[H] Thermal Compound TIM Round-up Candidates

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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OK, getting geared up for a TIM Round-up. Hopefully next week I will get around to de-lidding our 7700K retail CPU that I bought. I figured since we were going to be doing some delidding testing, I might as well spend some time and do a TIM roundup after I get the delidding done.

Here is my list of candidates that I have already purchased and are on the way. I am NOT going to get into all the liquid metal TIMs for usage between the IHS and water block.

Let me know if I have missed any products that you think should be included.




ARCTIC MX-4 Thermal Compound Paste, Carbon Based High Performance, Heatsink Paste, Thermal Compound CPU for All Coolers, Thermal Interface Material - 4 Grams

Arctic Silver Arctic Alumina 1.75g Premium Ceramic Polysynthetic Thermal Cooling Compound (AA-1.75G)

Artic Silver AS5-12G Silver Thermal Compound 12 g Syringe

Coollaboratory Liquid Copper

Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound TC-GC-03-A

IC Diamond 24 Carat 4.8 Gram Thermal Compound

Innovation Cooling Diamond "7 Carat" Thermal Compound - 1.5 Grams

Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound

Phobya HeGrease Extreme 1g

Prolimatech Pk-1 Nano Aluminum Thermal Compound - 5g

Prolimatech PK-3 Nano Aluminium Thermal Compound 1.5g

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Thermal Grease Paste - 1.0 Gram

Tuniq TX-2 High Performance Thermal Compound Paste Grease

Tuniq TX-4 1ml Heat Conducting Thermal Compound Paste Grease

Added: X23-7783D, Direct From Manufacturer Shin-Etsu
 
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Kayle please, can you add some Shin Etsu stuff to the mix?. Shin Etsu have probably one of the best non-conductive, non-metal TIM out there, it's the one used by EVGA and Corsair as pre-applied TIM on all the AIOs, it's one of the main reason why people once change/remount a Corsair AIO never get the same result as with the OEM TIM.

The Shin Etsu X23-7783D would be a great choice, Zero Cure time, easy to spread, easy to clean..
 
EK (Enerdyne) Indigo XS
Phase change metal alloy.

So unknown compared to traditional TIM's. Also easier to get a result that with the liquid metal alternatives so warrants a look?
 
Araxie said:
Kayle please, can you add some Shin Etsu stuff to the mix?. Shin Etsu have probably one of the best non-conductive, non-metal TIM out there, it's the one used by EVGA and Corsair as pre-applied TIM on all the AIOs, it's one of the main reason why people once change/remount a Corsair AIO never get the same result as with the OEM TIM.

The Shin Etsu X23-7783D would be a great choice, Zero Cure time, easy to spread, easy to clean..
Click to expand...
Added.
 
Chapeau said:
EK (Enerdyne) Indigo XS
Phase change metal alloy.

So unknown compared to traditional TIM's. Also easier to get a result that with the liquid metal alternatives so warrants a look?
Click to expand...
Not dealing with those one time application things for $20 or $30.
 
Chapeau said:
Yeah - price is NOT great. However, it's not as terrible because you do get two in the pack.
:cool: So... only half as terrible.
Click to expand...
But when I might mount a block 3 to 6 times during testing, I am not dropping $60 on that. And quite frankly, I just think they are sort of bullshit for newbies. So man-up and don't make me come over there and take your [H]Card. ;)
 
Looks like a great list. Using the Noctua myself, but I a very partial to IC Diamond when I have it around.
 
Cheese. We need to see if it is better at cooling after all these years!
 
Brackle said:
Laugh it was worth a shot!
Click to expand...
1236043439L0bdV188X7_2_11.jpg

To catch the newbies up....

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/04/07/thermal_paste_shootout_q209

American cheese is the name given to cheese that goes through a specific type of pasteurization process. Often yellow or orange in color, this cheese has also been known to take on a white color. A versatile type of cheese, tracing its origins back to the very start of this great nation, American cheese has found uses in barbeques and kitchens all over the country. Finding detailed specs has been no easy feat so without measurements in specific gravity or thermal conductivity we will be testing purely on its performance.


1236043439L0bdV188X7_4_3.png


We do however suggest you stay away from cheese if you are overclocking. ;)
 
Peter2k said:
Just so you know

some of the stuff is a pain to remove
especially if you're swapping and testing a lot
Click to expand...
You just need the right chemicals. :) 99% isopropyl usually works very well. If not, you can go with some things that are a bit more harsh. Also the block I am using is mirror finished.
 
