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Best Thermal Paste


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Good thread. I have IC diamond on now and it's tough to get off when the computer hasn't been on. That means it'll probably take years before I have to change it. But when I have to, I shall get that GC Extreme.

Have you already taken off the heatsink? If so you need to replace the paste for optimal temperatures as you inevitably introduced air bubbles in there and air keeps the heat trapped.

The easiest way to remove IC Diamond is with 90+% rubbing alcohol and qtips, gently roll the qtip soaked with the alcohol across the die, do the same thing with the other end of the qtip and it should start coming off without scratching the die, just keep using qtips until they no longer turn gray at all then take a micro fiber cloth and gently rub the die to get any residue left by the alcohol off and apply your new paste.

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Yeah, I know. It's best to do it after the pc has been on for a while so that the paste will be more fluid. I use those alcohol wipes that come in a big cylinder container. I don't have to change or do anything now. I was just saying that the next time I have to, I will try out GC Extreme.

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Yeah, I know. It's best to do it after the pc has been on for a while so that the paste will be more fluid. I use those alcohol wipes that come in a big cylinder container. I don't have to change or do anything now. I was just saying that the next time I have to, I will try out GC Extreme.

Those wipes are likely to cause the die to get scratched. What helps the most is just getting the alcohol puddled on there to start breaking it down and gently removing it.

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That's the end result of me using those alcohol pads on my $1000 4940MX... That scratch that goes all the way across... I thought I cracked the die or something at first. It looks much worse in reality.

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unlikely. ive seen lots of user reports on those scratches caused by ICD, but ive never seen a case where hardware was damaged in a way that went beyond just pure visuals :) my previous 2960XM cpu also carried away scratches from countless ICD repastes over the years, but was running like a champ till the end :)

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Did that scratch affect the performance at all?

Also, you can always use mayonnaise for thermal paste: Does Mayonnaise Last as a Thermal Compound? | Hardware Secrets

You can use anything that transfers heat as a thermal paste, its just unlikely to be as effective as a real paste. The key is to make sure you don't have any gaps or air bubbles. Highly recommend using a real paste though for obvious reasons.

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As long as you don't use the cheapest you can find you should be okay with almost anything. I usually see people who have problems are usually using way too much or removed the heat sink and did not remove the old paste and reapply new. So many people see the paste there and assume it will be okay. Don't do that!!!

Also, new heat sink means a new tube of paste, dont try to reseal the tube and use on another install even if there is plenty left in the tube unless you are doing it on the same day.

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As long as you don't use the cheapest you can find you should be okay with almost anything. I usually see people who have problems are usually using way too much or removed the heat sink and did not remove the old paste and reapply new. So many people see the paste there and assume it will be okay. Don't do that!!!

Also, new heat sink means a new tube of paste, dont try to reseal the tube and use on another install even if there is plenty left in the tube unless you are doing it on the same day.

say what now? are u seriously using a completely new tube of fresh paste for each application?!?! :-O

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say what now? are u seriously using a completely new tube of fresh paste for each application?!?! :-O

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I am make an assumption that most people don't change out their processor or head sink every day. You might be surprised how many people try to reuse a tube of paste that has been opened for 6 months (or longer). They way I see it $10 for a tube of paste is a lot better than having to replace a fried processor.

If I order a new proessor or remove the heat sink for any reason if I don't have an unopened tube lying around the house I always order a new one.

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Also, new heat sink means a new tube of paste, dont try to reseal the tube and use on another install even if there is plenty left in the tube unless you are doing it on the same day.

That's retarded. As long as you put the lid back on and store it properly, you can use the same tube for repastes. Especially ones like IC Diamond. Liquid ultra is another story though, it all squirts into the cap and is really a mess to deal with but any normal high grade paste will not go bad sitting in an air sealed tube.

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I am make an assumption that most people don't change out their processor or head sink every day. You might be surprised how many people try to reuse a tube of paste that has been opened for 6 months (or longer). They way I see it $10 for a tube of paste is a lot better than having to replace a fried processor.

If I order a new proessor or remove the heat sink for any reason if I don't have an unopened tube lying around the house I always order a new one.

Lol wow. So how much money have you wasted on thermal paste? Ive had tubes of Arctic Silver 5 laying around for a couple of years that were still good to use. As long as the cover is closed there is no problem and the paste will be good for a long time.

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I try ic diamond it suck then ACS 5 it was ok. Mx 4 (1c under ACS5) is what i use now.

MX4 is horrible paste for low pressure mounts. It starts out great but goes south fast as it pumps out. You're better off with Gelid GC Extreme. If you didn't get decent temps with ICD btw you most likely didn't do it right, the only reason a lot of us don't use it is because of the serious scratches it leaves.

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I used several thermal pastes for ex. ic7 diamond, zalam stg2, gc extreme, mx 2, phobya hegrease extreme. My best is GC Extreme! - best temp, and easy to place, or mx-2 best effective/cost.

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There are a couple nice thermal paste comparisons at Tom's Hardware..

Thermal Paste Comparison, Part One: Applying Grease And More - Everything You Wanted To Know About Cooling A CPU

Thermal Paste Comparison, Part Two: 39 Products Get Tested - 39 Thermal Compounds Get Benchmarked And Tested

I have used AS5 mostly in the past. However, I used CLU on my new Clevo P770zm. So far, the results have been good, but that liquid metal is a little more tricky to safely apply.

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MX4 is horrible paste for low pressure mounts. It starts out great but goes south fast as it pumps out. You're better off with Gelid GC Extreme. If you didn't get decent temps with ICD btw you most likely didn't do it right, the only reason a lot of us don't use it is because of the serious scratches it leaves.

I try line, pea size and even try spreading ICD (hard thing to do). I have MX4 under 212evo , gpu and cpu on m1530 and PS3 60gb using pea method. I guess there high pressure mounts (exclude m1530).

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  • 2 weeks later...

Vote to AS5 from here as well. Been using one tube for many builds now. Sure it might cost a bit more than the others (atleast it does here where i live) but you can use it so many times it's fine. GPU ja CPU temps have usually dropped atleast 3-5 degrees upon applying new paste.

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I've always preferred AS5 for non-OC builds (business workstations or builds for friends/family) because while it isn't the most effective paste in the short term it maintains good thermal contact over long periods of time and breaks down very slowly. I use IC Diamond or TX-4 for my personal computers, but the advantages they have over AS5 seem to diminish over time and they seem to require repasting more frequently. I almost always use TX-4 for low pressure mounts like on laptop CPUs since the stuff has such low viscosity and spreads super easily.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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