Thermal Paste Comparison, Part Two: 39 Products Get Tested

[qlum]

Great article though if I would say some additional information on longlivity and maybe a control benchmark on every system without thermal paste (where temperature would deem it acceptable) would also be nice.

 

[shulkman]

I'd be really interested to know how well the paste included with Corsairs H100i cooler performs in comparison to these. I went ahead and used it since it was already applied to the cooler. Everything seems to work well, but my system is so well cooled that the temps inside the case only run a couple degrees above ambient. I was actually able to set my heatsink fans to their lowest speed (500rpm, almost silent) and get barely a 1 degree F rise in temp. on a 3750K at stock speeds. I've never bothered OCing, since my computer rarely works hard enough to get to max speed on anything I do.

 

[jimmysmitty]

I'd be really interested to know how well the paste included with Corsairs H100i cooler performs in comparison to these. I went ahead and used it since it was already applied to the cooler. Everything seems to work well, but my system is so well cooled that the temps inside the case only run a couple degrees above ambient. I was actually able to set my heatsink fans to their lowest speed (500rpm, almost silent) and get barely a 1 degree F rise in temp. on a 3750K at stock speeds. I've never bothered OCing, since my computer rarely works hard enough to get to max speed on anything I do.

Per Corsair, they say what they have works best compared to anything else they have tested and wont change it.

Its hard to say for sure.

Ryan, thanks for the input. I liked IC Diamond but due to the insane amount of pressure I moved on to Zalmans current stuff as it works way better than their older STG1 and so far has kept my CPU happy. I also have a 9900Max and Zalman is well known for their mirror like finish so I doubt anything else would make a massive difference since the heatsink is already polished beyond what the majority of companies do.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Would have been nice to see Arctic Silver Ceramique II in the list but I already know more or less how well it works. You should try mayonnaise. Another site discovered that it works as well as Noctua NT-H1 but didn't know how long it would be good for...lol

 

[shellls45]

Noctua paste is the best non-conductive paste. It really should be added.

 

[4Ryan6]

Noctua paste is the best non-conductive paste. It really should be added.

Read again, He did cover Noctua NT-H1

 

[shulkman]

I'd be really interested to know how well the paste included with Corsairs H100i cooler performs in comparison to these. I went ahead and used it since it was already applied to the cooler. Everything seems to work well, but my system is so well cooled that the temps inside the case only run a couple degrees above ambient. I was actually able to set my heatsink fans to their lowest speed (500rpm, almost silent) and get barely a 1 degree F rise in temp. on a 3750K at stock speeds. I've never bothered OCing, since my computer rarely works hard enough to get to max speed on anything I do.

Per Corsair, they say what they have works best compared to anything else they have tested and wont change it.

Its hard to say for sure.

Ryan, thanks for the input. I liked IC Diamond but due to the insane amount of pressure I moved on to Zalmans current stuff as it works way better than their older STG1 and so far has kept my CPU happy. I also have a 9900Max and Zalman is well known for their mirror like finish so I doubt anything else would make a massive difference since the heatsink is already polished beyond what the majority of companies do.

Yeah, I have no complaints about the current Corsair compound, whatever it may be. I'm curious about the amount/thickness they provide with the package, since it's already applied to the heatsink. Maybe it should be less for Intel processors since they're smaller than AMD... I dunno. I haven't attempted to remove it since installation since I haven't had a need. But, after reading this article, it sets my inquiring mind off onto plenty of directions.

 

[djangonautic82]

Interesting review, but it would have been nice if Indigo Xtreme ETI's were included along with the other liquid metal solutions for comparison.

 

[InvalidError]

Those liquid metal-type solutions have a nasty habit of eating away (via Galvanic corrosion, I think) the metal of the cooler+CPU heatspreader, especially when a certain combination of alloys are present (presumably due to the choice of the cooler).

Corrosion is one possibility, another is "metal rot" or amalgamation where one contaminant metal (ex.: mercury) alloys itself with another (ex.: aluminum) over time. If you check Youtube, you can see a few time-lapse videos of mercury eating through aluminum and other metals... a few drops of mercury in the wrong place can do a surprising amount of damage this way.

 

[Maxx_Power]

Those liquid metal-type solutions have a nasty habit of eating away (via Galvanic corrosion, I think) the metal of the cooler+CPU heatspreader, especially when a certain combination of alloys are present (presumably due to the choice of the cooler).

Corrosion is one possibility, another is "metal rot" or amalgamation where one contaminant metal (ex.: mercury) alloys itself with another (ex.: aluminum) over time. If you check Youtube, you can see a few time-lapse videos of mercury eating through aluminum and other metals... a few drops of mercury in the wrong place can do a surprising amount of damage this way.

I think that's true. Based on what I have seen in terms of images, I think it is actually metal amalgamation.

