News Arctic's Super-Popular Thermal Paste Upd To Last 8 Years

[Admin]

Arctic's new MX-5 paste ups the successful MX-4 recipe for a useful lifetime of up to 8 years.

Arctic's Super-Popular Thermal Paste Upd To Last 8 Years : Read more

 

[kerberos_20]

i used mx-4 on my super old laptop 8years ago and still works

 

[neojack]

same here, 2009 laptop repasted when new. i am almost certain i used MX-4 by then. it never dries up so i guess it's good forever.

PS : too much paste IS an issue. because it's a mess and it get on the pins and holes of the socket and CPU, preventing them from conducting electricity/data.

 

[InvalidError]

If long-term reliability is your primary concern, then simply use basic silicon/aluminum oxide paste. That stuff is chemically stable and will last for decades provided that the heatsink is fastened well enough to prevent it from getting knocked loose.

 

[neojack]

simply use basic silicon/aluminum oxide paste

is that he white stuff that comes with noname china heatsinks ?

 

[Jake Hall]

Thought MX-4 was already rated for 8 years

 

[derekullo]

Hopefully it is extremely agile and light with a 50/50 weight distribution.

I'd also like to push the paste out manually, and not have some automatic device doing it for me.

An 8 year lifespan feels a bit shorter than I am used to.

 

[InvalidError]

is that he white stuff that comes with noname china heatsinks ?

Silicone-Al2O3 paste has been around for something like 50 years, it is produced and used all over the world, might be one of the most commonly used type of paste in the electronics industry since it is inexpensive and will outlive most applications' useful life.

Aluminum and Zinc oxide pastes ("white goo") may be cheap but the best ones among those perform within 3-4C of the best pastes out there short of going liquid metal. Decent white goo is the way to go if you want something that is effectively maintenance-free.

 

[Soaptrail]

Is this a slow tech news day?

 

[cryoburner]

Thought MX-4 was already rated for 8 years

The even older MX-2 was as well. : P

The relatively long durability rating is still a good selling point though. Some of the other high-performance thermal compounds provide good thermal performance initially, but tend to break down relatively quickly, and unless one is going out their way to remount their CPU cooler every year or so, using a paste like these that shouldn't degrade significantly is probably a better option.

 

[CooliPi]

We recommend MX-2 and MX-4 for our CooliPi 4B coolercases for Raspberry Pi 4 model B. I've read a gossip comparing MX-4 versus MX-2 longevity wise, and the author suggested MX-2 is more stable over time.

The white, stock paste you guys mention leads to some 3˚C higher temperatures of the CooliPi+RPI than MX-2. MX-4 is about half a degree better than MX-2

Longevity of thermal paste was a key issue in choosing a recommended paste for out heatsinks. It's a difference if you run your server for 8 years or 20 years without servicing. Less downtime, you know...