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I thought some of those liquid metal compounds were perm set once they harden. So you basically get one crack at it.
 
Peter2k said:
:D

I also really wonder how much difference on the delidding is from removing the glue under the IHS
as in the distance between DIE and IHS might be a bit too much, because of too much/thick glue


you'd be willing to test that? :ninja:

maybe after removing the glue, just put some of the cheapest most general paste (also easy to remove and not conducting) you can find on, but leave the IHS "swimming" on the CPU when you put it in the board?

I just ...., wonder if it's really just bad TIM, or the tolerances when it comes to glueing the IHS on are a bit too high
Click to expand...

Yes, I think this is worth checking as much as the difference between different TIMs.
 
The time that I tried the liquid metal TIM it stained my Swiftech water block. Mirror finish was gone. Tried every cleaner & solvent that I had in the garage. Ended up lapping it & giving it a new polish. Just not worth the hassle IMO.

IC Diamond cuts the shit out of everything. It works great for giving processor dies a matte finish.
 
Can't wait for the results from a reliable site like the [H]ard. Keep up the good work.
 
I have a couple of syringes of Swifttech Tim mate 2, but I've never used it. Would love to see if its any good.
 
I want to see more oddball stuff like the cheese test again. Maybe try different cheeses?
 
What about Arctic Silver Ceramique 2 ?

It is my go-to TIM for laptops and systems I work on/build for others.

Prime reasons are:
1. It works well
2. Is easy to spread
3. Is cheaper than IC Diamond
4. Doesn't dry out
5. I can get it locally
 
Cheese fails, but why not try Sriracha? It seems to be all the vegan hipster rage these days.
 
What about that weird 12 second to mount water block from Ncore?
 
DigitalGriffin said:
I thought some of those liquid metal compounds were perm set once they harden. So you basically get one crack at it.
Click to expand...

If you don't want the permanence of those, you can always get the MG Chemicals electrically conductive silver compound.

Once it thermal cycles a bunch it turns into a nice thin layer of silver.

I haven't used it since the days of the Athlon XP. Back then it was pretty cheap.

http://www.digikey.com/product-deta....medium=cpc&&gclid=CMr6uPmDwNECFYWLswodJdwJfw

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MG-Chemical...6ad4eda&pid=100338&rk=3&rkt=6&sd=331531904241
 
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Kwaz said:
Can you add Antec Formula 7? It's a paste I've found is a bit better than the NT-H1, though it is quite thick. Is it possible to test both the spread and X methods for this particular paste? It does not spread well with the pea method, and the instructions advise to um, spread it.
Click to expand...
Link?
 
Kyle, I know you tried a slice of American cheese.... but did you try easy spray cheese? Might be easier to spread.... Also... peanut butter?

Seriously though, would something like aluminum foil just be the same as no compound at all?
 
Araxie said:
Kayle please, can you add some Shin Etsu stuff to the mix?. Shin Etsu have probably one of the best non-conductive, non-metal TIM out there, it's the one used by EVGA and Corsair as pre-applied TIM on all the AIOs, it's one of the main reason why people once change/remount a Corsair AIO never get the same result as with the OEM TIM.

The Shin Etsu X23-7783D would be a great choice, Zero Cure time, easy to spread, easy to clean..
Click to expand...
^^ Agreement on all fronts.
Glad to see X23-7783D has been added. Always got good results from it and have been using some on my Xeon x5687 and AthlonXP chips the last few weeks. Will be interesting how Shin Etsu performs against these newer TIMs.
 
Burticus said:
Kyle, I know you tried a slice of American cheese.... but did you try easy spray cheese? Might be easier to spread.... Also... peanut butter?

Seriously though, would something like aluminum foil just be the same as no compound at all?
Click to expand...
In terms of spreadability, I thought of my first true love.....but she is dead now....deservedly so. Anyway.

NO! Foil would be SHIT. The TIMs true responsibility is to "get in the cracks" and interface and foil would never do that.
 
Susquehannock said:
^^ Agreement on all fronts.
Glad to see X23-7783D has been added. Always got good results from it and have been using some on my Xeon x5687 and AthlonXP chips the last few weeks. Will be interesting how Shin Etsu performs against these newer TIMs.
Click to expand...
I had to order a little bit more than I wanted, but it is here.


20170113_154359.jpg
 
Once I get done with the review, I will probably give all this away. I need to move out of my current storage and there will be a lot of hardware hitting the streets.
 
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