Best current TIM?

Big fan of NT-H1 here, might not be the absolute best, but is easy to spread and does a stand up job.
 
I agree, but for most part, PC enthusiasts tend to swap/upgrade hardware every few years anyway, making this issue somewhat of a low end of the spectrum concern. I've been building rigs for over 30 years now and have yet to see a paste I have applied/used "fail" or dry out to the point of causing any real issues. I simply don't feel there is a big concern over thermal paste longevity issues when using and working with top quality/brand products like those at the top of the heap. I think most of these "longevity issues" stem from the fact that they were poor applications to begin with - either from a prior user or one poorly executed by a manufacturer/vendor using a no-name/generic product to begin with.
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
I agree, but for most part, PC enthusiasts tend to swap/upgrade hardware every few years anyway, making this issue somewhat of a low end of the spectrum concern. I've been building rigs for over 30 years now and have yet to see a paste I have applied/used "fail" or dry out to the point of causing any real issues. I simply don't feel there is a big concern over thermal paste longevity issues when using and working with top quality/brand products like those at the top of the heap. I think most of these "longevity issues" stem from the fact that they were poor applications to begin with - either from a prior user or one poorly executed by a manufacturer/vendor using a no-name/generic product to begin with.
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True, it might be the TIM longevity is non-issue but people are reporting problems and some are doing repasting yearly or so. Fact is it is very difficult to collect reliable information on this.
 
+1 for just using AS5. I have a tube that I bought from Newegg when they were still giving out free gifts with their orders (so, 2003?). Otherwise I use Ceramique if it's a situation where I'm worried about a short.
 
wirk said:
Are there oils which do not degrade with time? Are there TIMs not containing degradable oils?
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I think it would be safe to say that, since all accepted theories suggest all oils are organic, and organics break down under heat, the likelihood of a TIM that does not degrade is slim.

NOTE: I can't hedge that claim any further than I already have.:)
 
spugm1r3 said:
I think it would be safe to say that, since all accepted theories suggest all oils are organic, and organics break down under heat, the likelihood of a TIM that does not degrade is slim. NOTE: I can't hedge that claim any further than I already have.:)
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Maybe there are nonoorganic TIMs ???
 
I've always used AS5 until I tried Arctic Cooling MX-4 which gave about the same temps but without the risk of shorts or time for curing. I just applied some Cooler Master paste that came with my 212 today. Honestly, I don't think there's that much of a difference across pastes. The purpose of TIM in my mind is to make sure air (a bad heat conductor) is not present. So as long as you have decent, non-dried-out paste applied properly, you're probably fine.
 
NoxTek said:
When I researched the topic recently I found that Gelid's GC-Extreme was consistently rated at the top of the bunch of 'normal' thermal compounds. 'Normal' meaning excluding fancy liquid metal or diamond compounds...
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Yeah I used Gelid on my last 2 PC builds. Consistently top rated.
 
Used NT-H1 for a few years now, highly recommended. For delids I've used CLU (cool labs liquid ultra)
 
Edward I said:
What about Indigo Xtreme and their new Indigo XS?
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well according to them IndigoXtreme it is better then all their other formulations.
probably expensive as well, but, if it truly is a no muss no fuss application if one is looking for "the best" this would probably be it, thing I read awhile back is with their other "2" options one was best for on heat spreader, other was best for de-lid use. I just find it funny in Intel's case, they sell these things at such a high cost(probably cost them little to produce in comparison considering how many they sell annually) you figure they would have the creme of the crop for thermal interface/solder or whatever from the factory, having to de-lid or whatever would be for the realm of "the other guy" sort of speak.

I myself use MX3/MX4. They are easy to use, work well, easy to clean, lower cost than many others they are as good as or better, and last quite awhile on a normal heatsink or for GPU core/mem chip usage in my experience.
(I found AS5 dries/flakes and becomes far harder to clean up for reapply compared to MX4 performance over time I did not find as good either though I used many times for many years....Though the crazyg;uy with AS5 for ramsinks works exceptionally well)

I know there is better, but that better generally costs a fair amount more for only a small amount extra potential(the exotics while good most are a pain in the ass to clean up)
for me hardly worth it seeing as every cpu/gpu I have had over last 10 years, AS5(now replaced with MX4) drops idle/load in the range of ~6-18c(compared to the crud they use in the factory or the stock wax type) I am ok with that :)
 
I love when day one, single post noobies bump an old thread and the conversation just picks right up where it left off.

