Does thermal paste affect temperatures?

[Pcenthusiast16]

Pretty much what the title says, i have this cheap stuff from a TIM removal kit by akasa. I used to get an idle temp of around 26 degrees but now it is 31 plus going into mid 40 degrees celsius.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I use MX4 still going strong on all me setups years later.

Also recommend Gelid Extreme.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

Room temps still the same?

Thermal paste does affect temperatures. There has been tests done on multiple brands and formulas that show a few degrees difference in temps. Usually nothing really significant unless you're trying to squeeze out 2-3º C. You also don't want too little either for best cooling. Too much? debatable (especially looking at how much winds up on a GPU) as long as its non-conductive. Make sure you got enough on there and that the heatsink plate (or the waterblock) is sitting on it properly and not too tight or too loose.

 

[GUCCI oPtimus]

Short answer: Yes different thermal pastes will give different temps

Long answer: Thermal paste on the stock intel cooler and on graphics cards is really crappy. I recommend using ic diamond if u want to go all out or just use the paste that comes with your aftermarket cooler. It will be like a 1-2 degree difference.

 

[grimfox]

The quality the the thermal paste does affect temperatures. Which doesn't mean you need to get something super expensive. I've used Geilid extreme with good results.

Application and heatsink make more of a difference than the paste. As far as application goes, just don't use too little (or way too much) and ensure your HSF is making good contact, the pressure takes care of the rest. There are plenty of videos and articles out there about different pastes and their performance. A lot of them will come up with different #1s but there will be a few brands that will consistently show up near the top. Pick one of those.

 

[mrobscura]

any decent thermal paste will perform around the same. recently ive used cryorigs stuff, corsairs pre applied stuff, and now thermal grizzly and the all perform about the same. though despite thermal grizzly being considered the best currently on the market, my temps are actually a couple degrees higher with it.

anyway, stick to any well regarded paste and theres no reason to worry about it, but cheap stuff will give you clearly higher temps.

 

[Pcenthusiast16]

ive tried various methods of applying the damn thing but to no avail, i reckon it is the thermal paste that is crap