[SOLVED] Noctua NT-H2, Noctua NT-H1, and Grizzly Kryonaut comparison?

[ShangWang]

After using Arctic Silver 5 for my laptop, and reapplied it with the pea method many times carefully, I've noticed temperatures before a year start fluctuating so I think I should switch over to a new paste.

I'm looking for a paste that will perform very well for many years without needing to be reapplied for the longest time. I've considered Grizzly Kryonaut but I'm not sure if it might be worth the price as I'm going for the 1g option. I heard Noctua NT-H1 is an excellent budget paste that is comparable to Grizzly at 3.5g for about the same price, so I'm more inclined to getting it but I'm still not sure.


Comparing the Noctua NT-H2 with the Noctua NT-H1, does the Noctua NT-H2 technically last longer/perform for longer before drying out and needing to be reapplied compared to the Noctua NT-H1?

Is it worth the extra money & comparably the better choice to get the NT-H2 also comparing with Grizzly Kryonaut which might only give you a 1-2 degree difference as a "premium thermal paste?"

Does thickness of paste affect how long it will last before needing to be reapplied or not? Which of these is the most thick in order/which will last the longest in performance?

 

[Lutfij]

They should all perform about the same since they're all high quality thermal pastes. As for the thickness, if you add too much, you end up having the paste squish to the sides and get around the CPU socket, in most worst case scenarios. Since you're dealing with a laptop, you should make sure you don't have too little and you don't have too much, since the excess ends up being a a blanket for heat.

 

[ShangWang]

They should all perform about the same since they're all high quality thermal pastes. As for the thickness, if you add too much, you end up having the paste squish to the sides and get around the CPU socket, in most worst case scenarios. Since you're dealing with a laptop, you should make sure you don't have too little and you don't have too much, since the excess ends up being a a blanket for heat.

Thank you, though when I meant thickness I guess I was thinking viscosity as I know some are more runny than others and supposedly some say it means it will last less longer.

Though generally would you say the NT-H2 will last longer than the NT-H1 and is worth getting for the extra money?

 

[Phaaze88]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrtkiBwQV-U


Kryonaut falls in the same category as NT-H1(low viscosity), plus it has the caveat of expiring faster when exposed to higher temperatures.
NT-H2 has higher viscosity and is better for use on naked dies.

 

[ShangWang]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrtkiBwQV-U


Kryonaut falls in the same category as NT-H1(low viscosity), plus it has the caveat of expiring faster when exposed to higher temperatures.
NT-H2 has higher viscosity and is better for use on naked dies.

I see, thanks! I guess I'll go for the NT-H2 just to be safe, I don't believe my laptop CPU is bare and has an IHS like most do but it should be a good for me hopefully.

Edit: Actually I think my CPU and GPU are bare dies, would the heatsink technically be the "heat spreader" or is it just bare?

 

[ShangWang]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrtkiBwQV-U


Kryonaut falls in the same category as NT-H1(low viscosity), plus it has the caveat of expiring faster when exposed to higher temperatures.
NT-H2 has higher viscosity and is better for use on naked dies.

Additionally do you know if having constantly high temperatures/having high temperatures for a long period of time in general causes thermal paste in use to dry out faster and therefore need to be replaced faster or does it have no effect?

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrtkiBwQV-U


Kryonaut falls in the same category as NT-H1(low viscosity), plus it has the caveat of expiring faster when exposed to higher temperatures.
NT-H2 has higher viscosity and is better for use on naked dies.

Hmmm. I use H1 in my Omen 15 laptop, I've not observed this pump out effect. Interesting though. I wonder is it down to application of the paste, or replacement of the heatisnk more than the paste itself?

 

[Phaaze88]

Additionally do you know if having constantly high temperatures/having high temperatures for a long period of time in general causes thermal paste in use to dry out faster and therefore need to be replaced faster or does it have no effect?

No, unless it's specifically stated, like Thermal Grizzly does for Kryonaut:
"Kryonaut uses a special structure, which halts the drying out process at temperatures of up to 80° Celsius."
This 'special substance' doesn't hold up as well under higher temperatures.

What laptops generally have problems with are:
-poor ventilation. Those bottom vents have no room to breathe, if there are any.
-dust. It's a much bigger threat to laptops than desktops.
-the paste used.

Hmmm. I use H1 in my Omen 15 laptop, I've not observed this pump out effect. Interesting though. I wonder is it down to application of the paste, or replacement of the heatisnk more than the paste itself?

You replaced the heatsink???

 

[ShangWang]

No, unless it's specifically stated, like Thermal Grizzly does for Kryonaut:
"Kryonaut uses a special structure, which halts the drying out process at temperatures of up to 80° Celsius."
This 'special substance' doesn't hold up as well under higher temperatures.

