Cheap thermal paste? Any good?

[safwanzilla99]

So i came across this cheap thermal paste pack on Newegg, it comes with 4 pcs of them with a plastic spreader for only 7$, the reviews are all positive, One tube of artic silver 5 costs same but unfortunately they are not available here, How much of a difference can they make? Do thermal paste quality matter in short run? i can change them in future..

https://www.newegg.com/global/ae/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835119060&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAEAdwords-Global-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAEAdwords-Global-PC-_-pla-_-CPU+Thermal+Paste+%2F+Grease-_-N82E16835119060&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzKb2oLyY3AIVDbTtCh2C6Q8JEAQYAiABEgIb8PD_BwE

 

[Aeacus]

Using plastic spreader to spread the thermal paste around is stupid. Here's how to remove and apply thermal paste in a proper way,
youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SST61g3hnIs

As far as thermal paste goes, Tom's Hardware tested 39 different products with the conclusions at the end,
link: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616.html

Arctic Silver 5, while somewhat popular, is bad thermal paste to use since it contains silver and it can be conductive. And if you get it onto your MoBo, you can short circuit your MoBo.

I'm using Arctic MX-4 with my Skylake build (full specs with pics in my sig) which isn't conductive and which is one of the good ones to transfer heat. Arctic MX-4 is also present in that roundup.

Though, do note that Arctic Silver 5 and Arctic MX-4 are made by different companies. Arctic Silver 5 is made by Arctic Silver, Inc. while Arctic MX-4 is made by Arctic Cooling.