Thermal Paste Vs Liquid Metal

[Vortexico]

which one you would suggest for cooling CPU?or which is better for cooling a CPU?

 

if AIO is pre applied with thermal paste , usage of liquid metal on the CPU itself will improve something?

 

I saw some YT videos about those , and I thought to rise up a question here to hear the best minds

[Origami Cactus]

Just use the preapplied thermal paste at first.

Liquid metal needs a ton of extra care and in normal life you won't see so much improvement that it is worth the risk. Sure the temps are lower, but that won't give you extra fps in games or anything like that (without using that extra headroom for OC).

 

I would stick with the paste for now, and in the future maybe think about it. For all we know your cpu or motherboard might not even be overclockable, so liquid metal wouldn't give you much of anything

[Wh0_Am_1]

Liquid metal is better... but it's much riskier... in multiple ways. I would recommend just using a quality thermal paste, if this system need to have any semblance of reliability.

[Beerzerker]

2 minutes ago, Vortexico said:

which one you would suggest for cooling CPU?or which is better for cooling a CPU?

 

if AIO is pre applied with thermal paste , usage of liquid metal on the CPU itself will improve something?

 

I saw some YT videos about those , and I thought to rise up a question here to hear the best minds

First off, many do not go with pre-applied stuff for different reasons and the biggest is it's simply not as good as a known quality TIM.
The reason LM is used is for it's performance BUT there is also the drawback of it being corrosive/reactive to alot of materials, aluminum in particular.

Over the course of time LM WILL either stain or start eating away at a cooler's surface area, again depending on what the material is it's applied to.
There are plenty of TIMs/pastes out there that can do what you need it to well without such risk like Noctua NT-H1 or Arctic MX4, even the old Arctic Silver 5 stuff isn't risky vs LM that way.

LM does work and it works great for it's intended useage but it's also good to know the pros AND cons of it before spending your money and risking your hardware on it.

Additional resources for your reference:
Thermal paste - Wikipedia

Thermal interface material - Wikipedia

The Official Thermal Interface Material thread | TechPowerUp Forums

[Dr. Will0hlep]

16 minutes ago, Vortexico said:

which one you would suggest for cooling CPU?or which is better for cooling a CPU?

 

if AIO is pre applied with thermal paste , usage of liquid metal on the CPU itself will improve something?

 

I saw some YT videos about those , and I thought to rise up a question here to hear the best minds

Just use the pre applied thermal paste. Seriously. The improvement you'd see by using high quality Thermal Paste or Liquid Metal (instead of pre applied thermal paste, or similar reputable brand thermal paste) is as negligable as run to run variance these days. If you really care about performance, spend the money on better hardware. If you are having an issue with thermal throttling, buy a better cooler (after you've tried remounting the current one).

High Quality Thermal Paste or Liquid Metal just arn't worth it.

[Vortexico]

I applied Arctic MX4 on my CPU even that I have pre applied paste on Corsair AIO H115i

 

but thank you all for answers

[Vortexico]

3 minutes ago, Beerzerker said:

First off, many do not go with pre-applied stuff for different reasons and the biggest is it's simply not as good as a known quality TIM.
The reason LM is used is for it's performance BUT there is also the drawback of it being corrosive/reactive to alot of materials, aluminum in particular.

Over the course of time LM WILL either stain or start eating away at a cooler's surface area, again depending on what the material is it's applied to.
There are plenty of TIMs/pastes out there that can do what you need it to well without such risk like Noctua NT-H1 or Arctic MX4, even the old Arctic Silver 5 stuff isn't risky vs LM that way.

LM does work and it works great for it's intended useage but it's also good to know the pros AND cons of it before spending your money and risking your hardware on it.

Additional resources for your reference:
Thermal paste - Wikipedia

Thermal interface material - Wikipedia

The Official Thermal Interface Material thread | TechPowerUp Forums

ofc I will not risk my PC with something i am not very familiar with, seem like many people here suggest the TP over LM

[jaslion]

53 minutes ago, Vortexico said:

ofc I will not risk my PC with something i am not very familiar with, seem like many people here suggest the TP over LM

Yeah liquid metal is risky af. Only do it if you are VERY knowledgeable about it and are ok with losing your computer if it spills out and shorts it.

