[H] Thermal Compound TIM Round-up Candidates

Not sure if this would be outside the scope of the project, but what about including comments about the viscosity of each paste? I understand the thinner products may be easier to work with but may not give as good of results as the 'thicker' stuff.
 
bigdogchris said:
Not sure if this would be outside the scope of the project, but what about including comments about the viscosity of each paste? I understand the thinner products may be easier to work with but may not give as good of results as the 'thicker' stuff.
Click to expand...
I will try my best to notes on that and convey my thoughts.
 
thesmokingman said:
FYI, baby wipes clean CLU like a babies butt, no joke.

Btw, on the topic of ICD, have you seen the massive fail thread at TPU? It's glorious in its degree of ICD management fail.



Give baby wipes a try with CLU. :eek:
Click to expand...
Nothing like some aloe and fragrance (and god knows what else) to ensure a good clean surface...

I think I'll stick with my favorite multi-function solvent - Everclear.
 
thesmokingman said:
FYI, baby wipes clean CLU like a babies butt, no joke.

Btw, on the topic of ICD, have you seen the massive fail thread at TPU? It's glorious in its degree of ICD management fail.



Give baby wipes a try with CLU. :eek:
Click to expand...
you are re-cleaning after with iso right?! cause everything said before is very true...
 
pendragon1 said:
you are re-cleaning after with iso right?! cause everything said before is very true...
Click to expand...

Yea, I sterilize the surfaces before applying CLU with some isopropyl. But the actual cleaning is easier with a baby wipe than a towel and cleaner. The abundant moisture in the wipe does something to the CLU and it absorbs right into the wipe reducing the chances of contact transfer.
 
Cisco sends this stuff with replacement UCS blade motherboards, in syringes. I don't see a model # on the syringe anywhere, just the logo and website. When we swap the mobos we have to transplant the Xeons over to the new motherboard and re-do the grease.

https://www.microsi.com/thermal-grease/

It's grey and average consistency. They also ship us tons of Arctic Silver Arctic Clean fluid... but nothing to wipe it off with. I have to run to the men's room at the datacenter to get paper towels, heh.

I personally use NHT, MX, and the Cooler Master (mini syringes that come with their heatsinks) grey greases and it's about the same as those consistency wise. I've tried the Arctic Silver stuff but it was such a pain to clean up I stopped using it. Also, not cheap.

I could send Kyle a handful of the syringes but he appears to be looking for commercially available solutions. But as long as this stuff doesn't dry up, I should be set for thermal grease for life, LOL

edit - oh I found it on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/X23-7783D-Manufacturer-Shin-Etsu-MicroSi-Performance/dp/B01HMZBD2Y
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Burticus said:
Cisco sends this stuff with replacement UCS blade motherboards, in syringes. I don't see a model # on the syringe anywhere, just the logo and website. When we swap the mobos we have to transplant the Xeons over to the new motherboard and re-do the grease.

https://www.microsi.com/thermal-grease/

It's grey and average consistency. They also ship us tons of Arctic Silver Arctic Clean fluid... but nothing to wipe it off with. I have to run to the men's room at the datacenter to get paper towels, heh.

I personally use NHT, MX, and the Cooler Master (mini syringes that come with their heatsinks) grey greases and it's about the same as those consistency wise. I've tried the Arctic Silver stuff but it was such a pain to clean up I stopped using it. Also, not cheap.

I could send Kyle a handful of the syringes but he appears to be looking for commercially available solutions. But as long as this stuff doesn't dry up, I should be set for thermal grease for life, LOL

edit - oh I found it on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/X23-7783D-Manufacturer-Shin-Etsu-MicroSi-Performance/dp/B01HMZBD2Y
Click to expand...
Already on the list. :) What is sold publicly anyway. Has been a go-to for a number of years as well.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Yeah, I am done on bringing anything else in.

This retail CPU looks like it will be good for testing. 4.9GHz at 1.35v under full load it getting toasty, which is of course where we would like to start.

upload_2017-1-16_16-4-56.png


hot2.png
 
Oh shit, that is spicy hot! That said, temp variation between cores is great. Good job mounting.
 
thesmokingman said:
Oh shit, that is spicy hot! That said, temp variation between cores is great. Good job mounting.
Click to expand...
I am probably just going to track package temps for "scoring" in this and maybe just note per core temps.
 
Still impressed with just how flat the Kaby Lake IHS are. The block was removed left to right in the picture below. This was with MG Chemicals Silicone White TIM.

20170116_194101.jpg
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Here is a look at the temp data I have been working on today and Package Temp is looking to be a very solid data point to work with after the cooling system loads.

upload_2017-1-16_20-36-59.png


And I guess I should explain a bit of what you are looking at.

The heavy RED line is the package temperature. The other green lines you see around it are per core temperatures. I have not seen the reported "Recent average" package temp change since the cooling system loaded up, which was pretty quick given I did not give it much time to cool.
 
Last edited:
The Noctua NH-T1 looked damn good on the mating surface as well. The picture does not do it justice at all. I tried a few different angles, but the reflection makes it look a lot thicker than it was.

