# Best thermal pastes in 2021 ?



## Kaliphtan (Feb 2, 2021)

Hello guys,

I'm pretty noob in cpu cooling paste, there are a lot of thermal pastes, like a lot ! I'm using NT-H1 for my i5 9600k and it's getting "old", trying to cool it further down, so I'm looking for a new one.
All the benchmarks on the internet aren't good, most of them are not the same benchmark condition so the temperatures from a video to another are different.
I also saw that Kryonaut paste scratchs the aluminium chipset/ maybe copper on cooler, it's still true today ? And the main question is what's the best thermal pastes in 2021 ?

Thanks in advance


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## P4-630 (Feb 2, 2021)

Kaliphtan said:


> I also saw that Kryonaut paste scratchs the aluminium chipset/ maybe copper on cooler, it's still true today ?



There was a bad batch in the past.

There is a new version:
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme









						Thermal Grizzly High Performance Cooling Solutions - Kryonaut Extreme
					

Hochwertige Wärmeleitlösungen für Computerchips




					www.thermal-grizzly.com


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## Kaliphtan (Feb 2, 2021)

P4-630 said:


> There was a bad batch in the past.
> 
> There is a new version:
> Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme
> ...


Thanks for your answer, are there any syringe version ? I'm looking on Amazon, only the normal version is here.


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## P4-630 (Feb 2, 2021)

Kaliphtan said:


> Thanks for your answer, are there any syringe version ? I'm looking on Amazon, only the normal version is here.



It isn't cheap though...






						Amazon.com: Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme The High Performance Thermal Paste for Cooling All Processors, Graphics Cards and Heat Sinks in Computers and Consoles (2 Gram): Computers & Accessories
					

Buy Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme The High Performance Thermal Paste for Cooling All Processors, Graphics Cards and Heat Sinks in Computers and Consoles (2 Gram): Heatsinks - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



					www.amazon.com


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## freeagent (Feb 2, 2021)

Thermalright TFX is rated slightly higher, and is cheaper, but not cheap.


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## ThrashZone (Feb 2, 2021)

Hi,
Thermal grizzly is always overpriced and overrated hydronaut is the only one never said to scratch anything.
NT-H1 I use or newer NT-H2 although I don't like it little too wet and dries too fast
MX-4 2019 and they do have a new version too


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## Countryside (Feb 2, 2021)

Been using Arctic MX paste for many years now, its best in my book.


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## dirtyferret (Feb 2, 2021)

NT-H1 is a very good thermal paste.  Even if you use thermal grizzly the difference would likely be minimal during gaming.


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## kapone32 (Feb 2, 2021)

Noctua NTH2


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## kayjay010101 (Feb 2, 2021)

+1 for Noctua's NT-H1. Been using it for years.


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## FreedomEclipse (Feb 2, 2021)

Wasn't there an issue with kryonaut where they had pretty big particles that were causing pitting on coolers and CPUs?


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## P4-630 (Feb 2, 2021)

FreedomEclipse said:


> Wasn't there an issue with kryonaut where they had pretty big particles that were causing pitting on coolers and CPUs?



See post #2


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## nguyen (Feb 2, 2021)

kingpin KPx should be the best paste for now.


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## bug (Feb 2, 2021)

Kaliphtan said:


> Hello guys,
> 
> I'm pretty noob in cpu cooling paste, there are a lot of thermal pastes, like a lot ! I'm using NT-H1 for my i5 9600k and it's getting "old", *trying to cool it further down*, so I'm looking for a new one.
> All the benchmarks on the internet aren't good, most of them are not the same benchmark condition so the temperatures from a video to another are different.
> ...


Changing paste will not lower the temps significantly.
Imho, applying the paste right is more important than picking the best paste.


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## kapone32 (Feb 2, 2021)

bug said:


> Changing paste will not lower the temps significantly.
> Imho, applying the paste right is more important than picking the best paste.


I changed from NTH1 to NTH2 and it dropped my temps by about 4 degrees C. As far as i am concerned Noctua's NTH2 is the best easily acccessible paste.