 

It's why it's rarely used. The biggest commercial consumer tech that uses it is the ps5 which has MANY safeties built in to prevent it from spilling and it's made very well. still there is the concern that after many years the adhesive that keeps the foam in place may weaken and let the LM leak.

[Beerzerker]

2 hours ago, Vortexico said:

I applied Arctic MX4 on my CPU even that I have pre applied paste on Corsair AIO H115i

 

but thank you all for answers

Would be best not to combine TIM's that way. 

 If wanting to use MX4, clean off the pre-applied stuff from the cooler and chip (If any is there) and go with an application of straight MX4, a spot of it about the size of a small pea (Some say a decent sized grain of rice) right in the middle of the chip's lid will do. I normally go with a very small pea sized dot of it and it works out well on a typical AMD chip.
Any so-called pump out of the TIM if it happens won't hurt a thing since MX4 is non-conductive nor destructive to anything.
Just don't get any down in the CPU socket and all will be fine. 
 

2 hours ago, will0hlep said:

Just use the pre applied thermal paste. Seriously. The improvement you'd see by using high quality Thermal Paste or Liquid Metal (instead of pre applied thermal paste, or similar reputable brand thermal paste) is as negligable as run to run variance these days. If you really care about performance, spend the money on better hardware. If you are having an issue with thermal throttling, buy a better cooler (after you've tried remounting the current one).

High Quality Thermal Paste or Liquid Metal just arn't worth it.

Sometimes pre-applied stuff acts like super glue once it's been there awhile, making getting the cooler off a PITA and usually causing the CPU to stick to the cooler so it pulls out of the socket when you get the cooler off. Normally that stuff sets up like bubble gum and can be hard to clean off, plus once you have to remove the cooler for some reason, that's it - You can't just slap the cooler back on with what's left of the pre-applied stuff and have it work.

That's why I never use the pre-applied stuff.

It's true that even regular TIM can make a chip come out with the cooler once it's removed, depends on how much is there and how flat the cooler's own surface is to the chip's lid.

*Note that relates to AMD chips with pins on them such as an AM4 desktop socket.*

In any case, be careful when you remove the cooler/AIO block from the CPU.

A later chip setup/socket with an actual CPU holding/locking mechanism (Like all modern Intels and newer AM5 AMD's have) prevents that from happening and makes that problem a non-issue.

[Dr. Will0hlep]

1 hour ago, Beerzerker said:

Sometimes pre-applied stuff acts like super glue once it's been there awhile, making getting the cooler off a PITA and usually causing the CPU to stick to the cooler so it pulls out of the socket when you get the cooler off. Normally that stuff sets up like bubble gum and can be hard to clean off.

I've never personnally had these issues. I've always found pre applied thermal paste easy to clean off, just get some IPA. And as for pulling CPUs out of sockets: you just need to twist the cooler, before you pull.

 

1 hour ago, Beerzerker said:

plus once you have to remove the cooler for some reason, that's it - You can't just slap the cooler back on with what's left of the pre-applied stuff and have it work.

I don't think it is a good idea to put a cooler back on with any previously used thermal paste, regardless of preapplied or not.

[Beerzerker]

8 hours ago, will0hlep said:

I've never personnally had these issues. I've always found pre applied thermal paste easy to clean off, just get some IPA. And as for pulling CPUs out of sockets: you just need to twist the cooler, before you pull.

Sometimes even that doesn't work due to how flat the two surfaces (CPU lid and cooler base) are to each other with the TIM acting as a kind of sealant, not letting any air get in, causing the sticking effect.
If the TIM has been there for years and hardened/dried out it's not a big issue to worry about because in that case, the TIM will "Break" when you twist the cooler and not cause the sealing effect.

It's only when TIM is still in a liquid/semi-liquid state that happens.

Personally I've had some TIMs (Pre-applied) be like concrete before after it's been there for awhile and a real PITA to get cleaned off too, others weren't so bad and I know over time things are better with it but I still don't use it.
I've dealt with CPU's coming out of the socket with the cooler since Socket 754 was around so it's nothing new to me at all.
 

8 hours ago, will0hlep said:

 

I don't think it is a good idea to put a cooler back on with any previously used thermal paste, regardless of preapplied or not.

But of course - it will never behave the same way if you do and that's what you need it to do.
Just clean it off and reapply a new application of it.
In my case I see it as an eventuality anyway so I just get it over with while eliminating a potential problem in the process.