Thermal paste

[webguy]

Hi.  I am building my first pc.  In many youtube videos I see people not use the thermal paste included with the cpu cooler and instead use Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste.  Do you do that as well?  Is the Arctic Silver 5 a good one to use?  It is only like $7.00 so I am ready to buy it if it is better than what is included with the cooler.  I am using an i9 9900k and a noctua nh-d15.

 

Thanks!

[kian7890]

its a good idea to use artic silver 5 but the benefits aren't obvious over the stock in box solution

[xdeathshot20]

the one that comes with the cooler is fine

[Mira Yurizaki]

If these are for review purposes, using the same thermal compound eliminates the variable of what the cooler manufacturer used for consistent results. Otherwise Arctic Silver 5 has simply been the go-to since forever. There are some appreciably better performers that aren't liquid metal like Thermal Grizzly's Kryonaut.

 

Otherwise if the cooler came from a reputable company, the stuff that it includes is usually fine.

[webguy]

Thank you everyone.  The arctic silver 5 is $7.00 and the thermal grizzly kryonaut is only $10.00.  Are you saying that the thermal grizzly kryonaut is much better performance than the arctic silver 5? 

 

The $3.00 difference means nothing if there is the kryonaut gives better performance.

[-rascal-]

22 minutes ago, webguy said:

Thank you everyone.  The arctic silver 5 is $7.00 and the thermal grizzly kryonaut is only $10.00.  Are you saying that the thermal grizzly kryonaut is much better performance than the arctic silver 5? 

 

The $3.00 difference means nothing if there is the kryonaut gives better performance.

 

Yes, the Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut is a uses a newer thermal paste formula, and is higher performing compared to the aging Arctic Silver 5.

$3.00 is a minor price difference -- in the scope of the price of a i9-9900K, motherboard, etc.

 

I have used Arctic Silver 5 for years, and finally gave that up 3~4 years ago.

[webguy]

Thank you.  I will try it.  How often do you reapply it?

[WoodenMarker]

22 hours ago, webguy said:

Thank you.  I will try it.  How often do you reapply it?

Replace it when temps are no longer satisfactory. Good pastes tend to last at least several years but all of them degrade over time. 

The included NT-H1 is already excellent and should last 5+ years when installed. AS5 and Kryonaut aren't much better. 

[webguy]

52 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Replace it when temps are no longer satisfactory. Good pastes tend to last at least several years but all of them degrade over time. 

The included NT-H1 is already excellent and should last 5+ years when installed. AS5 and Kryonaut aren't much better. 

Ok great.  Thank you.