Jump to content

what thermal paste should i get?

Legolessed
By Legolessed
in Cooling
 Share
Posted

i was on amazon and saw a range of thermal pastes going from $2 to $50. are they any different?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

There are some differnces but not huge. I suggest this one. http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NT-H1-Thermal-Compound-Retail/dp/B002CQU14A

My Work in Progress PC http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/522048-xeon-build/ <-- That PC was built but never booted:(

My Work in Progress PC 2.0 https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/540583-xeon-build-20-code-name-xenox (Hopefully this one boots.) 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

Arctic Cooling Mx-2 or Arctic silver 5 have always been my go too's, given there price/performance

 

some of the cheaper ones set like concrete after use, not good if you wanna remove the cooler at a later date safely

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I've been using mx4 for a while now.. It's relatively inexpensive and does a pretty good job.

my work in progress

i5 6600k  //  16gb g.skill ddr4 3000  //  evga gtx 980

custom water loop

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

The difference between the best paste and the worst is about 3C. Some "extreme" pastes that require literally destroying your CPU lid to apply might net you a couple of degrees more, but they're completely unnecessary unless you're going to delid and go for benchmark-level overclocks.

 

MX4 is my personal favorite, but AS5 and NT-H1 work just about as well. Be aware with AS5 that it takes as many as 200 hours of on/off cycle time to burn in and reach peak performance. It's also capacitive, meaning that if you get some on your motherboard (either by using too much or dripping), you could potentially be screwed.

I enjoy buying junk and sinking more money than it's worth into it to make it less junk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
2 hours ago, aisle9 said:

The difference between the best paste and the worst is about 3C. Some "extreme" pastes that require literally destroying your CPU lid to apply might net you a couple of degrees more, but they're completely unnecessary unless you're going to delid and go for benchmark-level overclocks.

 

MX4 is my personal favorite, but AS5 and NT-H1 work just about as well. Be aware with AS5 that it takes as many as 200 hours of on/off cycle time to burn in and reach peak performance. It's also capacitive, meaning that if you get some on your motherboard (either by using too much or dripping), you could potentially be screwed.

what about this one?

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Thermal-Compound-Heatsink-SILVGREASE1/dp/B00006B8DX/ref=sr_1_9?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1460315284&sr=1-9&keywords=thermal+compound

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
1 minute ago, Legolessed said:

what about this one?

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Thermal-Compound-Heatsink-SILVGREASE1/dp/B00006B8DX/ref=sr_1_9?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1460315284&sr=1-9&keywords=thermal+compound

"Negligible" electronic conductivity

 

Pass.

I enjoy buying junk and sinking more money than it's worth into it to make it less junk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I would avoid AS5 despite it being stupidly popular due to it having mediocre performance and a 200 hour curing time. I would go for Notuca NT-1 or Gelid Extreme CC or Proliamtch PK-3 or if you want the best of the best I would go for some Coollaboratory Liquid Pro

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
 Share
Go to topic listing Cooling

×