TIM

Technology & Computing abbreviation · Computer Hardware

TIM
Stands forThermal interface material
CategoriesTechnology & Computing

TIM stands for Thermal interface material, a computer hardware abbreviation.

Substance placed between a heat source such as a CPU or GPU and its heatsink to fill microscopic gaps and improve heat transfer. Types include thermal paste, thermal pads, phase-change sheets and liquid metal.

Example: After five years the laptop ran hot, so I cleaned the fans and replaced the TIM.

Usage notes

Too much paste is better than too little, but a pea-sized dot is usually ideal for desktop CPUs. Liquid metal, typically gallium-based, conducts heat best but is electrically conductive and corrodes aluminum; Sony uses it in the PlayStation 5. Under the CPU's metal lid, chipmakers use either paste or solder, and the choice has caused enthusiast controversies.

More computer hardware abbreviations

  • SRAM – Static random-access memory
  • SSD – Solid-state drive
  • SSHD – Solid-state hybrid drive
  • TBW – Terabytes written
  • TDP – Thermal design power
  • TFLOPS – Teraflops
  • TLC – Triple-level cell
  • TPM – Trusted Platform Module
  • TPU – Tensor Processing Unit
  • UFS – Universal Flash Storage
  • UPS – Uninterruptible power supply
  • USB – Universal Serial Bus

See all 151 computer hardware abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.