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## freeagent (Feb 2, 2021)

Thermalright TF8 is very easy to use. It was previously my favorite. I only bought TFX because I couldn't get TF8 for some reason.. couldn't be shipped to me from the U.S. So I bought my TFX.. from the US and I'm pretty sure it was the same seller lol.. TFX is a lot thicker, but the difference between the two is noticeable. I'm having a hard time deciding between a 12g tube of TF8 or a 6g tube of TFX for the same price..

I am a massive Thermalright fanboy though, so take it for what you will..


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## dgianstefani (Feb 2, 2021)

There's basically 3 that are worth paying for if you don't want to use the preapplied paste or stock stuff supplied with cooler.

NT-H2. Cryonaut/Cryonaut Extreme. Conductonaut.

These are ranked in order of performance.

Conductonaut has some preconditions. No aluminium. If used on bare copper you need to reapply since it will alloy. Nickel plated is fine.

NT-H2 Set and forget. Cryonaut/Extreme - best non conductive paste but needs reapplying every 3-5 years ideally. Conductonaut - Best performance by huge factor but you need to be careful and precise during application.


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## John Naylor (Feb 2, 2021)

The formulations over the years haven't changed significantly for the most part but every now and then a new player shakes things up ..... Benchmarkreviews.com had always done the most exhaustive testing and their test results were always "the benchmark), pun intended, of TIM testing and their "How to Apply" articles were great, showing that there was no "best" method .... that the method used should depend on the type of cooler used.  Unfortunately, when the site was updated, these articles were lost.  Each was oft referenced here on TPU as a "go to" source over the years.  Some brands are just OEM's from other suppliers and others are knockoffs of lesser value.



			https://moddiy.com/product_images/uploaded_images/t2czhdxe6dhjnxxxxx-90102141.jpg
		


The two top performers were AS5 and Shin Etsu G751.   AS5 is capacative (scary if ya get on contacts) and has significant curing time (about 7 weeks @ 3 hours a week) both of which are detailed on AS5's web site leaving Shin Etsu as the best choice for CPUs, and it was also half the price everywhere (typically $3.99) of AS5  ... until recently.  Can still be had for $4-5 if ya look around..  Later the liquid metal type became available but those come with significant risks and should not be used by a novice.  Thermal Grizzly's The 12.5 W/mK Kryonaut arrived on the scene and 'took the title" by a significant margin.   But it was expensive at about $15.... It has since dropped down to the typical $7-8 range of most everyone else.  Later Noctua released NT-H2 which matched Thermal Grizzlies 12.5 W/mK rating ..... Kryonaut Extreme came later and upped the ante at 14.2 W/mK 

But the thermal performance rating is not the be all and end all of what you need to be concerned about ... workability also comes into play ... on a GFX card for example where you may have up to 25 or so application points wurg GPU, memory and VRMs, potentially warranting application on both the block and back plate.  Where longer viability is needed, Gelid Extreme is a great go to source.


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## Solid State Soul ( SSS ) (Feb 2, 2021)

Noctua NT-H2 or Arctic MX4 

Thermal Grizzly is overpriced for what you get, really


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## bobbybluz (Feb 2, 2021)

Gelid CG Extreme or MX-4 are what I use.


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## Bones (Feb 2, 2021)

Solid State Soul ( SSS ) said:


> Noctua NT-H2 or Arctic MX4
> 
> *Thermal Grizzly is overpriced for what you get, really*


*This. *

For the money spent, unless doing subzero stuff Grizzly is just too expensive and know it's formulated for subzero use anyway, hence the expense of it.

NT-H1 and MX4 Carbon are my go to's for what I do including subzero runs. Great stuff for everyday use as well, not difficult to apply and these just work with all I've ever used them for.
Gelid CG Extreme, although good itself is very expensive for what you get vs results in return for the money paid and you have to watch what you get, if it's goopy it's fine but there is also the issue of it being "Dry" sometimes and if so, it's no good.

I suggest NT-H1 or MX4 since there are no real issues with dried batches or it scratching stuff and lasts for a very long time too per application.


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## DeathtoGnomes (Feb 2, 2021)

Copper Anti-Seize! just ask @lexluthermiester !


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## Kaliphtan (Feb 2, 2021)

Countryside said:


> Been using Arctic MX paste for many years now, its best in my book.


Did you see the new Arctic MX 5 or used it ? How better it performs against the MX 4 ?


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## Zach_01 (Feb 2, 2021)

Kaliphtan said:


> Hello guys,
> 
> I'm pretty noob in cpu cooling paste, there are a lot of thermal pastes, like a lot ! I'm using NT-H1 for my i5 9600k and it's getting "old", trying to cool it further down, so I'm looking for a new one.
> All the benchmarks on the internet aren't good, most of them are not the same benchmark condition so the temperatures from a video to another are different.
> ...


Best in what?

1. Best performance no matter the cost?
2. Best "cheap"?
3. Best performance/$$$?

I cant answer all the questions but 1st one... and thats still Liquid Metal.


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## Bones (Feb 2, 2021)

Zach_01 said:


> Best in what?
> 
> 1. Best performance no matter the cost?
> 2. Best "cheap"?
> ...


Personally I will not use it because of the detrimental effects it has with the metals it come into contact with.
Well documented this stuff deteriorates the surfaces it comes in contact with and while it may take awhile for it to start affecting things. Once done the effects are there and non-reversible, meaning whatever coolers/blocks it's used with along with the CPU lid are permenantly affected.

Usually it takes a year or so for the effects to appear, many say the machine will last until you're ready to upgrade but that's not the point - Thing is we don't know for how long anyone is expecting their build to last or even need it to. Could be a few years, could be for longer than that based on the user's needs and budget/situation.

Really up to the OP but to know the pros and cons about Liquid Metal is the thing here.


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## PooPipeBoy (Feb 3, 2021)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> Copper Anti-Seize! just ask @lexluthermiester !



Unless you ask me. I tried three variations of anti-seize and I condemned them all. I had no luck there.

The best option for a budget play by far is GD900 from Aliexpress. $6 for a 30g tube and I'd agree that it's better than MX-4. I've been using it for over a year now on everything I own (CPUs, GPUs, mobo chipsets) and I haven't seen any signs of my earliest applications getting "old". The stuff is a godsend when you're swapping out CPUs constantly while running benchmarks.


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## ViperXTR (Feb 3, 2021)

P4-630 said:


> There was a bad batch in the past.
> 
> There is a new version:
> Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme
> ...


Were these bad batches around 2019? i got my kryonaut around 4th quarter last year,i hope im safe


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## Why_Me (Feb 3, 2021)

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-MX-4-Compound-Micro-particles-Durability/dp/B0795DP124/ 
 MX-4 2019 Edition


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## Zach_01 (Feb 3, 2021)

Bones said:


> Personally I will not use it because of the detrimental effects it has with the metals it come into contact with.
> Well documented this stuff deteriorates the surfaces it comes in contact with and while it may take awhile for it to start affecting things. Once done the effects are there and non-reversible, meaning whatever coolers/blocks it's used with along with the CPU lid are permenantly affected.
> 
> Usually it takes a year or so for the effects to appear, many say the machine will last until you're ready to upgrade but that's not the point - Thing is we don't know for how long anyone is expecting their build to last or even need it to. Could be a few years, could be for longer than that based on the user's needs and budget/situation.
> ...


I wasn’t suggesting, I was just telling. And I asked OP what is his/her goal (on best?) before suggesting anything.

LM
1. it does not affect at all nickel plated surface
2. it is absorbed partially into copper, and needs frequent replace the first 6 months to avoid dry out. After 6-12 months lasts long and does not affect the surface, to get it uneven or something like that, if it not dries.
3. it does destroys aluminum coolers and surfaces
4. needs carefull handling because of liquidity and conductivity 

Too much drama about LM. Yes it’s expensive compared to others but best in performance. Especially with Ryzen‘s chiplet off center design. And it’s even better when using AIO/WaterLoop.


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## lexluthermiester (Feb 3, 2021)

DeathtoGnomes said:


> Copper Anti-Seize! just ask @lexluthermiester !


I wouldn't call it "Best" as the OP asked. It's workable and it will tide you over until you can replace it with a purpose formulated TIM. My experiment lasted nearly a year and I only swapped it out because I wanted to push my OC(which worked).


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## bobbybluz (Feb 3, 2021)

Why_Me said:


> https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-MX-4-Compound-Micro-particles-Durability/dp/B0795DP124/
> MX-4 2019 Edition


There was a special on that yesterday for $6.29. My next 4 oz tube should be here Thursday morning (with Prime).


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## freeagent (Feb 3, 2021)

Numbers don't matter.. everyone has their favorite. 1 brand could have much lower rating then the other brand but still say its the best because they use it 

It probably doesn't really matter anyways.. Mount and case flow are probably more important. Although passively cooling would be a good test between pastes.. but who does that anyways 

I still think AS5 is good.. in moderation of course


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## Kissamies (Feb 3, 2021)

My vote goes for MX-4 like always. Great shit for its price.


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## puma99dk| (Feb 3, 2021)

nguyen said:


> kingpin KPx should be the best paste for now.


I heard this too that the KPx is the best you can get.
But it's expensive doe like 7,5eur for 1gram: https://kingpincoolingeuropesupplies.com/


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## Kissamies (Feb 3, 2021)

puma99dk| said:


> I heard this too that the KPx is the best you can get.
> But it's expensive doe like 7,5eur for 1gram: https://kingpincoolingeuropesupplies.com/


And you can get a syringe of MX-4 which has 4x times the amount with the same price. That 1-2C drop on temps isnt worth it IMO.


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## Leothelesser (Feb 3, 2021)

The Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut Thermal Pad 
1-2 degree C difference apply it once and forget.
Gamers Nexus


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## P4-630 (Feb 3, 2021)

ViperXTR said:


> Were these bad batches around 2019? i got my kryonaut around 4th quarter last year,i hope im safe



I'm not sure.

This was August 2018:





						Kryonaut abrasive??
					

I recently purchased an Alpenfohn Matterhorn Pure cooler along with some Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut paste (from OcUK) for a Core i7 6850k that I bought new a little while ago.  I had it all installed and running in an MSI X99 board that I wasn't too happy with, so I swapped it over for an Asrock...




					www.overclockers.co.uk
				




This was October 2020:








						Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut scratching and denting.
					

Hello all  I bought this tube of Thermal Grizzly (TG) Kryonaut in December 2019. I applied the paste to the CPU and GPU in January 2020. After about 8 months in September 2020, I dissembled the blocks for maintenance. At first, I saw some marks on the CPU block after I wiped away the old paste...




					www.techpowerup.com


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## ViperXTR (Feb 3, 2021)

P4-630 said:


> I'm not sure.
> 
> This was August 2018:
> 
> ...


Aw, so far my 3300X Oct to end of January (sold it) I didn't see any visible scratches, and I'm still using the paste on my current 5800X, I wonder if it will only appear after a few months or mine is a good batch


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## Kaliphtan (Feb 3, 2021)

Zach_01 said:


> Best in what?
> 
> 1. Best performance no matter the cost?
> 2. Best "cheap"?
> ...


I would say best for performance/$$$ but i'm interested in what you think the best perf not matter the cost is, as you can see, we see names coming back, names used once like the kingpin one for example, we have a good portfolio here.


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## PaulieG (Feb 3, 2021)

dirtyferret said:


> NT-H1 is a very good thermal paste.  Even if you use thermal grizzly the difference would likely be minimal during gaming.


This. I've used about everything over the last 15 years, and I keep going back to NT-H1. Consistently good temps and spreads easily, but not too runny. Oh, and I hate liquid metals. Nothing but bad experiences and I don't believe an extra degree or 2 lower is worth the added risk and work.


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## micropage7 (Feb 3, 2021)

Chloe Price said:


> And you can get a syringe of MX-4 which has 4x times the amount with the same price. That 1-2C drop on temps isnt worth it IMO.


agree, in this field many complaint about the difference of 1 or 2 celsius like it will kill their expensive hardware
just buy what reasonable for you and you can find, some says MX-4 or NT-H1 or liquid metal or something is good but many back to something that they feel suitable for them


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## Kissamies (Feb 3, 2021)

Damn, i'll create an universal thead about thermal pastes.


