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Thermal Paste - Any preference?

M

MorDecai

n00b
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Messages
19
Just picked up a e6600 and the eVGA 680i mobo... curious if people have a preference on thermal paste?

I do plan on OC'ing a bit, nothing crazy, but I'd like to get back into it. I seem to recall that Arctic Silver was decent stuff, but which kind? Or perhaps another brand is better....
 
AS5 is relatively cheap and readily available almost any place you would want to buy it. I'm told Arctic Ceramique is pretty good stuff too and some people like to use some of the higher end Shin-Etsu stuff.
 
I recommend Arctic Ceramique. It's non-conductive and non-capacitative. You don't have to worry about it if it happens to get on the rest of the CPU.

It also cleans up easily with a paper towel soaked in 91% isopropyl alcohol (available at Wal-Mart for a buck).
 
AS5 is, like everyone else said, cheap, and very effective. The micronized silver is very conductive of heat, so you only need a tiny dot. Really, it should just be enough to form a VERY THIN film between your CPU and HSF.
 
AS5, like the earlier Arctic Silvers, is only trivially electrically conductive, though it's a bit capacitive. This means that an overlooked splodge of it across a couple of chip pins isn't likely to cause any problems, but painting your CPU with it is still a bad idea.
 
Ceramique, for the above stated reasons. While Arctic Silver isn't going to ruin anything, it's always best to plan for the worst. It only takes one discharge to destroy electronics. :)

Other than that, arctic silver for the win. Just make sure you give it time to work it's mojo before deciding it isn't doing a good job. Usually it takes several cold-hot-cold-hot cycles for the pastes to become most efficient.

Also, when it comes to thermal compounds, more does not equal better. A small small amount goes a very long way. too much and it reduces the effectiveness.
 
Ceramique. Just because it rules hard. Non conductive at all, cools almost as good as as5, and dirt cheap.
 
Ceramique is actually better than AS5 from what I've heard. I'd use it if it didn't cost an obscene amount from all the Canadian suppliers.
 
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