-Fran- :
Oh, amazing article. I love it a lot.
Maybe it's because I've used Artic Silver 5 for so many years, but for me it's the best all-rounder compound there is. Plus it's very cheap. I like it more than the MX-2 and MX-4 compound siblings people usually recommends. But I have to say, the "diamond" compounds are indeed better it seems. I had my doubts, but no more with these tests.
Cheers!
One of my disappointments w/ this article is that it leaves out the winner of the last 80 way test like this and that's Shin Etsu which as far as I have seen has the best performance / price ratio out there. My guess is because it's sourced directly from the manufacturer who caters to industrial customers rather than a vendor who buys from an OEM and repackages for the PC industry.
https://archive.benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=12
Shin Etsu equaled AS5s performance in that last 80 way test but AS5 has 3 major disadvantages.
a) It costs more.
b) It requires 200 hours of curing time... at 8 hours a day, that's 3-1/2 weeks
c) The last I will take from A5s home page and concerns potential mishaps.
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)
Shin Etsu is available from multiple sources for < $4
It does seem to increase in viscosity over time when exposed to air. Not an issue on CPUs. But when ya doing a GFC card including both sides of thermal pads and both for the back plate and block at VRMs and memory on GFX cards, it can be an issue. Gelid Extreme is good here which is good as that's what is shipped with EK water blocks.