Thermal Paste Shootout - Q209 @ [H]

Does anyone know of a good way to warm up Shin-Etsu X23-7783D?

I tried hot water etc...only thing that worked was a 15 sec microwave session.

Would microwaving this compound affect its thermal conducting properties?
 
DeadSkull said:
Does anyone know of a good way to warm up Shin-Etsu X23-7783D?

I tried hot water etc...only thing that worked was a 15 sec microwave session.

Would microwaving this compound affect its thermal conducting properties?
Click to expand...

hmm.... probably not. Probably. But hell, slap it on and turn it on and monitor the temps. I seriously doubt it would. All microwaving does is sends some electromagnetic radiation to add energy (raise temperature) to the object inside. It's not like your going to be taking it to 150C or anything, as long as it stays at a reasonable temp level, you'll be fine. But putting it in hot enough water would do the same thing if you left it long enough.
 
I say boil some hot water and throw it in there, if you want to heat it. I don't see the point though. Are you just trying to make it easier to apply?

Also, is it possible for them to test Coollaboratory Liquid Pro. Curious on how it fairs as it's liquid metal. It's probably not a good idea to use it on the many many aluminium coolers out now, as it'll eat away at it.

I have a tube of it, but I didn't buy it to actually use it. I enjoy having it eat away at old aluminium coolers.
 
DeadSkull said:
Does anyone know of a good way to warm up Shin-Etsu X23-7783D?

I tried hot water etc...only thing that worked was a 15 sec microwave session.

Would microwaving this compound affect its thermal conducting properties?
Click to expand...

care to share where you found that tube of Shin-Etsu X23-7783D? :D
 
speedy523 said:
care to share where you found that tube of Shin-Etsu X23-7783D? :D
Click to expand...

I bought 1gram syringe a while back from performance-pcs.com just to test it out.

Last week munkynutz had 100 X23-7783D syringes up for sale here at [H] so I grabbed 5 more because from the results I've got so far this stuff easily beats OCZ freeze by a couple degrees even with careful application.
 
The strange thing is that even though I know the differences don't add up to very much above AS5.... I still want the Shin-Etsu... Just because.

But where do i buy more than 1 GRAM!. I don't care so much about price, just the headache of not having it when I need it at arm length.
 
Any idea how the Prolimatech paste compares? It came with my Megahalems and I just figured I'd use it, but now I'm wondering how good it really is. Don't want to take my CPU out again though unless I really have a reason to, I'm pretty happy with the results thus far.
 
speedy523 said:
care to share where you found that tube of Shin-Etsu X23-7783D? :D
Click to expand...
I purchased some from Frozen CPU the other day. They have 1 and 0.5 gram syringes.

BTW mounting, unmounting, cleaning, and reapplying paste twice yesterday while troubleshooting my bad motherboard gave me some appreciation for how much of a bitch this must have been to write, so kudos on the article. :)
 
The111 said:
Any idea how the Prolimatech paste compares? It came with my Megahalems and I just figured I'd use it, but now I'm wondering how good it really is. Don't want to take my CPU out again though unless I really have a reason to, I'm pretty happy with the results thus far.
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Check your CPU temps. Are they below 90C? If so, the paste you're using is fine.
 
Zero82z said:
Check your CPU temps. Are they below 90C? If so, the paste you're using is fine.
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Is that genuinely a good way to tell if you need new/better applied paste on an i7?

I've been breaking 80 at modest voltages in a pretty well ventilated case on a TRUE and was starting to wonder if a reseat would help. If those are normal I'll save the trouble.
 
enlightenedby42 said:
Is that genuinely a good way to tell if you need new/better applied paste on an i7?
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Well, sort of. It still helps to have a proper application of thermal paste, but as long as your temps are within safe levels, nothing else really matters all that much.
 
Hmm would like to have seen ocz freeze or a diamond paste, or some common stock pastes. Diamond pastes may be several times more expensive than silver, but it's worth it seeing as it's only a few more dollars to super-cool your $1000+ pc.
 
Zero82z said:
Well, sort of. It still helps to have a proper application of thermal paste, but as long as your temps are within safe levels, nothing else really matters all that much.
Click to expand...

If that's true then this whole thread "doesn't matter much." Anybody who is running too hot can just reduce their clock and then they'll be at safe levels, right?

Hey, I can run my 920 at safe levels using stock HSF, might as well just do that too!
 
The111 said:
If that's true then this whole thread "doesn't matter much." Anybody who is running too hot can just reduce their clock and then they'll be at safe levels, right?

Hey, I can run my 920 at safe levels using stock HSF, might as well just do that too!
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Obviously you can just reduce your speed to stay within safe levels, but one generally prefers to improve the cooling instead so you don't have to reduce the speed altogether ;). And anyway, the main usefulness of a comparison like this is to show that there really aren't any major performance differences between any variety of thermal paste, so it really doesn't matter what you use as long as it's applied reasonably well.

