Jump to content

Which thermal paste or grease is better?

Chiyawa

Hi,

 

I'm going to apply a fresh thermal paste for my 1 year old PC, and I'm not sure which thermal paste I should choose. I haven't done this as well, so this will be my first time doing so. I have watch a lot of video about reapplying thermal paste, so I can say I'm confident with the procedures, steps and precautions to perform the operation myself. The question is, which thermal grease should I pick?

 

So, without further ado, let's dive in to what I have in my eyes.

 

New MasterGel Regular from Cooler Master: https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/thermal-grease/new-mastergel-regular/

MasterGel Pro v2 from Cooler Master: https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/thermal-grease/mastergel-pro-v2/

MX-2 from Artic: https://www.arctic.de/en/MX-2/ACTCP00004B (8g)

MX-4 from Artic: https://www.arctic.de/en/MX-4/ACTCP00002B (4g)

TM30 from Corsair: https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Accessories-|-Parts/TM30-Performance-Thermal-Paste/p/CT-9010001-WW

NT-H1 from Noctua: https://noctua.at/en/products/thermal-grease/nt-h1-3-5g

 

A little about my PC usage: I'm not a fan of overclocking, usually I just set everything to auto. I only tweak my GPU to undervolt with +50% PF. My system specs can be found on my profile page, but I'll list a few:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED (https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/cpu-air-coolers/hyper-212-led/) with two MasterFan MF120R aRGB fans (https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/case-fan/masterfan-mf120r-argb/) in push pull configuration.

GPU: Gigabyte RX Vega 64 Gaming OC. Stock cooler.

 

Also note that room temperature at day time could exceed 38c!

 

So, which thermal paste is the 'best' for cooling?

 

Regards,

Chiyawa

I have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum

 

I apologies if my comments or post offends you in any way, or if my rage got a little too far. I'll try my best to make my post as non-offensive as much as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

All those pastes you picked, except MX-2, are like within 2C of each other.  It literally doesn't matter.

The best paste on the market right now is probably Thermalright TFX.  It's extremely hard to spread manually so its best to just draw an X on the CPU or GPU, diagonal corner to corner and then just apply the heatsink and let it spread by direct pressure.  The reason it's so good is because of its thickness.  It's a lot like the old Arctic Ceramique, so it's very good on imperfect heatsinks and dies, and has excellent longevity.  Unfortunately it's bloody expensive. 

 

An OEM of this paste is Thermagic ZF-EX, which is just as expensive (both are cheaper if you get them from an Aliexpress reseller; Yao Yue Shop seems to have the cheapest prices on 6 grams of TFX, which is still about $25 shipped.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Falkentyne said:

All those pastes you picked, except MX-2, are like within 2C of each other.  It literally doesn't matter.

The best paste on the market right now is probably Thermalright TFX.  It's extremely hard to spread manually so its best to just draw an X on the CPU or GPU, diagonal corner to corner and then just apply the heatsink and let it spread by direct pressure.  The reason it's so good is because of its thickness.  It's a lot like the old Arctic Ceramique, so it's very good on imperfect heatsinks and dies, and has excellent longevity.  Unfortunately it's bloody expensive. 

 

An OEM of this paste is Thermagic ZF-EX, which is just as expensive (both are cheaper if you get them from an Aliexpress reseller; Yao Yue Shop seems to have the cheapest prices on 6 grams of TFX, which is still about $25 shipped.

I see. Thanks for your information.

I have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum

 

I apologies if my comments or post offends you in any way, or if my rage got a little too far. I'll try my best to make my post as non-offensive as much as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, venomx said:

Hmm, I'll check it out. Thanks.

I have ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum

 

I apologies if my comments or post offends you in any way, or if my rage got a little too far. I'll try my best to make my post as non-offensive as much as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ya. I use it on my Noctua NHU12S and the temps are very very good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

+1 for TF8, really good stuff. TFX is really good too, a little expensive though. I would recommend.

AMD R9 5900X @ Booost | Thermalright Aqua Elite 360, 3x TL- C12 Pro, 2x TL-K12, SYY-157
Asus Crosshair VIII Dark Hero | 4 x 8GB G.Skill Trident Z Mix @ 3800 14-15-15-35 1.575v
Zotac 4070 Ti Trinity OC @ 3045/1495 | WD SN850, SN850X, 2x SN770, Asus Hyper M.2
EVGA SuperNova 750w | Fractal Torrent Compact RGB |1x Phanteks T30, 1x TL-B12, 1x TY-143

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×