[SOLVED] Best thermal paste for cpu and gpu?

[Matoo69]

Whitch is best thermal paste for cpu and gpu laptop/pc.

I planning to order mx-4 or grizzly liquid metal thermal but i dont know i find many many thermal and i dont know now...

Pls help

 

[PC Tailor]

If you want my honest view, don't overthink it. Thermal paste in reality, doesn't make the world of difference. Heck people even use toothpaste and can still maintain safe temperatures.

How you apply it is usually more impactful than what exactly you apply, just avoid cheap nonsense!

You can see this guide here from TH: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-comparison,5108-14.html

You can check the previous pages on it for actual test results like this: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-comparison,5108-9.html

Where you'll see the difference between the top thermal grizzly and one of the worst cooler master pastes is actually 6 degrees - which from TOP to BOTTOM is not that huge an increase.

Liquid metals do have better cooling generally - but you'll find the difference between MX-4 and Grizzly being around 4-5 degrees tops.

 

[Matoo69]

Ok thanks,but whitch thermal paste is best for laptop?

I dont talk now about mx4 or liquid metal but in general Whitch one is best on the market? Thanks

 

[PC Tailor]

Ok thanks,but whitch thermal paste is best for laptop?

I dont talk now about mx4 or liquid metal but in general Whitch one is best on the market? Thanks

Well this is my point "best on the market" doesn't really mean best on the market. Because in the grand scheme of things, how you apply it is usually more important than what exactly you apply (as long as it's not awful really cheap stuff).

You could argue some of these:

• Noctua NT-H1
• Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
• Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut

etc.

Liquid metal ones tend to be more effective.

 

[Roxxus]

Ok thanks,but whitch thermal paste is best for laptop?

I dont talk now about mx4 or liquid metal but in general Whitch one is best on the market? Thanks

i wouldn't recommend liquid metal for standard users/gamers basically only for trying to break overclocking records or other extreme cases imo.. some people might not mind the hassle and risk of using it. as for the best ones on the market:
Thermal Grizzly: Kryonaut
Thermal Grizzly: Conductonaut
Arctic: MX-4
Arctic: Silver 5
IC: Diamond
and my personal favorite that's kinda underrated but competes with the best of them
Gelid Solutions: gc-extreme

 

[britechguy]

Thermal paste in reality, doesn't make the world of difference.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming out and saying this!! Thermal paste is a bulk product that has, as its only purpose, allowing a more consistent heat transfer between the processor and the heat sink.

The amount typically used is less than the size of a pea (far less) and gets distributed as an ultra thin layer between the processor and heat sink (not unlike denture adhesive, but without any need for adhesive quality).

Once it's in place it almost never needs to be, or should be, touched again (unless one pulls or replaces the processor).

If anything was "buy what's cheapest" and then "set it and forget it" it's thermal paste.

 

[Matoo69]

Ok thanks very much,i will buy one of those thermal thanks

 

[Roxxus]

If anything was "buy what's cheapest" and then "set it and forget it" it's thermal paste.

personally i don't entirely agree with this, some thermal pastes especially the cheap ones can have a fairly significant temperature difference, and as the OP implied it'd also be used on the GPU so imo it's worth dishing out a few extra $ for stuff that's proven to have decent temps which i recon is why he is asking this here in the first place >..>

 

[Matoo69]

My laptop when gaming is high now,i must replace so this is why i ask best thermal
I will buy one of this,ty

 

[britechguy]

personally i don't entirely agree with this, some thermal pastes especially the cheap ones can have a fairly significant temperature difference

We are free to agree to disagree.

I have never, over the course of decades, seen any significant difference between the cheapest and the most expensive thermal pastes when applied correctly.

You can be certain that OEMs are not doing anything other than buying this stuff on spec, and the spec is awfully simple - transfer heat. Virtually all of it is shiny silver-gray very thin-bodied paste, just a bit beyond liquid to hold shape for transfer, but designed to allow itself to be "smashed into place" when the processor is pushed on to the heat sink.

I liked PC Tailor's analogy - you could probably use toothpaste (though I wouldn't). It's just not that important as far as brand goes. It's a dirt basic technology that anyone that is in the business of making it can make well.

 

[PC Tailor]

We are free to agree to disagree.

I have never, over the course of decades, seen any significant difference between the cheapest and the most expensive thermal pastes when applied correctly.

You can be certain that OEMs are not doing anything other than buying this stuff on spec, and the spec is awfully simple - transfer heat. Virtually all of it is shiny silver-gray very thin-bodied paste, just a bit beyond liquid to hold shape for transfer, but designed to allow itself to be "smashed into place" when the processor is pushed on to the heat sink.

I liked PC Tailor's analogy - you could probably use toothpaste (though I wouldn't). It's just not that important as far as brand goes. It's a dirt basic technology that anyone that is in the business of making it can make well.

I'm not exaggerating, you can use toothpaste! I have tried. You have to replace it more often and obviously isn't as good as thermal paste, but it works.

 

[Roxxus]

We are free to agree to disagree.

I have never, over the course of decades, seen any significant difference between the cheapest and the most expensive thermal pastes when applied correctly.

You can be certain that OEMs are not doing anything other than buying this stuff on spec, and the spec is awfully simple - transfer heat. Virtually all of it is shiny silver-gray very thin-bodied paste, just a bit beyond liquid to hold shape for transfer, but designed to allow itself to be "smashed into place" when the processor is pushed on to the heat sink.

I liked PC Tailor's analogy - you could probably use toothpaste (though I wouldn't). It's just not that important as far as brand goes. It's a dirt basic technology that anyone that is in the business of making it can make well.

i get where you're coming from but from my perspective a few degrees(some extreme cases I've seen temperature differences from anywhere from 1-15 degrees, which obviously can vary depending on amount more than brand) for a few extra dollars is worth it, people spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on computer(s)/parts so spending an extra $5 on a "better" thermal paste imo is worth it 😉

 

[britechguy]

The problem here is there is no real, objective, third-party tested "better."

It's all marketing.

I certainly wouldn't pay a huge price differential (and those exist) for a degree or two. I've seen more issues come from not applying correctly (or, more accurately, not seating the chip correctly, in reality) than I have from brand differences.

I also see an insane amount of worrying about temperatures that are so far below Tmax for a given chip. If you've been working on computers for as long as I have, seen the conditions inside of a great many that severely impair cooling, and seen them just keep chugging along your perspective about temperature changes quite a bit. If the temperature remains below Tmax (which is the maximum normal range operating temperature) under typical conditions, with the occasional spike near to (or even a degree or two over) it under heavy load, all is still right with the world. These devices are not fragile, and have become less so over time.

 

[Matoo69]

Yes ofcorse,if you can spend 1000$ on pc then you can buy good thermal paste
I will buy one of this (better ones)

 

[PC Tailor]

Yes ofcorse,if you can spend 1000$ on pc then you can buy good thermal paste
I will buy one of this (better ones)

I agree. Just remember to not go overboard. Because ultimately, there really isn't that much difference
Regardless, I hope we've helped!

 

[Matoo69]

Yes you help me thanks