Mx-4

[xnoobftw]

Here's my journey of swapping thermal paste on my 290x...

 

Take note that my ambient temps are around 30-33c!

 

Stock --> CM thermal paste (that came with my 212x) 

Load temps dropped from 90c to 85c with maxed voltages and from 82c to 77c @ stock voltages

Idle temps dropped from 55-60c to 42-46c

 

CM thermal paste --> MX-4

Load temps stayed the same (77c)

Idle temps stayed the same (42-46c)

 

Conclusion

I personally think that Mx-4 is really overhyped

Just use the thermal paste that came with your aftermarket CPU cooler will do!

Anyone else experienced anything different?

[SeanBond]

Here's my journey of swapping thermal paste on my 290x...

 

Take note that my ambient temps are around 30-33c!

 

Stock --> CM thermal paste (that came with my 212x) 

Load temps dropped from 90c to 85c with maxed voltages and from 82c to 77c @ stock voltages

Idle temps dropped from 55-60c to 42-46c

 

CM thermal paste --> MX-4

Load temps stayed the same (77c)

Idle temps stayed the same (42-46c)

 

Conclusion

I personally think that Mx-4 is really overhyped

Just use the thermal paste that came with your aftermarket CPU cooler will do!

Anyone else experienced anything different?

That's nice and all but every reliable source on the internet says otherwise.  

[The Pizza Thief]

-snip-

 

May I see some pictures of how you applied the thermal paste? 

[xnoobftw]

That's nice and all but every reliable source on the internet says otherwise.  

But a tube of MX-4 is nearly twice as much as generic ones tho....

 

May I see some pictures of how you applied the thermal paste? 

Dont have a picture but I've did a cooked grain of rice down the center of the GPU die!

[Interfectorem]

Make sure you apply thermal paste properly on the GPU. It's a bit different for exposed died GPUs such as the R9 290X. Do an "X" from corner to corner, and a "+" from edge to edge. You have to make sure every single last bit of die is covered in thermal paste.

[rtpb5642]

That's nice and all but every reliable source on the internet says otherwise.  

Agreed

[xnoobftw]

Make sure you apply thermal paste properly on the GPU. It's a bit different for exposed died GPUs such as the R9 290X. Do an "X" from corner to corner, and a "+" from edge to edge. You have to make sure every single last bit of die is covered in thermal paste.

I'll give it a try tonight and report back the results!

[SeanBond]

But a tube of MX-4 is nearly twice as much as generic ones tho....

 

Dont have a picture but I've did a cooked grain of rice down the center of the GPU die!

So? it's better. You can still get mx-4 on amazon for like 7 bucks last I checked. If you are buying thermal paste, you might as well go for gold and spend an extra 3 freakin dollars. 

[xnoobftw]

So? it's better. You can still get mx-4 on amazon for like 7 bucks last I checked. If you are buying thermal paste, you might as well go for gold and spend an extra 3 freakin dollars. 

From my experience it might not be...

But as @Interfectorem has mentioned maybe i shouldnt had applied it like it's a CPU...

[0ld_Chicken]

Here's my journey of swapping thermal paste on my 290x...

snip

Anyone else experienced anything different?

I havent' really experienced anything different myself as far as performance, not that i've tested, but I do like mx-4 and the way it comes off compared to any of the stock pastes i've used in the past (i usually just use AS5 or mx-4, whatever I've got at the time)  

also I think the paste that comes with the 212 is better than most stock cooler pastes.  especially a cooler that is less popular (longer shelf time) or just cheap in general

edit: also I mess with stuff so much that I would've run out of stock paste a long time ago so its necessary to buy some sort of TIM.  might as well get the good stuff if you've got to get something

[RobTapps]

Artic silver 5 or antec formula 5.. I have stood by them for years on PC and console repairs, they have always held up and dropped temps (even when replacing brand new stock compound that's only been used for testing).

I have also noticed that some new products come with A. Really bad paste jobs. B. Already hardened and worn out inferior paste from sitting on the shelf for who knows how long. C. Non optimal cooling solutions in general..