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## freeagent (Feb 3, 2021)

Its worth it if you have the money and you chase C's..

If you don't have the money and you don't give a flying F then no not worth it..


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## ThrashZone (Feb 3, 2021)

Chloe Price said:


> Damn, i'll create an universal thead about thermal pastes.


Hi,
Surprised there isn't already one.


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## Kissamies (Feb 3, 2021)

ThrashZone said:


> Hi,
> Surprised there isn't already one.


I made one just now.


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## dgianstefani (Feb 3, 2021)

PaulieG said:


> This. I've used about everything over the last 15 years, and I keep going back to NT-H1. Consistently good temps and spreads easily, but not too runny. Oh, and I hate liquid metals. Nothing but bad experiences and I don't believe an extra degree or 2 lower is worth the added risk and work.


Lmao. Spoken like someone who doesn't use LM. Moving from Kryonaut extreme to Conductonaut on my 5950x at static voltage led to 11c drop with no other changes.


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## PaulieG (Feb 3, 2021)

dgianstefani said:


> Lmao. Spoken like someone who doesn't use LM. Moving from Kryonaut extreme to Conductonaut on my 5950x at static voltage led to 11c drop with no other changes.


Admittedly, I've not used any of the newer products, only the early iterations of liquid metals and crap with diamond dust etc. I was on a 5 year hiatus from the hobby until recently. The early products were just a hot mess with less than impressive results. I still don't know that it would be worth it for anyone who has reasonable temps. For instance, my 3600x is running 4.34ghz on 1.26v. Idle temps are in the low 30c's and load temps with OCCT/Realbench/Cinebench never go over 71c in a mATX case, so what would this expensive, possibly risky product do for me or anyone else getting safe temps? I most certainly wouldn't see anything close to an 11c drop. So, ok for a small market segment I could see the risk/reward being worth it.


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## dgianstefani (Feb 3, 2021)

PaulieG said:


> Admittedly, I've not used any of the newer products, only the early iterations of liquid metals and crap with diamond dust etc. I was on a 5 year hiatus from the hobby until recently. The early products were just a hot mess with less than impressive results. I still don't know that it would be worth it for anyone who has reasonable temps. For instance, my 3600x is running 4.34ghz on 1.26v. Idle temps are in the low 30c's and load temps with OCCT/Realbench/Cinebench never go over 71c in a mATX case, so what would this expensive, possibly risky product do for me or anyone else getting safe temps? I most certainly wouldn't see anything close to an 11c drop. So, ok for a small market segment I could see the risk/reward being worth it.


oh really, your 65w low end CPU doesn't get thermally limited? Gosh.


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## ViperXTR (Feb 3, 2021)

dgianstefani said:


> oh really, your 65w low end CPU doesn't get thermally limited? Gosh.


3600X is a 95W TDP though, but i get your point :V


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## PaulieG (Feb 3, 2021)

dgianstefani said:


> oh really, your 65w low end CPU doesn't get thermally limited? Gosh.


Ugh. Are you always so friendly? 

The 3600x is 95w. Anyways, those 65w CPU's are a majority of even the enthusiast market. Honestly, I've never really had a cpu that was "thermally limited". Not even any of the dozen or so Core i7's I've owned. A good cooler and proper airflow usually is plenty unless you are running ridiculous vcore.


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## dgianstefani (Feb 3, 2021)

Well, you're wrong, and i'm too tired to write 4 paragraphs explaining every detail how.


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## crispysilicon (Feb 3, 2021)

Well, if you really want to go nuts, there is another option above thermal paste. This is a leftover from my current rig.







It's a little sketchy to use. You have to disable your fan and watch the cpu temps like a hawk. Load the cpu a little to bring temps way up, then it will melt. Doubt it can be removed either, but I've never tried. I can't remember for the life of me who makes it.


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## ThrashZone (Feb 3, 2021)

dgianstefani said:


> Lmao. Spoken like someone who doesn't use LM. Moving from Kryonaut extreme to Conductonaut on my 5950x at static voltage led to 11c drop with no other changes.


