Thermal paste can be (and in many cases, is) used as TIM between the die and IHS. Given that the 9900KS doesn't come with any stock cooler/(external) paste, referring to "factory thermal paste" doesn't make sense. I can only assume the author made a mistake and meant to write "factory TIM".
Exactly. Understanding the issues requires keeping the terminology straight, so it's just an oversight on behalf of the author.
The term "Thermal Interface Material" or "TIM" is also called "thermal compound" but is more commonly known as "paste". TIM is a generic term used for any material used for transferring heat from one surface to another, whether it's from the Die to the IHS,
or from the IHS to the cooler.
When used between the IHS and the cooler, TIM almost always refers to paste, but serious overclockers might instead choose to use liquid metal. However, when used between the Die and the IHS, the most effective TIM is "Indium" solder, which Intel used on 2nd Generation Sandy Bridge and earlier processors.
With 3rd Generation Ivy Bridge processors, Intel began using paste between the Die and the IHS, which is when "delidding" became the go-to solution for overclockers. Since IHS soldering is a complicated and exacting process far beyond the capabilities of end users, replacing the paste with liquid metal is the practical answer to regain thermal efficiency lost when Intel changed from solder (sTIM) to paste (pTIM).
With 9th Generation, Intel returned to solder due to the high power consumption and heat dissipation problems with the 8 core 16 thread 9900K, which became blatantly evident with the 6 core 12 thread 8700K. Nonetheless, Intel made the Die
and the solder thicker on 9th Generation, which although is a compromise, is still an improvement over paste, but less efficient than 2nd Generation Sandy Bridge and earlier processors.
Note that delidding requires the use of
only liquid metal TIM between the Die and IHS. Typical silicon TIM will fail in a relatively brief period of time. A process known as “pump-out” will cause silicon TIM to ooze out from between the Die and IHS due to thermal cycling. Intel's TIM is formulated to resist pump out, but has relatively poor thermal conductivity. It also degrades, but over longer periods of time. A highly recommended liquid metal TIM is Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut.
Here’s the short list in order of thermal conductivity:
Indium - 81.8 W/mk (Used in processors with soldered IHS)
Liquid Metal TIM (IHS to Die)
Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut - 73.0 W/mk
CoolLaboratory Liquid Ultra - 38.4 W/mk
CoolLaboratory Liquid Pro - 32.6 W/mk
Typical Silicon TIM (IHS to Cooler)
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut - 12.5 W/mk
Arctic Silver 5 - 9.0 W/mk
Arctic Cooling MX4 - 8.5 W/mk
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram