# WOW... the MX-4 thermal paste



## stefanels (Oct 9, 2014)

I have a friend who had a MSI 7870 HAWK videocard an he sold it because he had issues with heat... and another friend of mine got the card from him and complained about the heat... in games (shadow of mordor, dead rising 3) the gpu maximum temperature reached 82-84 Celsius and in Furmark 1080 benchmark the card topped at 96 Celsius... Yesterday i bought an Arctic Cooling MX-4 thermal paste for my CPU and i put some on his GPU (7870 Hawk) an now the temps stay at 54 Celsius in games and 62 Celsius in Furmark.... Very good paste indeed


----------



## eidairaman1 (Oct 9, 2014)

Currently running on an 8core FX


----------



## AsRock (Oct 9, 2014)

Yes MX4 is good, although the paste that was applied might had a bubble in it or  the paste that was used had gone bad as some do.


----------



## micropage7 (Oct 9, 2014)

its a good paste, but sometimes some people forgot the right way to use it, like they put too much, not checked how good the contact area, pressure, and airflow


----------



## eidairaman1 (Oct 9, 2014)

I still use the credit card methodand i push n twist the hs a lil


----------



## newtekie1 (Oct 9, 2014)

stefanels said:


> Very good paste indeed


MX4 is good, but not good enough to give the temp differences you saw.  More than likely it was just an improper TIM application from the factory causing high temps originally.


----------



## GhostRyder (Oct 9, 2014)

stefanels said:


> I have a friend who had a MSI 7870 HAWK videocard an he sold it because he had issues with heat... and another friend of mine got the card from him and complained about the heat... in games (shadow of mordor, dead rising 3) the gpu maximum temperature reached 82-84 Celsius and in Furmark 1080 benchmark the card topped at 96 Celsius... Yesterday i bought an Arctic Cooling MX-4 thermal paste for my CPU and i put some on his GPU (7870 Hawk) an now the temps stay at 54 Celsius in games and 62 Celsius in Furmark.... Very good paste indeed


Love it as well, use it on all my machines including my laptop.  It reduced my MSI GT70 temps by over 5c on the GPU depending on the game (It used to peak in the 80s now I never see it above 69 except in BF4)


----------



## INSTG8R (Oct 9, 2014)

LOVE MX-4 such easy paste to work with.


----------



## stefanels (Oct 9, 2014)

newtekie1 said:


> MX4 is good, but not good enough to give the temp differences you saw.  More than likely it was just an improper TIM application from the factory causing high temps originally.



I think it was like 2-3 times more thermal paste that it should been on the GPU... i put like a bigger grain of rice and i used the credit card method to spread it... here are the results

BEFORE






AFTER MX-4 with OC


----------



## Toothless (Oct 9, 2014)

Am I the only one who still uses Arctic Silver 5?


----------



## Vario (Oct 9, 2014)

Lightbulbie said:


> Am I the only one who still uses Arctic Silver 5?


I have AS5 on my HD7850 for past 2 years with good results.


----------



## rtwjunkie (Oct 9, 2014)

I love MX-4 as well for GPU's.  On CPU's, with very similar consistency and great thermal properties I use Zalman STG-2.



Lightbulbie said:


> Am I the only one who still uses Arctic Silver 5?



No, you certainly are not!  I have some on my server.  It's on 24/7, so I'm never worried about cure time.  So I always have a tube.


----------



## INSTG8R (Oct 9, 2014)

Lightbulbie said:


> Am I the only one who still uses Arctic Silver 5?



Yeah just you. I still have a tube but compared to MX-4 it's like spreading concrete. I do still use AS Ceramique in certain cases tho(also worse than spreading concrete)


----------



## fusionblu (Oct 9, 2014)

The Arctic Cooling MX-4 thermal paste is all around favourite thermal paste and it is definitely better than standard thermal paste and even most pre-applied thermal paste on new CPU coolers.
I did use to use it with good result, but then I came across an odd brand of Diamond Nano component thermal paste from Maplins and it applies and cools my CPU well which is why I don't use MX-4 anymore.
The said thermal compound was JetArt Nano Diamond Therrmal Compound CK4880, but haven't found it in many reviews so I can't get a good idea of it in comparison to other thermal compounds.

UPDATE: Found an old review from it's early release which shows it is very much on par with Arctic Silver 5 and slightly better in some areas.
_
Review: http://xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/other-products/jetart-heatpaste-ck4000-and-ck4800/_


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Oct 9, 2014)

I have some MX-4 for general use because its cheap and its awesome, I Also have some Prolimatech PK-3 which is one of the best TIMs out there though its a little more expensive but well worth the money.


----------



## D007 (Oct 9, 2014)

make sure you check the expiration date of tim. it doesn't last forever.


----------



## newtekie1 (Oct 10, 2014)

Lightbulbie said:


> Am I the only one who still uses Arctic Silver 5?


I threw out my AS5 years ago.  It was good back in the day, and still performs well today when spread properly, but it is too hard to apply properly.  There are better pastes out there.

Personally, I use Arctic Silver Alumina for re-pasting stock heatsinks and MX4 for pasting aftermarket cooling.


----------



## RealNeil (Oct 10, 2014)

Lightbulbie said:


> Am I the only one who still uses Arctic Silver 5?



I have two large tubes of AS-5. But I'm trying out some other pastes ATM. (GC-Extreme and some liquid Metal stuff)

GC-Extreme seems to be working the best for me. A little goes a long way, and it's not conductive like the liquid metal is.

I also have six tubes of IC-Diamond. (that worked well, but the Diamond particles in it were too abrasive)
There are a few tubes of IC-Perihelion Ceramic that I never even tried out. (maybe I will soon)


----------



## Toothless (Oct 10, 2014)

newtekie1 said:


> I threw out my AS5 years ago.  It was good back in the day, and still performs well today when spread properly, but it is too hard to apply properly.  There are better pastes out there.
> 
> Personally, I use Arctic Silver Alumina for re-pasting stock heatsinks and MX4 for pasting aftermarket cooling.


AS5 spreads easily for me. I just get a business card or something as thick as it and spread it around. Works wonders for my stuff.


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Oct 10, 2014)

RealNeil said:


> I have two large tubes of AS-5. But I'm trying out some other pastes ATM. (GC-Extreme and some liquid Metal stuff)
> 
> GC-Extreme seems to be working the best for me. A little goes a long way, and it's not conductive like the liquid metal is.
> 
> ...




GC-Extreme is like the best of the best but its so appallingly expensive compared to the other pastes here in the UK. it makes PK-3 look value for money and PK-3 is more expensive then MX-4. Part of the problem is that MX-4 is slowly becoming harder to find for some reason almost as if its been discontinued


----------



## Jetster (Oct 10, 2014)

Meh Paste is paste


----------



## fusionblu (Oct 10, 2014)

FreedomEclipse said:


> GC-Extreme is like the best of the best but its so appallingly expensive compared to the other pastes here in the UK. it makes PK-3 look value for money and PK-3 is more expensive then MX-4. Part of the problem is that MX-4 is slowly becoming harder to find for some reason almost as if its been discontinued



I call lies or maybe you don't buy online. You can easily get that compound on either aria.co.uk, scan.co.uk or overclockers.co.uk which are the main PC hardware websites I buy parts from.


----------



## Toothless (Oct 10, 2014)

fusionblu said:


> I call lies or maybe you don't buy online. You can easily get that compound on either aria.co.uk, scan.co.uk or overclockers.co.uk which are the main PC hardware websites I buy parts from.


But the shipping costs.


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Oct 10, 2014)

fusionblu said:


> I call lies or maybe you don't buy online. You can easily get that compound on either aria.co.uk, scan.co.uk or overclockers.co.uk which are the main PC hardware websites I buy parts from.



Or maybe its just simple OCuK thats stopped stocking it - Both the 4g & 20g tubes are OOS with no ETA. SCAN however has plenty of stock though you cant always trust their stock system.


----

Yep looks like its just OCuK - plenty available on other sites - even on amazon


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Oct 10, 2014)

Lightbulbie said:


> But the shipping costs.



Its quite hard to find a brick and mortar store around london that sells this stuff. There used to be a few stores that did & they were quite popular but recession hit and they went into administration.


the only 1 or 2 stores left i just refuse to do business with.


----------



## fusionblu (Oct 10, 2014)

Lightbulbie said:


> But the shipping costs.


The idea is you buy more than just thermal paste when buying online...



FreedomEclipse said:


> Or maybe its just simple OCuK thats stopped stocking it - Both the 4g & 20g tubes are OOS with no ETA. SCAN however has plenty of stock though you cant always trust their stock system.
> 
> 
> ----
> ...



Interesting part of scan as they seemed to be the most reliably for me. I suppose it could be circumstances with my experience with scan.

As for ETA with overclockers I can only assume it is a matter with getting that stock available as soon as, but I could be wrong. Normally an additional message such as "No ETA" is a good hint a company is discontinuing a product and besides if scan shows stock of the product it likely shows the product isn't phased out yet (not sure how many more years it will last for as an effective product, the Arctic Cooling MX-4 cooling paste that is).


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Oct 10, 2014)

Maybe so - but there are better pastes out there for a few quid more. PK-3 is close to the same price as MX-4 and works a little better IMO Ive used it on my CPU & 970s and my 970s have seen the best improvement when it comes to temps.


----------



## RealNeil (Oct 10, 2014)

So shipping over there is costly?  I'm glad that it's not so bad here. 
I just bought a "Scythe" Mugen Max CPU Cooler (SCMGD-1000) for an i7 system,.....$44.99 US, shipped for free.

I live in a small town, and any good brick and mortar store with decent prices is an hour and a half away. So I buy online most of the time.


----------



## eidairaman1 (Oct 10, 2014)

Scythe Ashura on a 8350 here (wanted to have full ram capability)





RealNeil said:


> So shipping over there is costly?  I'm glad that it's not so bad here.
> I just bought a "Scythe" Mugen Max CPU Cooler (SCMGD-1000) for an i7 system,.....$44.99 US, shipped for free.
> 
> I live in a small town, and any good brick and mortar store with decent prices is an hour and a half away. So I buy online most of the time.


----------



## Naito (Oct 10, 2014)

MX-4 is brilliant to work with and performs well. Used it on a few notebooks I pulled apart. AS5 still performs great too, but I find it is a bit more annoying to clean off when the time comes.


----------



## RealNeil (Oct 10, 2014)

eidairaman1 said:


> Scythe Ashura on a 8350 here (wanted to have full ram capability)



The one I bought has a Heatpipe offset to allow for RAM clearance.


----------



## R-T-B (Oct 10, 2014)

Paste is overrated.  Truth is manufactures and sometimes, people, are terrible at application.

I mean it.  I use some stuff that is meant as an industrial heatsink compound.  It's called GC Electronics heatsink compound.  You can literally buy the stuff by the tub.  If you apply it right, it works as good as AS5 (confirmed by benchmarks), and it bests several dedicated PC pastes.

Oh, and you can buy it for about 5 bucks a 1oz tube.

Remember, I'm a litecoin miner.  I know about stability and heat.  You are giving the paste too much credit.


----------



## vega22 (Oct 10, 2014)

mx3 was better.


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Oct 10, 2014)

marsey99 said:


> mx3 was better.



only by 1-3'c on most reviews which is pretty much negligible. MX-3 was harder to spread though which made MX-2 or MX-4 more appealing when they came out


----------



## Octopuss (Oct 10, 2014)

I prefer Noctua NT-H1 myself. It's thick as shit and absolute pain in the ass to spread, but seems to be working really well. And doesn't dry too much.


----------



## Vario (Oct 10, 2014)

Octopuss said:


> I prefer Noctua NT-H1 myself. It's thick as shit and absolute pain in the ass to spread, but seems to be working really well. And doesn't dry too much.


