Recommended CPU Paste

[Sam Hain]

Hello Community,

Currently using an i7-4790K @4.5GHz/1.35v on all cores (nothing over the top here) and using an H-105 cooler w/stock fans, which are in an intake direction; fans set to "normal" in BIOS, plugged into CPU header and pump connected to PSU direct via MOLEX.

I installed the CPU and cooler in October 2014 and went with the pre-applied paste that Corsair uses/applies on the H-105.

My current idle temp avg. looking at CPUID HWM is 30.2* C and when gaming averages 58* C to 60* C.

I emailed Corsair and they recommend replacing paste every 6-12 months?! LOL.

These temps appear to be good BUT if I were to put new paste on, which NON-CURE-TIME paste would be best to use?

System spec(s) in my sig... Thanks much!

 

[Gam3r01]

Truth be told most pastes will perform similarly to eachother (a few C at most).
That being said, I personally recommend Arctic MX-4. It performs well, and is cheap. (note: Arctic and ActicSilver are two different brands).

Monitor your temps in a few weeks after applying the paste and write it down. Replace the paste when things start to change enough to warrant the effort.

 

[Virtual_Singularity]

Thermal Grizzly products are somewhat on the pricey side compared to many others, but worth considering. Their Kryonaut thermal grease needs no curing, top tier endurance. Their Conductonaut liquid metal compound (very high thermal conductivity, not usable on aluminum) is also worth consideration depending on your needs. Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra is another liquid metal compound, (high thermal conductivity, no use on aluminum).

The above TIMs are among the most expensive. Most don't choose to use liquid metal compounds, when they do, its usually for delidding or gpu applications.

Noctua's NT-H1 is another quality no-cure TIM, easy to work with, and much less expensive than the above products as well as more applications offered for your money. ARCTIC MX-4 is a reputable no cure paste, the company claims one application will last 8 years. I've noticed Tom's has used MX-4 in much of their testing.

Don't forget that there are plenty of other TIMs & thermal pads , regardless of whether cure time is needed or not, worth considering as well, be they from more popular companies or not. 3M, for example, isn't a name most would use in the same sentence with "enthusiast computer build", but nonetheless offer pads/TIMs that may work at least as well as some of the more popular choices.

 

[madmatt30]

Cm master gel maker nano - knocked 5c off temps on my systems compared to MX 4 & AS5.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019BZENY8/?tag=pcpapi-20

 

[synphul]

I think if a thermal paste knocked off 5c or more then it was due to application method or mounting procedure rather than the paste itself. Numerous comparisons have been done and they all show the same thing, 1-3c difference at most among brand name pastes (30-40+ varieties). I wouldn't be too concerned over what Corsair suggested, if anything they should concentrate on the quality of their pumps rather than thermal paste. People have used their liquid coolers longer than 6mo without fiddling with thermal paste with no issues.

As for the 1.35v, that's about the top end for devil's canyon voltage. Have you tried manually setting vcore lower? 4.5ghz is only 100mhz over max turbo boost (200mhz or so over max turbo boost with all cores active). That's a pretty high vcore for that small of an oc and if it's not needed to maintain stability it's only generating more heat than necessary. Of course all chips are different, it may need the full 1.35v to remain stable. The temps seem pretty good.

 

[madmatt30]

@synphul - would have assumed the same but not spread across 3 different systems with 3 different coolers.

I5 3570 & fx 6300 dropped 3c straight away , 8320 setup dropped 5c.

All the above under prime loads.

 

[Sam Hain]

Thanks all for the inputs and will look into the voltage drop as synphul mentioned.

I'll give the MX-4 a shot and see how it goes!

Thanks again!