Thermal paste really matters?

[DarkMedic]

 

 

(I'm saying thermal paste instead of thermal grease) Hi guys, I'm planning to build a gaming desktop and wish that it last long. I have seen a lot of youtubers using thermal paste from difference manufacturers like cooler master rather than the one that came together with the cpu cooler. Does different thermal paste really affect the temperature of the CPU? Thank you.

 

 

 

[Dedayog]

It does within 5 degrees from best to worst, of the main pastes.  it's been tested roughly a billion times, check Youtube.

[WereCatf]

2 minutes ago, DarkMedic said:

(I'm saying thermal paste instead of thermal grease) Hi guys, I'm planning to build a gaming desktop and wish that it last long. I have seen a lot of youtubers using thermal paste from difference manufacturers like cooler master rather than the one that came together with the cpu cooler. Does different thermal paste really affect the temperature of the CPU? Thank you.

A couple of degrees, so not an enormous amount, and it mostly matters to overclockers. You can always build your PC with whatever stock paste the CPU-cooler comes with and later on swap it out to something else, if you wish.

[5x5]

It does. Worst past I've seen has been an amazing 20*C hotter than the good pastes likes AS5 

[Jurrunio]

It can but apart from some really terrible ones, the gains are mostly for something else. Some paste can be so thin that they spill all over the place if you use a tiny bit too much, while others can stick so well after they dry that with PGA sockets (e.g. Ryzen), the CPU comes out with the cooler when you take the cooler off.

[DarkMedic]

What thermal grease/thermal paste do you guys suggest though?

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, DarkMedic said:

What thermal grease/thermal paste do you guys suggest though?

Noctua NT-H2 is the best there is atm.

[Dedayog]

1 minute ago, DarkMedic said:

What thermal grease/thermal paste do you guys suggest though?

• Arctic MX-4 Thermal Paste- Best Overall.
• Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste- Best Silver Compound.
• Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound- Best for Laptop.
• Cooler Master MasterGel Maker Nano Thermal Paste- Best for Laptop.
• Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Thermal Grease Paste- Best for Overclocking.
• Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound.

https://thermogears.com/best-thermal-pastes/

 

Edit:  I use what came on my AIO.  They're all within a few degrees.

[Dedayog]

Just now, WereCatf said:

Noctua NT-H2 is the best there is atm.

No, I got my list from the internet.  I win.

[DarkMedic]

Why do I get different results from you guys? *clap**clap**clap**clap*

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, jstudrawa said:

No, I got my list from the internet.  I win.

Your list doesn't even include NT-H2.

[WereCat]

Yes different thermal paste have different efficiency so it will affect the temperatures by a very small margin. Unless you are trying to push the overclock as much as possible you shouldnt really care.

Often a good application of a thermal paste will make the temperatures drop significantly more than just using a better paste with bad application.

[Dedayog]

2 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Your list doesn't even include NT-H2.

I knew you were going to notice that

 

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, jstudrawa said:

I knew you were going to notice that

Well, I'll try to remember to let you win the next one

[Dedayog]

1 minute ago, WereCatf said:

Well, I'll try to remember to let you win the next one

Thanks!

 

 

[Nine Tailed Fox]

 

[Pickles von Brine]

I use MX-4 and have been for years. Good stuff. 

[freeagent]

If you aren’t overclocking, or hunting for every c, then you should be ok with anything that’s cheap and popular.

 

But if you are.. I really like Thermalright TF8. They also have a line called TFX that is a step up, but I bought the 6g tube so I’ve got enough for a bit.

[Way2Broke]

13 hours ago, jstudrawa said:

• Arctic MX-4 Thermal Paste- Best Overall.
• Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste- Best Silver Compound.
• Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound- Best for Laptop.
• Cooler Master MasterGel Maker Nano Thermal Paste- Best for Laptop.
• Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Thermal Grease Paste- Best for Overclocking.
• Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound.

https://thermogears.com/best-thermal-pastes/

 

Edit:  I use what came on my AIO.  They're all within a few degrees.

Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste is conductive and it needs cure time to see effectiveness.

[Whiro]

13 hours ago, DarkMedic said:

What thermal grease/thermal paste do you guys suggest though?

 

[IcarusLSC]

1-2*+- is easily within measuring margin/error.

[WoodenMarker]

On 4/2/2020 at 5:59 AM, 5x5 said:

It does. Worst past I've seen has been an amazing 20*C hotter than the good pastes likes AS5 

What other pastes are you referring to?

 

@DarkMedic What cooler are you using? Most come with decent paste already. 

[5x5]

11 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

What other pastes are you referring to?

 

@DarkMedic What cooler are you using? Most come with decent paste already. 

I mostly use Kryonaut or AS5 these days

[Ionut King]

yes, It does, i recomand noctua.

[WoodenMarker]

23 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

I mostly use Kryonaut or AS5 these days

Ah, I meant what other pastes were performing 20c worse.