermal paste really need to be reinvented? What is the problem with spraying a small pea-sized amount of paste on the CPU and crushing it with the heatsink, when the paste can be spread evenly according to the laws of physics (the dot method)?

No, it is still a valid and effective way to apply thermal compound, and Thermaltake has discovered a new method in addition to the other methods that already exist.

New anyway. The "all-in-one application" kit included with the new TG30 and TG50 compounds is essentially a hybrid of the dot method and the alternative approach of using a plastic card like an old credit card to apply evenly across the entire surface of the CPU.

Simply place the honeycomb stencil over the CPU, apply TG30 or TG50, and spread it with the included plastic spatula. When the stencil is removed, a honeycomb patterned paste remains. A bunch of excess paste is then left on top of the stencil.

The result is that when the heatsink (air cooler or liquid cooling block) is installed, the paste spreads evenly over the surface as shown in the image above. It appears to be a simple and effective process.

"The honeycomb stencil makes the application of thermal compound easier and creates a neat surface that fits all CPUs," Thermaltake explains.

As for the paste, Thermaltake says it is a "premium" thermal compound containing "diamond powder" and does not go into much detail; Thermaltake lists the thermal conductivity of TG30 at 4.5 W/m-k (watts per meter Kelvin) and TG50's thermal conductivity is rated at 8 W/m-k (the higher the better). Both come in 4G syringes.

We haven't seen them in online stores yet, but our friends at Tom's Hardware say the TG30 is $8.99 and the TG50 is $11.99.