Noctua NH-T1-1280.jpg
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Wouldn't cleaning be much easier with acetone? If plastics are a concern, then WD-40, then followed up by a dab of acetone on a shop paper towel, nickles and pennies.

I've used only AS5 and Jetart Nano Diamond (Jetart also has carbon nanotube compound, never tried it though) , and cheap silicon Y-500 for everything not mine, so will be looking into this one.
 
Nanogrip said:
Wouldn't cleaning be much easier with acetone? If plastics are a concern, then WD-40, then followed up by a dab of acetone on a shop paper towel, nickles and pennies.

I've used only AS5 and Jetart Nano Diamond (Jetart also has carbon nanotube compound, never tried it though) , and cheap silicon Y-500 for everything not mine, so will be looking into this one.
Click to expand...
Y'all are really worried a bit too much on this front. 99% iso cleans up just fine and does an excellent job.
 
Nanogrip said:
Wouldn't cleaning be much easier with acetone? If plastics are a concern, then WD-40, then followed up by a dab of acetone on a shop paper towel, nickles and pennies.

I've used only AS5 and Jetart Nano Diamond (Jetart also has carbon nanotube compound, never tried it though) , and cheap silicon Y-500 for everything not mine, so will be looking into this one.
Click to expand...
The problem with acetone is that most of the stuff you can buy is likely to have a bunch of impurities (unless you've got access to ACS / reagent grade chemicals but even so the cost...) that are left behind when it evaporates. Pour a little in a small dish, it should evaporate pretty quickly and it will probably leave a greasy film. It's why I like everclear, it's not exactly scientific grade, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper (and has way fewer impurities than any acetone I've ever touched in either the beauty or paint sections.)

RedWagnum said:
For me, and I imagine some others, it's not whether 99% isopropyl does the job but rather how easily the TIM is cleaned up. For example, your generic silicone based TIM removes quite easily with alcohol but you get something like AS5 and it seems to be messier to clean up. I've used rubbing alcohol, 99% iso, and the Arctic Clean kit, and AS5 is always messy to clean up. Some TIMs it's a couple of wipes and it's gone, others take several scrubs before it is gone. So I'm curious about that - how easily the TIM comes off.
Click to expand...

Ethanol and a coffee filter work like a champ for as5...
 
RedWagnum said:
For me, and I imagine some others, it's not whether 99% isopropyl does the job but rather how easily the TIM is cleaned up. For example, your generic silicone based TIM removes quite easily with alcohol but you get something like AS5 and it seems to be messier to clean up. I've used rubbing alcohol, 99% iso, and the Arctic Clean kit, and AS5 is always messy to clean up. Some TIMs it's a couple of wipes and it's gone, others take several scrubs before it is gone. So I'm curious about that - how easily the TIM comes off.
Click to expand...

AS5 is nothing :ROFLMAO:
and it's also not conducting at least

the liquid metal I used, both from coollaboratory and Phobya, not only handle like :banghead:
they also want to go inside paper towels or anything else I tried like :banghead:

like I tried to get a drop of oil into a wet paper towel

gonna give the baby wipes a try

they do have some kind of structure to them and handle nice themselves
I don't think it's about the stuff inside them at all

and of course gonna clean it better of after them
 
Quartz-1 said:
You're clearly not trying hard enough! :)

Seriously, though, I've done it myself, thus the question.
Click to expand...
Yes, well, when you rely on the equipment to be there tomorrow, I guess maybe we treat it better than you do. That said, we hardly use kid gloves. Please share how you are killing new processors. I am very interested in the specifics.
 
Last and only thermal death of a CPU for me was a Barton core IIRC. Friend forgot to put the rad on.
I ran a K8 without a heatsink (after delidding the surfaces had a gap between them), it shutdown after 3-4 seconds, twice.
I often see Core 2 Duos running for years without heatsinks because of badly installed/failed push-pins. It just throttles.
Now, voltage will get you a slow degradation that's easily confused for PSU or mobo failure.
 
capt_cope said:
The problem with acetone is that most of the stuff you can buy is likely to have a bunch of impurities (unless you've got access to ACS / reagent grade chemicals but even so the cost...) that are left behind when it evaporates. Pour a little in a small dish, it should evaporate pretty quickly and it will probably leave a greasy film. It's why I like everclear, it's not exactly scientific grade, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper (and has way fewer impurities than any acetone I've ever touched in either the beauty or paint sections.)



Ethanol and a coffee filter work like a champ for as5...
Click to expand...

Yeah acetone does leave a slight residue. It's a hell of a remover though, from white-out to gum. I use only the ones in the paint section.

Coffee filter! Okay, you gave me an idea for cleanups, they don't have lint and are pretty clean to begin with.
 
when i redid some of my loop and switched cases i got Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut seems to work pretty good somewhat a pain to spread out tho looking foward to results from all pastes.
 
Eldata said:
"The Intel ones built today are nearly impossible to kill with heat"

Agreed! But how does one convince companies like AMI /Asus of this? They still go out of their way, apparently in an effort to save us from ourselves, to limit CPU PWM fan minimum duty cycle to 20% which prevents your Type C fans from operating at the lower RPMs they're capable of. Trying to use CPU fans in DC Mode ups that minimum duty cycle limit to 60%. To get around this, one has to use software like Fan Expert, which can take up to 5 minutes or longer just to confirm that the fan is capable of operating below 20% duty cycle, before one can realize the lower RPM capability.
Click to expand...

