Arctic AS5 vs MX4 for laptop repaste

[graybandit]

I've always been an Arctic Silver 5 guy for my laptops through the years, but after seeing some of the results with liquid metal and whatnot, I've been looking at alternatives. Liquid metal seems to be a bit too finicky for laptop use as yet (at least imho) but the MX-4 compound looks promising. Anybody have experience with it, or recommendations otherwise?

[Joshcanread]

lol you should liquid metal it for real performance boost

the true linus way

[markr54632]

Mx4 is the worst thermal paste I have ever tested in bare die applications.

 

On a laptop bare die you want the most viscous thermal paste possible to avoid the pump out effect.

[graybandit]

Just now, Joshcanread said:

lol you should liquid metal it for real performance boost

I mean, I've been tempted, but the over-time reaction with heatsinks and pipes is worrisome. I've got multiple laptops, and replacing the entire heatsink assembly can be an expensive pain in the ass.

[graybandit]

1 minute ago, markr54632 said:

Mx4 is the worst thermal paste I have ever tested in bare die applications.

 

On a laptop bare die you want the most viscous thermal paste possible to avoid the pump out effect.

Good to know. This is why I ask, lots of experience with normal solutions, not with MX4.

[Joshcanread]

1 minute ago, graybandit said:

I mean, I've been tempted, but the over-time reaction with heatsinks and pipes is worrisome. I've got multiple laptops, and replacing the entire heatsink assembly can be an expensive pain in the ass.

Yeah I would legit shit myself in getting that stuff on the cpu and not ruining the laptop as if it was a life or death situation

[graybandit]

Just now, Joshcanread said:

Yeah I would legit shit myself in getting that stuff on the cpu and not ruining the laptop as if it was a life or death situation

See, I'm not super worried about the application per se. I've worked on dozens and dozens of laptops, and have read up on protecting the surrounding parts from the LM. Just seen a lot of articles detailing how it reacts with copper over time, to say nothing of the ones that have aluminum spreaders and can't be LM'd anyway

[Origami Cactus]

MX4 is very good for normal uses, one of the top thermal compounds. But it wont the temps as much as liquid metal, that is for sure.

[markr54632]

Honestly carbonaut looks very promising if you can wait 2-3 weeks for it to be released.

 

Otherwise I have had good luck with ic diamond lasting a long time. As5 usually does pretty good for 8-12 months. Surprisingly ceramique works pretty good if you aren't expecting the best performance.

[graybandit]

4 minutes ago, markr54632 said:

Honestly carbonaut looks very promising if you can wait 2-3 weeks for it to be released.

 

Otherwise I have had good luck with ic diamond lasting a long time. As5 usually does pretty good for 8-12 months. Surprisingly ceramique works pretty good if you aren't expecting the best performance.

No rush at all. I've been doing the semi-annual repastes for the AS5 laptops (and some initial repastes from factory BS), just wondering if there was a better "magic" solution these days after all the hubbub about LM. I'll keep an eye out for the Carbonaut stuff.

[Bitter]

Does AS5 pump out on bare die stuff too? I've only used it on IHS applications and rechecked later, no problems. I haven't pulled off a GPU heat sink to recheck.

[graybandit]

Just now, Bitter said:

Does AS5 pump out on bare die stuff too? I've only used it on IHS applications and rechecked later, no problems. I haven't pulled off a GPU heat sink to recheck.

Not in my experience, no.

[markr54632]

24 minutes ago, Bitter said:

Does AS5 pump out on bare die stuff too? I've only used it on IHS applications and rechecked later, no problems. I haven't pulled off a GPU heat sink to recheck.

It's not too bad, but not the best. It usually lasts 8-12 months before degrading to factory paste bad.

[genexis_x]

Neither are good options

 

You can refer to here for good pastes