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Which Thermal Paste to Get?

S

Synomenon

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Feb 10, 2007
Messages
7,662
Got a 3960X and am now looking for good thermal paste to go with it. I'm looking at Arctic Coolling MX-4. Is there anything better that's not difficult to use?
 
Is it better than MX-4? I'm looking for something as good as or better than MX-4 that's not difficult to use.
 
Interesting, just discovered Indigo Extreme. Installation looks complicated though.
 
If you want the best of the best but are willing to deal with 1) possible conductivity and 2) strange installation which involves running your CPU without cooling in order to "melt" a metal-based cooling pad, then items like IndigoXtreme and Coolaboratory Liquid Metal Pro will be helpful. However, if you want a more conventional paste that doesn't have much curing time and is easy to get ahold of, check out Prolimatech PK-1, which seems to be the best Skinnee has as of yet in his 2011-2012 comparison. http://skinneelabs.com/2011-tim-results/ , in terms of regular pastes. Basically, each new entry comes in and competes against all previous entries and except for the "metal" types, PK-1 seems to be the best he's found. This is the most complete, most recent thermal paste diagnostic I've found...
 
What are we really talking about, fractions of a degree? In the grand scheme of things, it won't make a damn bit of difference. Just buy what you are comfortable using. For me that's MX-2, its consistency means I get great contact every time, and its not so expensive that I worry about multiple remounts.
 
Look at the 'great contact' section in ldef1x's link. There is literally a 1* C difference between PK-1 and Ceramique 2 (they just released a sequal). If the 1* C isn't going to make/break your overclock, you can get about 5x or 6x as much paste for your dollar. Just something to think about.

http://www.bestbyte.net/merchant/me...BB&Product_Code=COTIASC225&Category_Code=COTI

Here is BestByte's BBB page in case the name sounds fishy. http://www.bbb.org/central-texas/bu...ers/best-byte-computers-in-austin-tx-90024459
 
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Synomenon said:
Is it better than MX-4? I'm looking for something as good as or better than MX-4 that's not difficult to use.
Click to expand...

they are both similar

mx-2 or mx-4 are good cuz they are easy to spread

the best is shin estu but its really hard to spread
 
XacTactX said:
Look at the 'great contact' section in ldef1x's link. There is literally a 1* C difference between PK-1 and Ceramique 2 (they just released a sequal). If the 1* C isn't going to make/break your overclock, you can get about 5x or 6x as much paste for your dollar. Just something to think about.

http://www.bestbyte.net/merchant/me...BB&Product_Code=COTIASC225&Category_Code=COTI

Here is BestByte's BBB page in case the name sounds fishy. http://www.bbb.org/central-texas/bu...ers/best-byte-computers-in-austin-tx-90024459
Click to expand...

For those that aren't basically lapping/polishing their cooling block and CPU,stick to the "moderate contact" data, at least. Skinnee mentions that "great contact" requires high amounts of prep-work to make the surface optimal, certainly beyond what most enthusiasts do who are just looking for efficient cooling. Then, the parameters of the thermal interface material comes more greatly into play.
 
123Lanoix said:
they are both similar

mx-2 or mx-4 are good cuz they are easy to spread

the best is shin estu but its really hard to spread
Click to expand...

I've used shin etsu 7783D for the last couple years and yeah, it's the best paste I've used. It can be tough to spread, though I usually just put it in a sealed baggy and place it in hot water for a a minute to soften it. Of course, I don't actually spread my TIM anyway. I just put a blob and let my heatsink/block spread it out.
 
Synomenon said:
Got a 3960X and am now looking for good thermal paste to go with it. I'm looking at Arctic Coolling MX-4. Is there anything better that's not difficult to use?
Click to expand...

Probably IC Diamond. I just ordered some from Amazon. This product is slightly better than Artic Silver 5. I mainly got this to replace the TIM for my 7970s because it handles very well under full load. There are some that are pure liquid metal thermal compounds, but I don't know if you want to risk a short for a few additional degress. IC diamond doesn't conduct electricity so you should be fine for your GPU and CPU cooling.

http://www.innovationcooling.com/overview.htm
 
Arctic Silver 5 is still one of the best pastes around, even when compared to the latest and greatest.

It pretty cheap, easy to use and the temperature differences are slight at best.

Me, I like Noctura NT- H1.
Its easy to use and requires no cure. What you see is what you get. Also very cheap.
Non-conductive, so also can be used on a GPU.

I also have MX-4 but I find it sticky and difficult to spread. It's non conductive,too.

My choice however is NT-H1, just works well and I like the way it goes on.
 
Do all thermal paste turn into cement when they run off the cpu and get baked ?
Had the joy of cleaning my laptop cpu where they put so much it ran off and cimented.

Used some silicone paste that came with my artic cooler from artic cooling for my ati 9800 pro (all i had on hand).
50%sillicone 30% metal oxide and 20% carbon.

Is silly-cone considered themal paste? :confused:
 
There are much better thermal pastes out there than Arctic Silver 5.

I tried the Shin Etsu, but it was really hard to spread, and I didn't want something I had to heat up in water just to use like a normal paste. Also not willing to pay a high price for only two rub on applications, I change my stuff around too often for that to make sense.

I only use Noctura NT-H1 thermal paste based on this article http://skinneelabs.com/2011-tim-results/

It performs in the top 5, is an actual affordable paste like substance, performs well even when you get a bad mount, Also non conductive so I used it on my GPU also.

After investing a few hundred on watercooling, getting 1 degree cooler is a huge improvement. Everything counts, how much tubing, how many bends, how much air over the radiators. People say it won't help your overclock, but the more efficent your machine, the lower you can run your fans and still keep it in the max OC window!
 
