Thermal Pad On CPU Instead Of Paste?

[mandingle05]

I've found several different thermal pads that have better thermal conductivity that paste on amazon. I was wondering if I could use that instead of paste.

 

[Gam3r01]

Pads transfer heat, but thermal paste is designed to flow and fill the imperfections in the processor IHS and the heatsink. I would say no.

 

[TJ Hooker]

Even if the pads have better thermal conductivity than paste, they will definitely have worse than the heatsink. The advantage of paste is that you can have just enough to fill any voids while still letting the heatsink make relatively direct contact with the CPU heatspreader. With a thermal pad, you now have a solid layer of material with inferior thermal conductivity completely separating your heatsink from the CPU.

 

[InvalidError]

Pads may have ~10X better conductivity due to being solid material instead of fine metal oxide/graphite/diamond/ceramic particles suspended in a silicone grease but they will also be ~10X thicker than the amount of paste necessary to fill the gaps between the HSF and CPU. At the end of the day, you end up at roughly the same point.

 

[DatGameh]

Pads may have ~10X better conductivity due to being solid material instead of fine metal oxide/graphite/diamond/ceramic particles suspended in a silicone grease but they will also be ~10X thicker than the amount of paste necessary to fill the gaps between the HSF and CPU. At the end of the day, you end up at roughly the same point.

That may make sense, but in reality, the truth is far from it.
The pads may have better thermal conductivity, but it doesn't attach to surfaces as well as thermal paste does.
It sticks, but it doesn't really conform.