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Best Thermal Paste


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Hello everybody,

I searched the forum but I didn't find a specific thread for this topic. Since it's an important element of the OC process I think it's worth a dedicated thread.

I changed the thermal paste of my notebook some time ago and I used the Arctic Silver 5, which in my researches seemed to be a good compromise between quality and price. In my case the thermal performance didn't change so much with respect to the stock paste.

I wanted to know if there is something better, expecially in terms of OC possibilities.

Do you know and use a better paste?

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Hello everybody,

I searched the forum but I didn't find a specific thread for this topic. Since it's an important element of the OC process I think it's worth a dedicated thread.

I changed the thermal paste of my notebook some time ago and I used the Arctic Silver 5, which in my researches seemed to be a good compromise between quality and price. In my case the thermal performance didn't change so much with respect to the stock paste.

I wanted to know if there is something better, expecially in terms of OC possibilities.

Do you know and use a better paste?

Hi

Another good cooling paste is IC diamond, but I would never say if this or that is better. This is a contentious topic, it all depends on your personal preference and understanding.

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I used to use Arctic Silver 5 till I found out more about it, now I normally use Gelid GC-Extreme, sometimes Tuniq TX-4. Out of those two I like the GC more, I have noticed lower temps on desktop after changing from TX-4 to GC on my last clean up (by a few degrees on load and a couple degrees while in idle)

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  • 3 weeks later...

I tried the Tuniq TX-4 the other day, and my temps are much cooler than with Arctic Silver 5. 3DMark 11 benchmark on stock clocks was 69 vs 75 max temp on GPU, 63 vs 68 on CPU, and FurMark 720p benchmark only got to 87 instead of 90 and throttling. A quick few rounds of Titanfall and I was thoroughly impressed, temps in the range of 75-78 with 200/400 clocks where as before with 150/250 it was hanging out around 85-88.

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I tried the Tuniq TX-4 the other day, and my temps are much cooler than with Arctic Silver 5. 3DMark 11 benchmark on stock clocks was 69 vs 75 max temp on GPU, 63 vs 68 on CPU, and FurMark 720p benchmark only got to 87 instead of 90 and throttling. A quick few rounds of Titanfall and I was thoroughly impressed, temps in the range of 75-78 with 200/400 clocks where as before with 150/250 it was hanging out around 85-88.

What were you using previously?

Sent with love from my Galaxy S4

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
I recently replaced my 2 year old stock paste with MX-4 and there was a notable difference, of between 2C-6C (maybe even 8C at high load).

Also an MX-4 user here and it's been serving me well so far. Helped with my temps and very easy to apply too.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been an Arctic Cooling fan for a while, I used to use MX-2 to pretty much everything - easier to apply and clean than AS5, performs as well or better, is relatively cheap, and no conductivity risks. I did purchase a stick of MX-4 for when I run out of MX-2, but it's definitely pricier... I'm willing to spend extra to see if there are any improvements with the new formulation though. I heard some horror stories about MX-3, so I just skipped that stuff completely.

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I manage a higher-ed / research IT office. We do our fair share of modding for specific applications. This often involves installations that need to be serviceable. I have experience with the all variants of Artic Silver (and others). Their two-step prep (ArtiClean) is still the staple in the shop and for me at home.

But for all of my testing and final applications I use Noctua NT-H1, since it doesn't have a "break-in" period (or at least a very short one), and it has consistent performance with little breakdown even if you have to pull and re-seat the heat sink. This has allowed me to conduct actual real-world tests. In several synthetic tests it even edges out AS5, and this has been replicated in my real-world tests as well.

Based on price, consistency, and durability, I still use NT-H1, even though several newer compounds have been released that may perform slightly, albeit often marginally better in the real world. I have always gotten more gains from a more efficient coolers and consistently performing compound than from a compound that has to be applied "just so." I hope this helps.

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  • 2 weeks later...

i ordered some ic diamond and found it to be sufficient.

i had to reseat the heatsink again so i reapplied it and had a hell of a time trying to remove it off the chip. i used isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) and a q-tip, took me maybe 10 minutes just to remove it entirely. pretty sticky stuff. but seems to work great.

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  • 1 month later...

looks like i need to repaste my system, haven't been keeping up to date with these new tims. anyone have recommendations??? i heard great things about liquid ultra, but i tend to stay away from conductive paste but if its the bomb then i guess i will gave it a go. also ic diamond is a no go for me since that stuff causes scratches. mx-4 was my go to but lately hearing that it degrades quickly.

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Yeah MX-4 degraded pretty fast for me. For an intermediate paste had decent performance and longevity I have some Prolimatech PK-1. Personally looking into the newer pastes as well.

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from what I have read and seen on people testing. the best method is as little as possible (aka small dot so center of chip covered but not spilling over). The thinner the paste the less distance needed for heat to travel to the copper of the heat sink which is much more conductive then any past. personally i use MX-4 good so far.

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Yeah MX-4 degraded pretty fast for me. For an intermediate paste had decent performance and longevity I have some Prolimatech PK-1. Personally looking into the newer pastes as well.

thanks mw86, thats the first time i've ever heard of that brand. thinking of ordering some gelid gc-extreme paste, reviews seem to be pretty good.

[h=1][/h]

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Yeah MX-4 degraded pretty fast for me. For an intermediate paste had decent performance and longevity I have some Prolimatech PK-1. Personally looking into the newer pastes as well.

I had terrible luck with PK-1. I would take the heatsink off after 3 days and see that the paste in the middle of the die had dried out. My understanding is that only decent non-conductive paste that lasts longer than a month is ICD. I don't know how Geil Extreme holds up though.

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Yeah always had great luck with ICD as well but as Iloveboobs mentions it does scratch the die, I guess only if you have to remove it at some point. There is a list of 80 on the threads been trying to find it here again I read it the other day. Some nice ones over ICD as well.

Edit:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=2339666&SID=

Shin-Etsu MicroSi G751 by Masscool seems good based on Nando's link here : http://forum.techinferno.com/showthread.php?p=7692

The 80 compounds compared this one fares well. I don't know if it is non conductive. I guess so looking at it is Aluminum Oxide. Okay I take that back again says here " Appearance: Gray Paste

Application: Injector with cap for easy application and storage. Electrically non-conductive"

http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=12

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