Ok, so I'll forget the Indigo Xtreme. Saw some reviews that say you have to lap the CPU and heatsink sometimes just to get the Indigo Xtreme off if you ever did have to remove it.

So, now I'm looking for Shin-Etsu X23-7921-5. Can't find it anywhere though.
 
I've tried many. Best results have been with IC Diamond.
 
Believe it or not......mayonaisse works about as well as most stock thermal materials.:eek:
 
Lots of people avoid IC diamond, because of the "pronounced" scouring effect (skinnee labs are one obvious example) meaning that it scratches up things, which would cause problems for GPU/CPU/heatsink RMAs (if you could claim one at all due to it being visibly damaged). So seems like a good idea to avoid that one, especially as it doesn't appare give any kind of performance advantage.

The liquid metal pads like indigo extreme clean off with normal removers like normal TIM. The way it is applied means theres is almost 0 chance of it splurging out the side, though the way it is applied will probably put off about 9/10 people.

Even "non conductive" fluids will pick up crap and become conductive. All TIMs should be handled carefully. :p The "best" TIMs are the ones that you apply well. Using the crappiest $0.50 TIM and applying perfectly will probably give better results than a $35 TIM done poorly. It's all in the application! (which is incidentally where stuff like indigo extreme might be handy...it's pretty hard to screw that up :D)
 
DeathPrincess said:
Even "non conductive" fluids will pick up crap and become conductive. All TIMs should be handled carefully.
Click to expand...

I dont mean to pick a fight, but just to point out, not conductive liquid can quickly become contaminated and become ionized, because the ions can move easily and quickly through the fluid. We are talking about thermal paste here, and many of the non conductive have actual silver particles, but they are in a non conductive paste which works like an insulator. I highly doubt they would become conductive, they are already filled with silver and are not, what are they going to asorb in your case, gold particles to the point of saturation?:D
 
semiconductorslave said:
I dont mean to pick a fight, but just to point out, not conductive liquid can quickly become contaminated and become ionized, because the ions can move easily and quickly through the fluid. We are talking about thermal paste here, and many of the non conductive have actual silver particles, but they are in a non conductive paste which works like an insulator. I highly doubt they would become conductive, they are already filled with silver and are not, what are they going to asorb in your case, gold particles to the point of saturation?:D
Click to expand...

Reread that. :p

Technically there is no such thing as a "non conductive" material! And it doesn't have to become "saturated".

Still even with just capacitive (like AC5)/"non conductive" there is a chance the fact it is liquid will put a charge where it shouldn't be. Then again all of this is tiny tiny chances. Youd have to be really drunk at the wheel in the 10,000th parralel universe for you to kill anything realistically, there isn't really any danger from anything i've ever seen. Unless you glob paste out the sides and all over the socket and the motherboard with scratches and traces exposed, or do something rediculous, even with a "conductive" TIM nothing is going to happen.
 
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I use Noctua NT-H1 mainly because a big tube of it came with my NH12 heat sink. That the paste tends to score as one of the better materials is a big bonus.
 
I recently had some excellent results using Antec Formula 7 paste + line application method on my GPU.
 
If you search it out, honestly there is only a degree or two Centigrade between all the common thermal materials.....including mayonaisse.

What it boils down to is ease of application and cost.

I've used the following:

ArcticSilver5
ArticCooling MX2 and 4
Noctura NT-H1
Arctic Ceramique

Honestly, AS5 is easy to use, pretty cheap and performs well, but is technically conductive.
AC MX2 and 4 are rather sticky and hard to spread, but perform well and are "non-conductive"
Ceramique same.

My go-to stuff is Noctura NT-H1. Pretty cheap, non-conductive and spreads like warm butter. All that and no cure time. Winning.
 
What do you mean by AS5 is "technically conductive"? The spec on their site claims it is not condcutive.
 
Are these low reviews of AS5 based on initial temps? Doesn't AS5 have a 200 hour cure time? That skineelabs site doesn't specify any cure time...
 
MRAB54 said:
Are these low reviews of AS5 based on initial temps? Doesn't AS5 have a 200 hour cure time? That skineelabs site doesn't specify any cure time...
Click to expand...

Its only like a degree after cure in time. There are better options than AS5 for the price imo.
 
There are much better thermal pastes out there than Arctic Silver 5.
Click to expand...

Well it's not the best, no, but it's far from the worst, and it's less than one degree different than what you recommend (and no, I don't think that's really that big of a difference myself. You're more likely to lose that on a bad application than you are just because you use a different paste). I guess it really depends on what your definition of "much better" is though.

I only use Noctura NT-H1 thermal paste based on this article http://skinneelabs.com/2011-tim-results/
Click to expand...

I would recommend this stuff too, it's pretty cheap and it does a great job.
 
Thermal pastes is like Voodoo science based on reviews. For example in the "hardware secrets" test, Arctic Silver 5 is almost the best. Probably in the internet there is a review with different winner everytime... Some of it could be promotional reviews of course. But bottom line is, you can only trust what works best for your PC...

On my cooler Ceramique 2 and MX-2, as well as Revoltec Diamond have no difference. Or if they have, it's less than 1C, so my software can't reveal it. So i go with Ceramique 2, because as someone else mentioned, you get more paste for your money...
 
GeneO said:
What do you mean by AS5 is "technically conductive"? The spec on their site claims it is not condcutive.
Click to expand...

Aye, it's slightly capacitive, but not conductive. So a problem exists when it gets between traces/pins that are close together.

AS5
Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)
Click to expand...
 
I used AS5 for awhile, then started using MX-2. Seems good enough to me. Looked into that IC7 Diamond stuff but it seems way too expensive.
 
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