Hi,
I don't think that much drop is a typical result by just switching to LM 
Your spec's verses what it shows on your R23 sub are different 
Your sub shows AIO cooling where as yous spec's show optimus foundation so there is a large different in cooling ability there lol


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## Gungar (Feb 3, 2021)

Solid State Soul ( SSS ) said:


> Noctua NT-H2 or Arctic MX4
> 
> Thermal Grizzly is overpriced for what you get, really


 NT-H2 is more expensive than Kryonaut, here in Switzerland.


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## Kaliphtan (Feb 3, 2021)

Chloe Price said:


> Damn, i'll create an universal thead about thermal pastes.


I don't think it's a good idea, for example, if it gets many answers, over a period of time, a guy next year for instance will get lost and find pages and pages and it's pretty boring, here for 2021 it's like 3 pages, we covered all things already.


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## Zach_01 (Feb 3, 2021)

Kaliphtan said:


> I would say best for performance/$$$ but i'm interested in what you think the best perf not matter the cost is, as you can see, we see names coming back, names used once like the kingpin one for example, we have a good portfolio here.


Best performance no matter the cost is LiquidMetal.
I use it over a year now. Going from ArcticSilver5 to LM drop the Max CPU temp by ~5C with same cooler(AIO) and same ambient conditions.

I used ArcticSilver5 for more than 10years. I even had it with my 200+W OC of my old FX8370. No problem. Once I swap to Ryzen and less than half the watts, temps was the same. It was very odd!
The culprit is two fold. Thermal density of Ryzen chiplets and off center position under CPU IHS. That’s why LM is doing better job with Ryzen and a water block. AIO or custom loop.

As I already said on post #29

“LM
1. it does not affect at all nickel plated surface
2. it is absorbed partially into copper, and needs frequent replacement the first 6 months to avoid dry out. After 6-12 months lasts long and does not affect the surface, to get it uneven or something like that, if it not dries.
3. it does destroys aluminum coolers and surfaces
4. needs carefull handling because of liquidity and conductivity 

Too much drama about LM. Yes it’s expensive compared to others but best in performance. Especially with Ryzen‘s chiplet off center design. And it’s even better when using AIO/WaterLoop.”

Make no mistake, it’s not simple material as a liquid and conductive one, though I’ve used it several times on my desktop and my 2 old laptops without any issue.
And I couldn’t care less about the 3gr I’ve used so far the last 1+year. I still have another 3gr and all 6gr cost me 50€.


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## the54thvoid (Feb 3, 2021)

The thread's for discussion about thermal paste. Not bitching about other people's posts or statements.

Keep it civil please.


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## ThrashZone (Feb 3, 2021)

Hi,
Well even by name liquid metal is not thermal paste 
And even optimus says don't use LM on their copper cold plates.


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## bogmali (Feb 3, 2021)

the54thvoid said:


> The thread's for discussion about thermal paste. Not bitching about other people's posts or statements.
> 
> Keep it civil please.


 Or arguing with someone about their experiences because they're different from yours. The thread is about giving advise people and not poo-flinging. IDC how knowledgeable you are, if your delivery is piss poor-stay out


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## Zach_01 (Feb 3, 2021)

ThrashZone said:


> Hi,
> Well even by name liquid metal is not thermal paste
> And even optimus says don't use LM on their copper cold plates.


Because maybe most users mis-treat/use it. If you do what it needs to be done, there is no problem. And that is frequent replacement for 2-3 times the first 4-6 months. After that you can replace it over 3-4 months and by the year you can leave it even longer. By this time the copper is saturated enough with Gallium and the TIM is not dried out, nor does it form unwanted metals on top of copper surface. As I said you need to know with what you’re dealing.


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## mouacyk (Feb 3, 2021)

Haven't seen Prolimatech PK-3 listed yet.  11.2 W/m-°C, so not far off Kryonaut but more affordable for when you need many applications.


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## Colddecked (Feb 3, 2021)

ThrashZone said:


> Hi,
> Thermal grizzly is always overpriced and overrated hydronaut is the only one never said to scratch anything.
> NT-H1 I use or newer NT-H2 although I don't like it little too wet and dries too fast
> MX-4 2019 and they do have a new version too



I was alittle down on H2 at first.  Had kyronaut on my gpu, had to take off heatsink and ran out of kyronaut and used h2.  Right away noticed the card running afew deg hotter and delta between hotspot and edge went up.  However, though they say it doesn't need to cure, after afew days I feel the temps went down and there was less of a delta between junction and hotspot after a few weeks on my gpu.



