Best Thermal Compound!?

[yukyakyuk]

so which one is the best thermal compound for CM Seidon 240M ?
just bought IC diamond 7 karat. is it good ?or the old school arctic silver?

 

[Pr3di]

I went with the Arctic Silver, but I don`t think the difference will be that big in temps.
The price of getting a new paste will most likely not be worth it for (maybe) 1-2 degrees difference.

 

[EasyLover]

Arctic Silver has a very good repute in the market and among overclockers. IC diamond 7 karat is not bad at all. It is the capability of the elements regarding their thermal conductivity. Arctic Silver uses silver particles for heat conductance whereas IC diamond uses micronized synthetic diamond particles for thermal conductance.

What is important is the conductivity level and viscosity (secondary in question) of the thermal compound.

Stick with IC Diamond. No issue there.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/247954-29-diamond-carat-thermal-compound

 

[Akarin]

Arctic MX-4 is a great thermal paste and it is normally at the top of the temperature benchmarks. I use it, is a bit expensive, but it's very nice, but you should be totally fine with IC Diamond 7 Karat, that's a good paste too.

 

[4Ryan6]

Actually whats' most important is the application of the thermal compound to get it's full thermal conduction!

Both of what you list have their plus and minus, AS5 needs a long time to cure to it's best thermal conduction state, which means it actually needs a thermal layer for micronized particles to fully do what it is advertised and claimed to do.

IC Diamond needs a 50psi clamping pressure to perform optimally, (check their website for details), also IC Diamond has had many claims against them for heat spreader scratches from those moving the heat sink back and forth attempting to get better contact with lower pressure and scratching the CPU heat spreader, costing the CPU warranty. (Hello it's micronized diamond particles, and diamond is one of the hardest substances on the planet, of course it will scratch metal and cut glass as well!)

This is what you need to understand, the heat sink does the cooling, the thermal compound has no magical properties of cooling, all thermal compound is for, is to replace the microscopic pockets of air between the 2 metal mating surfaces, and that's all it is supposed to do.

No matter how shiny and smooth your heat sink base or CPU heat spreader appears to the eye, under a microscope in some situations it looks like the surface of the moon.

The finer the heat sink base is finished, the less thermal compound is actually needed to fill the air gaps.

So a thick layer of it is defeating the purpose of what it is supposed to be doing.

Too thick a layer of any thermal compound tends to insulate, instead of conduct the heat.

After all this time I am truly amazed at the abundance of ignorance that still abounds today regarding thermal compounds, with one claiming mine is better than yours when what is most important is the application of it, and the thermal footprint left behind.

I hope this helps you! Ryan

 

[4Ryan6]

Arctic MX-4 is a great thermal paste

MX-4 is a thinner consistency and will squish down to almost nothing under pressure, filling all the imperfections and requiring very little to do the job.

Micronized carbon based.

Needs zero cure time!

It is what I use myself.

 

[4Ryan6]

One last thing:

Regarding IC Diamond or any thicker composition thermal compound hold the tube under hot water long enough to heat it up inside the tube, then it will be much easier to work with, and easier to get it to thin out under normal clamping pressure, which is around the 25psi ~ 35psi area.

50psi clamping pressure can actually warp a water block!

 

[slyu9213]

PK-3 for me. I bought some due to the great reviews/temps but have yet to use it because I still have ~20g of Arctic Silver Ceramique 2. Scared I bought too much and that they'll harden

 

[scitzybunny]

Hello there folks...

Actually the best way to heat up ICD (so i have heard) is to simply hold a tube under your armpit for 5 mins

 

[slyu9213]

Hello there folks...

Actually the best way to heat up ICD (so i have heard) is to simply hold a tube under your armpit for 5 mins

For some reason I never thought of warming up thermal paste before trying to apply from the tube. Thanks for the reminder.