thermal paste Which thermal paste is best thermal paste?

[ThomJV]

Sup folks,

I was picking my parts for my next build and was searching for thermal paste. I noticed there's a lot of choice, so which one should I pick, are there any recommended brands?

Also, I was wondering how much I will need for a one time build. I've seen ones with 3.5 grams and some with 12. Which is best for me? (It might possibly be handy if I could use the thermal paste two times, for example if I mess up the first time.)

Thanks in advance!

 

Regards,
TJ

[slightlyjaded]

For reference I use artic silver.

 

Okay, basics. There's a multitude of thermal pastes, from those that act as permanent bonding agents (these are actually some of the best because of how they work) to thermal grease, and everything in between.

 

I use artic silver, but it does have interface problems, especially when interacting with aluminum. Most, but not all premium coolers use copper as the interface material. the step down is aluminum. Artic silver reacts badly with aluminum. Just FYI.

 

My advice is to ask a person with the same solution you have, and see what they use, and if they'd change anything.

[Megah3rtz]

Thermal Grizzy Kryonaut. 

 

(It might possibly be handy if I could use the thermal paste two times, for example if I mess up the first time.

You need to wipe off anything you applied earlier. Using 90-99% isopropyl alcohol with coffee filters is best. (coffee filters don't tear when wet, and the alcohol dries quickly.) 

[ThomJV]

3 minutes ago, Megah3rtz said:

Thermal Grizzy Kryonaut. 

 

You need to wipe off anything you applied earlier. Using 90-99% isopropyl alcohol with coffee filters is best. (coffee filters don't tear when wet, and the alcohol dries quickly.) 

Yeah, I meant like enough thermal paste in one tube to use twice, so that I don't have to buy a new tube again when I mess up. What amount of thermal paste do you recommend?

[JoostinOnline]

I went from Arctic Silver 5 to Arctic Cooling ACTC-MX4 and it dropped my temperature a couple of degrees.  HOWEVER, that may not have been the thermal paste alone.  I found it much easier to apply the ATCT-MX4 because of the longer handle, where as it was spread more oval-like when I used the Arctic Silver 5.

 

Funny story, one time I grabbed  the super glue sitting right next to the thermal paste and almost applied it.  So glad I caught my mistake first.

[Narnash]

For a single apply you don't need much paste as an example I have a 4g Arctic MX-4 tube that I used about 10-15 times already and it's not nearly empty. 1-2g is enough for a bunch of applys.

 

Thermal paste at the higher end are more or less the same performance wise, the right apply of it is most of the time more important than the very best at the very last °C.

 

For a good but cheap and also non conductive one ...  Arctic MX-4 has a good viscosity that is at right point in my opinion, the performance is alright ( I use it for any none critical stuff, high power LEDs ...)

IC Diamond for is many the best perfoming non coductive one, it's bit pricier in my opinion a bit dry for a thin apply on lower preasure heatsinks.

Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut also bit pricier non conductive paste, a very low viscosity paste for a higher end thermal paste (in my opion even a bit to low) it's a bit sticky and comes with tools to aply it flat on a surface (pea method works, too) which you should use. I don't know why but I tend to create everytime a mess when I use it, perfomance however is good. ( I use it for large surfaces most of the time)

 

 

 

I'm no one who stick with his paste in all the timec  I dicide by the circumstance and by which paste I find first  

There are some more good pastes out there (Noctua's Nh-1?, Arctic silver ....), but as I said more or less at the mid and higher end they are basicly the same.

 

When you buy a aftermarket cooler like a nice Noctua, bequiet, CoolerMaster one it will come with some thermal compund in the box or even this paste is even preapplied. You can use these also without having to worry, just check the temperature at load after your're done setting all up and if they are in the save temperature area (40-85°C would be perfectly fine) you are golden as long as the sound of the fans isn't to bad at this point. (you can set up costum fan settings if you have headroom to lower noise)

If the temperatures are bad and strike up really fast to the higher 80s or 90s you whould have to get some aftermarket paste and redo the cooler mounting, it is likely that you done something wrong (or you was a bit that stupif anf forgot to plug in the fan *cough* sure I never forgot to plug in a fan *cough*)

 

PS: As an unexperienced builder and for simple CPU cooler mounts you should avoid liquid metal thermal compunds!

 

[Megah3rtz]

1 minute ago, ThomJV said:

Yeah, I meant like enough thermal paste in one tube to use twice, so that I don't have to buy a new tube again when I mess up. What amount of thermal paste do you recommend?

3.5g or so is fine, there's more than you think in there. 

[JoostinOnline]

If this is your first time applying thermal paste, I've got a tip for you.  If you push a little and it's not coming out, wait a moment.  For some reason that first time you press it, it sort of floods out.  You might even want to practice applying it onto a piece of paper.  I accidentally got thermal paste on my motherboard the first time I used it.

1 minute ago, Megah3rtz said:

3.5g or so is fine, there's more than you think in there. 

Yeah, 3.5G is going to work several times.

[Princess Luna]

11 minutes ago, vikasbhatnagar said:

.

Why did you create an account to reply to a topic that is more than one year old already? Thermal paste only matters if you'll overclock the shit out of a very high end CPU... otherwise just about any suffices.

[JoostinOnline]

12 hours ago, Princess Cadence said:

Why did you create an account to reply to a topic that is more than one year old already? Thermal paste only matters if you'll overclock the shit out of a very high end CPU... otherwise just about any suffices.

That or if you're crazy about a quiet system. But yeah, stock paste is perfect for most people. 

 

I'm always surprised that people necropost on here. There is a notification after like a month of inactivity. 

[PCLap]

Hello guys,

 

I use for my laptop a thermal paste named K5 PRO and I have no complain at all.If you want to give a try you can see this very helpful tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gD4ZBOp-bE