It never lasts for me. I've used it on all kinds of stuff, it always pumps out/thins out after a few months and you have to re-apply.

Shin Etsu X23-7783D is my favorite.  Prolimatech PK1 is pretty decent too.

What I like about Shin Etsu is that it produces a durable bond that doesn't thin out, pump out, etc and seems to last forever, but still gives great temperatures.  Its hard to apply, I use a heat gun to heat up the syringe of paste and get it to flow into more of a liquid, then I put a blob (about 2-3x the rice method amount) on the part and squish down the heatsink into the blob.


----------



## de.das.dude (Oct 10, 2014)

Lightbulbie said:


> Am I the only one who still uses Arctic Silver 5?


am i the only one who uses toothpaste and ketchup? 
lol jk


----------



## Toothless (Oct 10, 2014)

de.das.dude said:


> am i the only one who uses toothpaste and ketchup?
> lol jk


Toothpaste the cream cheese is where its at my friend.


----------



## fullinfusion (Oct 10, 2014)

eidairaman1 said:


> I still use the credit card methodand i push n twist the hs a lil


and now you wonder why your cpu idles hot 

mx-4 isn't made to be credit card applied. A dab in the center and the cooler will spread it out.


----------



## eidairaman1 (Oct 10, 2014)

Seems to be fine. Never thought it was hot


----------



## 64K (Oct 10, 2014)

de.das.dude said:


> am i the only one who uses toothpaste and ketchup?
> lol jk



These guys tested some funny stuff for paste

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/printpage/Thermal-Compound-Roundup-December-2011/1445

As it turns out mayonnaise is just as good as many other thermal pastes being sold by well known companies. Chocolate is a definite no-no.


----------



## vega22 (Oct 10, 2014)

FreedomEclipse said:


> only by 1-3'c on most reviews which is pretty much negligible. MX-3 was harder to spread though which made MX-2 or MX-4 more appealing when they came out




i have lapped cpu to get 1/3c improvements so a tim is well worth that imo.

i agree it is a mare to get a good application but icd is the same too. a great tim which is a fucker to use :/

still all better than liquid metal. the best time you can get but also the worst to use.


----------



## eidairaman1 (Oct 10, 2014)

I might have to reapply mine. I guess the bead method is best?


----------



## newtekie1 (Oct 10, 2014)

Credit card method is best for thick pastes(AS5), but the small bead is best for thinner pasts(MX2/4), in my experience.


----------



## eidairaman1 (Oct 10, 2014)

newtekie1 said:


> Credit card method is best for thick pastes(AS5), but the small bead is best for thinner pasts(MX2/4), in my experience.




Thank you for the info

Ill put a bead in center and replant my cooler tonight after i clean it off and the chip. Being out of the game for 11 years i stood by as5 for years and mx4 is the first change.


----------



## Vario (Oct 11, 2014)

For CPU with lid, I just put a small blob that is taller then it is wide so that when it spreads it matches the shape of the die under the lid.  For bare die VGA and laptops, I put large blob that I know will spread across the die and squish out the sides.  Non-electrically-conductive paste for VGA obviously.

You will know when you get a good application because the idle temperature will be really low and when you stress test and then stop the stress test, the temperatures will rapidly fall to the idle temperature very quickly.


----------



## Raw (Oct 11, 2014)

Lightbulbie said:


> Am I the only one who still uses Arctic Silver 5?


No, you are not alone. I use Artic Silver 5 in all 5 of my machines and I haven't replaced the stuff in 2-3 YEARS.
I do have one machine that has been BSOD once in a while lately. I was just thinking it may be time to reapply the AS5 to the cpu.
And reseat the RAM and GPU. Blow out any dust, etc.
I don't see any heat issues in any of my machines though.


----------



## stefanels (Oct 12, 2014)

After changing the paste on my CPU, the idle temp went down from 37C to 32-33C...


----------



## eidairaman1 (Oct 12, 2014)

Cpu at 4.2Ghz across all 8 cores 39 idle. With blob method.


----------