That said I still use old ass AS5 and haven't seen any temp issues. Still nice and gooey coming out of the tube.
 
I have XSPC K2, AS:Ceramique 2, and (somewhere) some generic grey paste from either coolermaster or arctic, forget which. So far, I think the AS:C performs the best of the three, but I have no data to back that up.
 
This just reminded me that I've been running the same AS5 on my office PC for damn near 6 years now, still holds under 50C with a crappy old Antec cooler.

That old core duo has been running almost 24/7 with a significant overclock without any problems, however I haven't run a stress test in years.
 
I just switched from MX4 to IC7 and saw huge gains. The MX4 only lasted 1 month on GPU before temps started to rise.
 
Pillars said:
I just switched from MX4 to IC7 and saw huge gains. The MX4 only lasted 1 month on GPU before temps started to rise.
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ICDiamond right? It works well, but it scratches the GPU die which is why I switched to Kryonaut - but will still use ICDiamond if I run out (its cheaper, lol!).
 
Still on my first application of NT-H1 without any remarkable changes in temps since curing. Since nearly everything else is +/- 3c degrees, I hardly think it's worth the trouble. Noctua put some good shit in their kits, that's for sure.
 
I haven't changed TIM since I installed my Thermax Eclipse 3 about 4 or 5 years ago. Just used whatever it came with. Guess I need to change that stuff out!!!
 
I'm not worried about scratching, I'll be replacing my GPU well before the paste goes bad.
 
I used Cooler Master E2 whatever it is called and it says gold in color at the back , and guess what , it came out gray.
So weird, anyways, what i hear about these pastes is that they make no difference in dropping your temperatures by even 2 degrees.
 
German Muscle said:
General: Ceramique 2
High Performance: IC Diamond/Shen Etsu
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This right here.

Ceramique is easy to spread, doesn't seem to break down over time, and is cheaper to buy.

IC Diamond - a bit better temps when it is really "needed" - maybe 2-3c max.
 
Diamond 7 is my favorite. Lasts a long time as well as performs great. Be sure to put the tube in a cup of warm water before applying, its pretty thick at room temperature.
 
[21CW]killerofall said:
So many TIMs are within 1-2C of each other, it actually matters more how you apply the TIM than which TIM you use. I still have some AS5 from over 10 years ago (have yet to run out) and it still does a good enough job for me.
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Me too. The tried and true AS5 has never let me down. Its on all my pcs
 
AS5 and MX4 is what I have and use. MX4 though as of late to get rid of it. After I use it once, I keep it on for about a year before I retreat my cpu.
 
Using Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut on both my CPU and GPU waterblocks. Love that stuff. AS5 is always a standard backup if I ever run out.
 
I can't warn strong enough against using MX4 on your GPU. It degraded very quickly and did not work well. It did 'ok' on CPU.
 
I don't think I've ever actually finished a tube of thermal paste. I think my first ever purchase was a tube of AS Ceramique (the original) which I still have in my toolbox. Probably 10+ years old. From there I moved to Shin Etsu, which I still have a large syringe full of. Then swapped to MX-4, and a few months ago I picked up some Gelic GC Extreme to try. Haven't tested it out yet, but from the research I did it was consistently rated the best performing paste with reasonable cost / difficulty of application.
 
I use cooler master mastergel and i have to say it works great, keeping my 4670k at 4.5ghz 1.25v under 80 degrees celsius during stress test with cooler master seidon 120mm
 
dragonstongue said:
well according to them IndigoXtreme it is better then all their other formulations.
probably expensive as well, but, if it truly is a no muss no fuss application if one is looking for "the best" this would probably be it, thing I read awhile back is with their other "2" options one was best for on heat spreader, other was best for de-lid use. I just find it funny in Intel's case, they sell these things at such a high cost(probably cost them little to produce in comparison considering how many they sell annually) you figure they would have the creme of the crop for thermal interface/solder or whatever from the factory, having to de-lid or whatever would be for the realm of "the other guy" sort of speak.
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Intel's priority is probably a little different. They likely picked a thermal compound that was extremely stable with both long shelf life and long active life (after all their target design goal is 10+ years life). So, the TIM they use could very well be the creme of the crop...
 
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