Gungar said:


> NT-H2 is more expensive than Kryonaut, here in Switzerland.



kyronaut not the easiest to work with but if its cheaper I would get that over H2 no doubt.


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## lexluthermiester (Feb 5, 2021)

crispysilicon said:


> Well, if you really want to go nuts, there is another option above thermal paste. This is a leftover from my current rig.
> 
> View attachment 186809
> 
> ...


What are we looking at?


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## freeagent (Feb 5, 2021)

Colddecked said:


> I was alittle down on H2 at first.  Had kyronaut on my gpu, had to take off heatsink and ran out of kyronaut and used h2.  Right away noticed the card running afew deg hotter and delta between hotspot and edge went up.  However, though they say it doesn't need to cure, after afew days I feel the temps went down and there was less of a delta between junction and hotspot after a few weeks on my gpu.
> 
> 
> 
> kyronaut not the easiest to work with but if its cheaper I would get that over H2 no doubt.


Oh yeah, they say no cure time but I can see a difference over the course of a couple of days. Usually for the better.


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## maxfly (Feb 5, 2021)

mouacyk said:


> Haven't seen Prolimatech PK-3 listed yet.  11.2 W/m-°C, so not far off Kryonaut but more affordable for when you need many applications.



Ive had very good results with pk3 and especially like how easy it is to apply vs kryonaut. 
 My take is use as many tims as you can get your hands on. Its cheap and easy to get. Why take one persons or one reviewers word as gospel. Put it to the test yourself. Youll always have extra on hand if you need it and as a bonus you will master the perfect application method for your sinks or blocks.


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## crispysilicon (Feb 5, 2021)

lexluthermiester said:


> What are we looking at?


Been too long since I built my machine, but here goes. Alloy changes phase around 99*C airc? 

You put it on the cpu, strap down the heatsink, and disable the pump/fan. It melts around 99*C, so you have to watch the temps carefully and remove load/re-enable cooling very carefully. I used it on the lid on my 5775C with CLU under the lid, so the lid is coming off if I ever retire the machine.

I bought it in a kit that came with two. The spare goes to my next build, coming this year I hope, depending on parts avail.


----------



## lexluthermiester (Feb 6, 2021)

crispysilicon said:


> Been too long since I built my machine, but here goes. Alloy changes phase around 99*C airc?
> 
> You put it on the cpu, strap down the heatsink, and disable the pump/fan. It melts around 99*C, so you have to watch the temps carefully and remove load/re-enable cooling very carefully. I used it on the lid on my 5775C with CLU under the lid, so the lid is coming off if I ever retire the machine.
> 
> I bought it in a kit that came with two. The spare goes to my next build, coming this year I hope, depending on parts avail.


Ok, a type of TIM? Got a link? I'm a bit curious.


----------



## Enterprise24 (Feb 8, 2021)

Tested by a well know overclocker. Test using an overclocked Core i9 9900K at 5.3ghz 1.3v in prime95 26.6


----------



## Space Lynx (Feb 8, 2021)

it's stupid of me, but if i can get my hands on the arctic mx-5, i am considering a re-paste of my cpu with it to compare before and after temps. lol


----------



## crispysilicon (Feb 9, 2021)

lexluthermiester said:


> Ok, a type of TIM? Got a link? I'm a bit curious.


 
Finally found it.



			https://www.indigo-xtreme.com/page-baa.shtml


----------



## lexluthermiester (Feb 9, 2021)

crispysilicon said:


> Finally found it.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.indigo-xtreme.com/page-baa.shtml


Cool. Never seen it before. How well does it work? BTW, a better way to apply it would be with a hair-drier or heat-gun rather than with the CPU's own heat.


----------



## bug (Feb 9, 2021)

lexluthermiester said:


> Cool. Never seen it before. How well does it work?


