When I had a Dell technician visiting and replacing CPU on a laptop he applied it using the X-method. Personally I've only tried the dot in the middle method wh

When I had a Dell technician visiting and replacing CPU on a laptop he applied it using the X-method. Personally I've only tried the dot in the middle method which has worked great for me, but when I look at video tests through a glass plate it seems the X method is a bit safer/more accurate. If there are instructions available from the supplier I'd recommend sticking to that though because it seems like the different thermal paste brands behaves differently in terms of spreading.