I see, though if this is a special substance that resists drying out, doesn't that mean that other thermal pastes dry out under high temperatures if not stated and therefore they would need to be replaced faster?
I'm a bit confused about this statement.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

You replaced the heatsink???

Oops! Wasn't very clear there. Only that it was put back in place.

Edit: Often users don't put the heatsink back in place in the correct way i.e screwing the heatsink back, in a criss cross fashion (typically there are 4 screws). Starting from one screw and going to the diagonal and then the remaining two in the same way. If you just put them back in a clockwise fashion the spread on the paste is not even when it's tightened back fully.

 

[Phaaze88]

I see, though if this is a special substance that resists drying out, doesn't that mean that other thermal pastes dry out under high temperatures if not stated and therefore they would need to be replaced faster?

We're still talking roughly a few years or so of paste longevity, and Kryonaut has that caveat on top of already being pricey per gram. Not worth it for many users.

Oops! Wasn't very clear there. Only that it was put back in place.

Hmm, what are you doing differently? On here, TPU, and some reddit(yeah, I know), NT-H1 hasn't been quite as good to them...

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hmm, what are you doing differently? On here, TPU, and some reddit(yeah, I know), NT-H1 hasn't been quite as good to them...

Not really sure. My laptop is like may other gaming laptops, with the typical heatpipes/sink layout. I only follow the manufacturers guidelines. But now you have me intrigued, so will disassemble to check.

Anywho, I'm on a bit of a tangent here and don't want to highjack a post. Some good answers already provided.

 

[hotaru.hino]

The more I look into it, the more I'm leaning on believing that Kryonaut is a niche paste that a few prominent websites happened to review outside of its intended use case, then it suddenly blew up in popularity. And after experiencing one mishap after its use (I could've reapplied and see if it happens again, but I didn't want to bother), I switched over to Hydronaut. So far the Hydronaut application lasted longer than my Kryonaut one.

 

[ShangWang]

The more I look into it, the more I'm leaning on believing that Kryonaut is a niche paste that a few prominent websites happened to review outside of its intended use case, then it suddenly blew up in popularity. And after experiencing one mishap after its use (I could've reapplied and see if it happens again, but I didn't want to bother), I switched over to Hydronaut. So far the Hydronaut application lasted longer than my Kryonaut one.

I'm a bit confused about why hydronaut is used for water cooling. So it's a thermal paste just like kyronaut, but supposedly it performs just slightly worse but is more viscious or something?

Do you know what hydronaut is made of if not silicone, and how come some thermal pastes are preferred for systems that use water cooling?

 

[ShangWang]

Kryonaut falls in the same category as NT-H1(low viscosity), plus it has the caveat of expiring faster when exposed to higher temperatures.
NT-H2 has higher viscosity and is better for use on naked dies.

Also would you happen to know what the wipes that are included with NT-H2 is made of? Is it the same as alcohol wipes or is it somehow different/does it evaporate in the same time?

Do you also know if an IHS has a layer of thermal paste between the bare die to act as an "adhesive" but also to conduct heat better, or is it just mechanically connected?

 

[Eximo]

I'm a bit confused about why hydronaut is used for water cooling. So it's a thermal paste just like kyronaut, but supposedly it performs just slightly worse but is more viscious or something?

Do you know what hydronaut is made of if not silicone, and how come some thermal pastes are preferred for systems that use water cooling?

Kryonaut is made to go sub-ambient. Hydronaut is not.

Depends on the CPU what the IHS has connecting to to the die. Recent chips are all soldered. (Low end CPUs might be paste, not sure anyone has bother delidding any recent i3.

Nickel plated copper IHS, a small layer of gold underneath, and some indium alloy soldering the chip to the gold layer.

 

[ShangWang]

Kryonaut is made to go sub-ambient. Hydronaut is not.

Depends on the CPU what the IHS has connecting to to the die. Recent chips are all soldered. (Low end CPUs might be paste, not sure anyone has bother delidding any recent i3.

Nickel plated copper IHS, a small layer of gold underneath, and some indium alloy soldering the chip to the gold layer.

Thank you, do you know what specifically hydronaut is made of? I couldn't find any info on the official website. It just says silicone-free.

 

[Eximo]

I'm sure that is a trade secret. They do mention "nano-aluminum" and zinc-oxide in their materials.

Aluminum Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Aluminum Nitride, and Boron Nitride seem to be the most common fillers. If they aren't using silicone, then it could be a urethane or acrylate, but I would assume that is what ends up in thermal adhesives. Urethane would definitely cure, and acrylates are found in glues.