Thermal paste and fan recommendation

[Stevarian]

Hello, I am about to order the last parts for my system, and will be getting the Q6600 proc, and probably the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 cooler....

I posted earlier and got some excellent advice on the cooler. I have a tube of Arctic Silver 3 that has been in my drawer for probably 5 years....cap on, in a ziploc bag. After reading something at Arctic Silver's website, I am wondering if the material has separated inside the tube....

Anyway, I should probably buy some new paste, as I am not sure I would feel comfortable using something so old. Is Arctic Silver 5 the best thermal paste available?

Also, from some reading, it sounds like the stock fan with the Xigmatek is a bit loud....any recommendations on a quieter 120 mm fan?

Thanks!

 

[Seb1]

I prefer the ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 thermal compound over the AS 5 (tried both of them).
The best method to apply thermal paste to your HDT cooler is described here.
The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 has a pretty good fan, it's not loud when you're using the PWM feature of the fan.
If you change the fan to a low rpm. unit (Nexus D12SL for example) - the temperature rise is 3-5 *C and nearly SPCR silent (the change is not worthy IMO).