Applying thermal paste in a straight line can lower GPU temps by 5C

[Athlonite]

I'll stick with my evenly spread thin layer over the whole IHS/Die method I've not had any overheating issues yet doing it this way for years

 

[poohbear]

I imagine with a 16 core 13700k CPU, you'd wanna make sure the entire CPU is covered to ensure proper cooling of all those cores.