That annoys me also not just with motherboards i have a grid+ and it wont let me go below 40%.
 
Eldata said:
"The Intel ones built today are nearly impossible to kill with heat"

Agreed! But how does one convince companies like AMI /Asus of this? They still go out of their way, apparently in an effort to save us from ourselves, to limit CPU PWM fan minimum duty cycle to 20% which prevents your Type C fans from operating at the lower RPMs they're capable of. Trying to use CPU fans in DC Mode ups that minimum duty cycle limit to 60%. To get around this, one has to use software like Fan Expert, which can take up to 5 minutes or longer just to confirm that the fan is capable of operating below 20% duty cycle, before one can realize the lower RPM capability.
Click to expand...
Liability and support....
 
Reading this thread made me realize what a bunch of sissies you all are with cleaning thermal paste off, I use gasoline and wipe the chip on my ass, gets it perfectly clean Everytime!
 
FearTheCow said:
Reading this thread made me realize what a bunch of sissies you all are with cleaning thermal paste off, I use gasoline and wipe the chip on my ass, gets it perfectly clean Everytime!
Click to expand...

Should we call that half-assed perfection?
 
Crazy how MX-2 and AS5 hold up! I do have a very un-[H]ard request but its for practical reasons.. This Chinese "Bangood" silicone grease that's like a dollar shipped for 30g is what I use at work because my coworkers have a habit of kyping and using my good grease. I'm just curious how much worse it performs because I have not seen any professional comparisons with it (for obvious reasons though). No big deal though, some things are better left unknown.
 
Very late to this but I was just thinking how would engine oil work as a TIM?
It would be interesting I think, since it seems some/many/most TIMs are a grease type material anyways.
 
IKV1476 said:
Very late to this but I was just thinking how would engine oil work as a TIM?
It would be interesting I think, since it seems some/many/most TIMs are a grease type material anyways.
Click to expand...
That would be quite an invisible mess in the making.
It shouldnt stop connections being made if it does spread or get transferred around but the additives in it might conduct enough to prevent electronics working, or cause damage.
 
Eagerly awaiting differences if any on mx4, NHT1, and Kryonaut which have been my go to pastes for the last half decade. Thermal Grizzly has been really good so far as the most recent one to pop up.
 
Junkboy said:
Eagerly awaiting differences if any on mx4, NHT1, and Kryonaut which have been my go to pastes for the last half decade. Thermal Grizzly has been really good so far as the most recent one to pop up.
Click to expand...

I had to order TIM a few weeks back and couldn't wait any longer for results. I went with NHT1 because its so damn easy to apply. And its pretty cheap. If it tests within 5c of the top 5 TIMs I wont get anything else ever. Gelid GC was ok but I didn't notice a temp difference and it was harder to apply. IC diamond worked well, but what a bitch to apply and IMO overpriced.
 
Do you remember the bad odor of a burned AMD Athlon 1200 on that "organic" substrate the die was on ?

I killed my friends brand new AMD back then cuz the heatsink wasnt seated properly, the moment I switched brand new rig on the damn chip went up in smoke which itself got sucked in by the PSU fan and blown out at the back, dark-grey stinky smoke, it really looked like a steam powered Locomotive.

I have burned a few, sadly, over time, but none was THAT spectacular.

It also happened in my living room, the room stank for three days. It was a real pain to get that smell out but worth the laugh....all got replaced as the plastic cpu socket had a failure and thus the disaster. Still, all the work involved remains your own part, replaced parts aside.



The 2nd I killed was due to long time overclocking. It suddenly quit and wouldnt boot at all in any board, 2600k that was.

My 3rd kill came shortly after, while looking for a new setup to replace that 2600k at 4.8-5G. I bricked 3 boards and killed 1 6700k :)

What a fucking pain all those RMA's were, custom waterloop with GPU and VRMs...felt like a hardware reviewer testing boards..waahaaaaa

I never found out what killed the 6700k....it clipped out and went dead at 4700MHz full load test...BLING--->DEAD

Intel replaced it with no questions asked I have to admit, as well as all 3 boards got replaced without any issue but I got no feedback on what broke the CPU.

In my RMA I clearly stated it went dead while stress testing an 4.7 OC setting ( Asus tool , quick and dirty method to see where the journey goes to...it went SOUTH )


Still, it's not that easy to kill one. I have run my CPU's with the heavy copper waterblock alone to boot the system and enter bios etc.. no worries.
I can run the system without any fan at all, stop the pump and go online for a while until it would heat up, throttle down and save itself.
 
After all this time, i continue using MX-4 as my go-to TIM. Good enough and cheap, an unbeatable combination.
 
Just picked up a tube of Hydronaut for my new build, couldn't justify the price jump for Kryonaut.

Damn impressive stuff performance wise, but a bitch to apply. Even after soaking the tube in hot water for a few minutes, it has a consistency just under bubblegum.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top