 

[siafu11]

If the reviewer ever has time to revisit this subject, I would be interested in seeing an investigation into removing thermal adhesives by heating up the attached heatsink with a heat gun. I have used this method in the past to remove arctic silver thermal adhesive. (I have to admit, I first discovered this method by complete accident).

 

[buzznut]

What about Shin-Etsu? Many folks maintain it is the best. I wouldn't do a round-up without it based on reputation alone.

 

[g-unit1111]

OK Page 16 was funny. :lol:

Good stuff though!

 

[Guest]

All the hype aside, could Tom's include an actual industrial "Silicone Heat Transfer Compound", such as the one by MG Chemicals :http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/greases-and-lubricants/thermal-greases/silicone-heat-transfer-compound-860/, any of the future comparisons. If this stuff is good to use in mass industrial applications, how can it not be any better then let's say AS5.

Plus, AS5 can short out your mobo if some of it gets on the PCB and it costs 10 times as much as the industrial stuff and I don't think it is 10 times better.

A few things:

1) Have you looked at the technical specifications of that particular paste ? It says, the thermal conductivity is only 0.773-0.657 W/mK, which is about a order of magnitude LESS than tested products (AS5 at 9 W/mK and MX4 at 8.5 W/mK).

2) The compound is only made from zinc oxide and a binder oil. This is no different from the cheap Zalman compounds (the generic white paste).

3) These pastes are meant for low power density applications, I have 2 tubs, and they are piss poor on computers (high power density applications), but just fine for what they are made for - cooling very low powered circuits like voltage regulators (not for computer use, but analog use), opamps, low powered transistors (like for amplifiers). This is the stuff you find inside your stereo, between the transistors/chip amps and the heatsink, where the chip is dissipating about 50 watts of heat maximally (and not prolonged) over a surface area 10 times larger than a CPU-heatsink contact.

4) The AS5 isn't conductive. It doesn't contain un-oxidized silver. It is slightly capacitive, more so than other compounds. But it isn't going to burn out a computer by shorting it, it is not a conductor. That said, I much prefer Ceramique 2 (the original Ceramique was terrible) or MX-4.

Good to know, thanks for your feedback.

 

[Deders]

I'm wondering what your curing methods were.

I found that despite MX4 stating no burn in was required, I used Prime64 to burn it in for several hours, then switched it off over night. The next morning the maximum temperatures had dropped by 10c on air.

Initially I was in the 80's, it dropped to 70c. Now I have a better case it doesn't go above 66c. That is with an i5 750@3800.

 

[jewie27]

You guys didn't test IC Diamond?

 

[vinay2070]

And I thought Arctic silver 5 was the best after seeing all those reviews on newegg!

 

[yizusc]

Where is the best? Shin Etsu !! x23-7783D

 

[16bit]

Great article, loved the tooth paste and denture cream.

 

[UltimateDeep]

Would love to IC Diamond as well. However I would like to suggest some 'For Fun Only' pastes that you should give it a whirl.

- Mayonnaise
- Shaving Cream
- Cream Cheese

 

[mynith]

Disappointed in Arctic Silver 5 after having been told time and again, not that long ago, it's the best stuff out there. Also needs a long burn-in time from what I recall.

 

[daglesj]

All thermal compound is supposed to do, is fill the microscopic imperfections between the 2 contacting surfaces filling the microscopic air voids and that's it.

Replace the air with a good thermal conductor, to transmit the heat from one surface to the other, no thick layer!

A thick layer is bad!

The least used you can get away with the better the cooling performance, I don't care what brand it is.

What I've always done for years and works fine for me is once I've seated the HSF on the CPU and clamped it, I then unclamp and gently lift the HSF off.

This gives me a nice thin coating on both surfaces. The paste on the HSF is then cleaned off and I replace the HSF on the CPU with just the layer left on the CPU.

Basically this reduces the amount of paste by around 50% (give or take) but means I have a pretty thin even layer across both surfaces filling in those tiny tiny gaps.

Works a treat.

 

[Drejeck]

I have 2 syringe of Shin Etsu, X23 I think, can't remeber but the top of their thermal compounds, it's not far from the stock Noctua NT 01 bundled in my D14 but it's quite easy to apply and clean and more than anything, you don't ruin IHS surface and don't lose cpu info and warranty. Aluminum oxide always wins by easy application, cleaning, safety, performance and price, it also doesn't ruin the warrancy. Silver based products could do more but I couldn't find in my retail store the Arctic silver based compound I found in the "80way thermal compounds chart". Performance alone doesn't tell the whole story. Also, the cpu have a different thermal compound inside which makes difficult to gain thermal consistency from what you cool and the effect of the cooling.

 

[farensabri]

I'm still using the same tube of Arctic Silver 5 that I bought like 6~7 years ago. Built a few PCs, clean and reapplied on a few CPUs, still hasn't finished.

 

[DexEngineer]

Great review! Thanks.