What is the best thermal compound for bare die applications?

[markr54632]

What is the best thermal compound for bare die applications? I rebuild alot of laptops and have been trying to find an "enthusiast grade" thermal compound that doesn't "pump out" within a month or two. I have done some testing myself and quite a bit of reading, but am coming up short somewhere. Before you tell me to use google I have listed some of the trials I have done. I have used google and the consistent response is to use a liquid metal paste, which is not an option on aluminum.

 

Keep in mind in a laptop there is no IHS and a greater concentration of heat across a much smaller area. This makes most thermal pastes "pump out" in a relatively short matter of time if used hard at all. I typically run my laptops pretty hard and use my gaming laptop as my primary gaming rig.

 

All of my testing is being done on older laptops. Much easier disassembly and much lower cost of replacement if something goes wrong.

 

So far mx-4 performs as good as if not worse than factory thermal compound, and stays consistent for about 3 months before temperatures rise again. Not overly impressive. (I am not insulting this paste. It performs well, just not in bare die applications.)

 

NT-H1 performs fantastic 4-12 degree drop on the two laptops I've tested it on. These results last for a week. Then temperatures rise to unusable levels. (See above comment)

 

Arctic Silver 5 is relatively consistent. Provides a 2-5 degree drop over factory pastes. The results last for 5-8 months before needing to be reapplied. So far it has been the most resistant to the pump out effect that I have experience with.

 

I have not tried IC Diamond, however all of the information I have read says that it is not a good choice for bare die applications as it scratches the bare silicon.

 

I have not tried ceramique.

 

I refuse to go to a liquid metal paste for 3 reasons. 1. Few of the machines I am using have copper heatsinks and they react with aluminum. 2. Cost per application is ridiculous. 3. Conductivity.

 

That is kind of where I am at. I have not kept detailed notes as I am just doing this for personal purposes. I am looking for a paste that will last me at least a year between applications. The machine I am truly interested in keeping cooler is an absolute bear to disassemble. Is there a paste I am missing? I am not looking for the best paste thermally, but rather one that holds up well in a bare die application.

[AnonymousGuy]

I've used GC Electronics white paste on GPU die for a while and haven't noticed a significant temperature rise.  My Titan X's haven't been taken apart in 2 years.

[Coaxialgamer]

I personally used nt h1 on my old delidded 3770k . Worked great , but you've already tried that.

[BloodyWaters]

Most things should be OK except IC diamond. 

[markr54632]

If anyone wants to know my application method I spread it evenly with a good razor. This is how I have done it for 20 years... Probably will not change. From time to time I will get a bad mount, however it is pretty darn rare.

[porina]

Good question, not sure if I have an answer. I've also had problems with delids that work great at first, then temps go up over time. I've not kept tabs on how long it takes though. I also used MX-4 and NT-H1 and found they shifted over a period of months. I redid one with MX-2 which is much thicker than MX-4, but that too seemed to drift with time.

 

Before the current era I did like Ceramique. Is it even available now? That's really old... a quick look only showed one Amazon marketplace seller, and a retail still listing it said it was discontinued.

[markr54632]

I am not sure about online, but local retailers near me have 100+ tubes within date code of ceramique.

 

The reason I haven't tried this tim is because I have heard very mixed reviews about the question I am asking with no long term reports. It seems there is great success with video cards, which is a much larger die making it a different story. As far as laptop cpus go no info whatsoever.