AS5 vs MX-2 vs MX-3?

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Jul 8, 2006
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I've finally exhausted all of my thermal paste and need to purchase a new tube; its been 5 years since I last purchased any thermal paste and what I found is most people go for the new MX-2 and MX-3 paste by Arctic Cooling. The reviews I've read show a max of 1-2C difference between all of these compounds.

So my question is, which one degrades the least over time? I put this stuff on systems I build, Xbox 360's, video cards, ect and I don't want to ever replace it if I don't have to. I've been told you can drop temps as much as 5C by replacing 2 year old AS5, is this true? Will MX-2 degrade as much over time? I also would like something that keeps as well as AS5 did as I had my 2 tubes of it for 5 years.
 
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Not sure about the Arctic Cooling compounds but AS Ceramique will not degrade over time and performs just as well as anything else. I got a giant tube of it about 6 years ago and have not worried about thermal paste since. Also not conductive or capacative so will not destroy anything electronic you happen to get it on.
 
I switched from AS5 to MX-2 and I have seen no difference in temps and the package says MX-2 has a ~10yr life.
 
Has anyone noticed temp drops after reapplying aged MX-2?

I know what the package says....but manufactures often over exaggerate a lot.

I've also observed AS5 performs poorly in lower temperature applications because curing time is greatly increased, do any of these TIMs perform worse in high temperature applications like 90C load GPU's?
 
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I reseated my Zalman VF-900 on my 4850 when I was removing the LED's from the fan ( I re-applied mx-2) and my temps didnt budge at all. That was after about a year, maybe more, of general use. Not long term, but that is the longest its been since I have reapplied TIM on any of my gear.
 
I reseated my Zalman VF-900 on my 4850 when I was removing the LED's from the fan ( I re-applied mx-2) and my temps didnt budge at all. That was after about a year, maybe more, of general use. Not long term, but that is the longest its been since I have reapplied TIM on any of my gear.

Good enough for me, guess I'm ordering some MX-2.

If I'm applying to a small GPU core should I use the spread method? I know line/dot is preferred for large surfaces due to air bubbles but it seems Arctic Silver recommends spread method on small surfaces still.
 
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By a tiny margin and costs twice as much and is much thicker which is something I dislike ;)

I'm not worried about 1C difference in performance.

yea im just answering the question :p

but I'd happily pay an extra $7 for it over AS5 but probably not over the MX-2
 
I HATE MX-3. It's near impossible to spread as it clumps all over the place. I doubt even a high pressure heatsink has enough force to make it as thin as possible when using the dot method.

MX-2 is 1/2 the cost and MUCH easier to spread. The difference in temp is negligible. I know dot method is best, but those GPU spreaders are HUGE and I'm not comfortable unless I use spread.

Does anyone use the dot method on a big GPU? Any tips? Apply, check coverage, use same amount?
 
Keep in mind you don't need the paste to cover the entire surface if it's a heat spreader. As long as most of the central area is covered and making contact with the heatsink. Biggest issue I run into is that heatspreaders are rarely very flat, usually with a slight raised ridge around the outside.
 
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