If you really need to reduce your temperatures, you should look at something with more of an effect, like going with a better heatsink, adding more fans for better ventilation, or getting an air conditioner to lower your ambient room temperature. And if you're running close enough to the safe limit that the difference between running past the limit and running within it is determined by using a brand of thermal paste that improves your CPU temperature by 3 degrees Celsius, then you shouldn't be running those kinds of settings to begin with.
 
Funny, now there are two NEW releases:

Thermalright Chill Factor 2
Tuniq TX-3

Just when I thought the TX-2 was awesome, there's now an TX-3!!! I'm willing to bet that the TX-3 is the best out there.
 
Hey guys, I got Chill Factor 2 that was bundled with my Thermalright IFX-14 cooler. I have not yet compared it to Chill Factor 1. However, I'm not sure if I have enough left to re-apply, as I need to turn around my IFX-14 for a better push-push fan orientation and Thermalright only bundled like 1 gram or less of the paste.

Chill Factor 2 certainly does have some silvery color, and is not too firm to press, like Tuniq TX-2. Chill Factor 1 was probably the best white goo around, but as we all know, white paste just aint as good as silver ones.
 
Guys, any of you using Chill Factor 2?

I guess I should be starting a new thread on this, since there's still not a word of it on the internet (hardly..).

Tuniq TX-2 is doing better, but maybe it is only because I did a tighter fit with my IFX-14 this time, adding washers to the backplate. There's a review out on Tuniq TX-3, but it's still not available for retail. Any word on this?
 
I always use mx-2 though it looks like it didn't fair as well as I would have expected in those tests.. OC looks good.

I've never even heard of Shin Etsu. Have to try that next build. I like that the MX-2 is non conductive. How about this stuff?
 
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i agree i would of liked to have seen a test vs the stock paste that comes with the processor. thermal paste comes with the processor why would you not use it? why test a processor without it? not sure what purpose that serves. as kyle said processor heats up and then shuts down..........<shrug>
 
Jon55 said:
Is stock thermal past really that bad? (honest question, not flaming)
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Stock thermal paste in general is perfectly adequate. Realistically, a few degrees difference in your CPU temperature (which is the most you'll get most of the time with a change in thermal paste) is not going to make a bit of difference.
 
MX-3 is going on sale any day now, it has been tested by a few sites and looks very promising, i.e. not just hype.
 
Amazing review good to know about the cheese but like someone said earlier you should've lapped it man what were you thinking! :p Guess ill be using the pea drop in the center and let the heatsink doing the spreading with my AS5.
 
I just got a syringe with coollaboratory liquid pro and my god it kicks the crap out of mx2/as5. Absolutely fantastic!
 
TX-2 -- 4.5W/mK

MX-2 ??? probably sucks badly, since it performs worse than TX-2 or OCZ Freeze -- about the same as AS5

TX-3 -- 6.2 W/mK

MX-3 -- 8.2 W/mK

OMG.. nearly twice the conductivity of TX-2!?! I thought TX-2 was awesome!

Seriously, I cant wait for MX-3, and it's still not available.. ARRRGH!!!
 
Thanks for that through review! I found this article googling around. Of course, I have the paste that was just above cheese that came with my cooler. :(
 
Thanks for the review, amazing how much effort you guys put into reviews to make them reliable, thank you.
 
krotch said:
I buy AS5 and this article tells me that I can keep buying AS5, as everything else is the same. I just prefer AS5, cause it's easy to apply for me. Not to mention the big tube I bought has lasted me 4 years.
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Does thermal paste ever go bad? I have some AS5 but I can't remember how old it is.
 
I doubt it'd go bad over the course of 4-5 years... At 'least mine hasn't! Unless you kept it on your car's backseat the entire time or something. :p
 
seeing this topic got me wondering about the thermal characteristics of an anodized coating on the bottom of a heatsink.....

this is a great comparison.... i haven't seen many of them but of the ones i have seen this is the most thorough.....
 
Lots of good info.

Next time around I'd like to see Gelid GC Extreme tested.
 
there is stuff called IC diamond

aasee.jpg

Regular price: $6.99
on heatsinkfactory
 
The IC Diamond stuff works great but (and it is a BIG BUT) it sets up very hard. When I tried to remove the cooler I was using the CPU came off with the cooler. The IC stuff had set up harder then any thermal paste I had every used. Some one recommended that I should have used a hair dryer when I tried to remove the cooler. I am very reluctant to use it now. As I said it is probably the best stuff from a performance standpoint I have used but it does set up to a very hard product when used.
 
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