Thermal paste. Is higher "W/m-k" better or worse?

[K K0]

I've been looking at some thermal pastes and it shows this for example "1.500W/m-k". I don't know what this means exactly i tried to look it up and it was confusing i just need to know is it the higher the number the better the conductivity or is it the other way around? Thanks!

 

[zannymonkey]

Higher is better. W/m-k is a measure of the thermal conductivity of the thermal paste. More Watts per unit area or length (meter) means more energy (heat) can be conducted from the CPU surface to the cooler device. I haven't looked at thermal paste specifically, but I can't imagine there is a ton of difference among the different brands.

 

[K K0]

Higher is better. W/m-k is a measure of the thermal conductivity of the thermal paste. More Watts per unit area or length (meter) means more energy (heat) can be conducted from the CPU surface to the cooler device. I haven't looked at thermal paste specifically, but I can't imagine there is a ton of difference among the different brands.

Thank you sir!

 

[K K0]

Best answer selected by K K0.

 

[ifIwasarichman]

W/mK translates to Watts per meter Kelvin.
Without going into it with big words, etc :-
Watts is the power (in this case a power to be moved related to heat)
I think you know what a meter is
Kelvin is a temperature measurement (in this case it refers to a movement in temperature of 1 Kelvin) 0.01° Celsius (Which is called the triple point of water) or 32.018°F is equivalent to 273.16 Kelvin.
So it is just how much heat that this has the potential to move over a meter to achieve a drop of 1 kelvin.

Therefore a higher figure is better - more heat moved.

Further information and explanations on any of the above topics can be looked up on the internet easily