Supposedly pretty well: https://www.frozencpu.com/products/...for_AMD_AMxFMx_-_2_Pack.html?tl=c127s1707b174
But their website hasn't been updated in years. It doesn't even mention socket AM4 support. Red flag right there.


----------



## lexluthermiester (Feb 9, 2021)

bug said:


> But their website hasn't been updated in years. It doesn't even mention socket AM4 support. Red flag right there.


Yeah, noticed that.


----------



## Hankieroseman (Feb 10, 2021)

I bought Corsair XTM50 and going to give it a try with Ryzen 7 3800X and the stock cooler.


----------



## crispysilicon (Feb 10, 2021)

lexluthermiester said:


> Cool. Never seen it before. How well does it work? BTW, a better way to apply it would be with a hair-drier or heat-gun rather than with the CPU's own heat.



It works better than anything else, but applying it can be problematic depending on the cpu. 

I, for, example, had a hell of a time getting the cpu up to the melting point with a water block strapped to it. I had to pull the graphics card and fire up the igpu and cpu. Don't know if it's a problem on newer.


----------



## jsalpha2 (Feb 10, 2021)

Arctic Silver Ceramique  Been using it for years.  If it isn't broke...


----------



## Hankieroseman (Feb 13, 2021)

Hankieroseman said:


> I bought Corsair XTM50 and going to give it a try with Ryzen 7 3800X and the stock cooler.


Not very fond of the XTM50. It's rather thick and doesn't spread like Arctic Silver. It's odd with a template and the wide spreader. I wouldn't use it again. Ryzen 7 idles at 44 Celsius.


----------



## Falkentyne (Feb 28, 2021)

Thermalright TFX is one of the best pastes out there and definitely the most durable (just let it cure first, before putting it under >75C temps, for about a week).


----------



## Kissamies (Feb 28, 2021)

I made a general thread about pastes already  https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/the-official-thermal-paste-thread.278074/

But I like MX-4 the most and I recommend that.


----------



## abactuon (Feb 28, 2021)

Kaliphtan said:


> best thermal pastes in 2021


The same thermal pastes as 2020, 2019,2018 ...


----------



## Falkentyne (Feb 28, 2021)

TFX is one of the most durable pastes now and is the best for laptops.  If you apply it correctly (do not spread it), it's also one of the top performers for desktops and video cards after it cures for about a week!


----------



## doyll (Jan 16, 2022)

I've using both TFX and TF8.  TFX is thicker but a few minutes in hot water makes is easy to use.  TFX is rated 14.3 W/mk to TF8 being raed 13.8 W/mk, so both are among best on market now, unless you go liquid meta / gallium based TIMs which are much harder to work with.  They can damage things if not careful.


----------



## Kaliphtan (Jan 16, 2022)

Maenad said:


> I made a general thread about pastes already  https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/the-official-thermal-paste-thread.278074/
> 
> But I like MX-4 the most and I recommend that.


You mean a day after my thread 


doyll said:


> I've using both TFX and TF8.  TFX is thicker but a few minutes in hot water makes is easy to use.  TFX is rated 14.3 W/mk to TF8 being raed 13.8 W/mk, so both are among best on market now, unless you go liquid meta / gallium based TIMs which are much harder to work with.  They can damage things if not careful.


Be careful, MK rating and stuff like that usually don't mean nothing much, check the benchmarks on Youtube or feedback, by the way I got myself an Arctic MX5 last september, it's working nicely, same performance as the Noctua H2.


----------



## VeqIR (Jan 25, 2022)

Would you recommend TFX, SYY-157, or NT-H2 on a GPU?  It’s time to repaste an old card.  I already own the second two.


----------



## lexluthermiester (Jan 25, 2022)

VeqIR said:


> Would you recommend TFX, SYY-157, or NT-H2 on a GPU?  It’s time to repaste an old card.  I already own the second two.


MX-5 or KPx.


----------



## VeqIR (Jan 25, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> MX-5 or KPx.


MX-5 seems to be around on par with my NT-H2 that I already have, but NT-H2 is much easier to use.  I was thinking about something thicker/denser for low pressure mounts, like for GPU cooling.  The things that scared me away from MX-5 in  general were the highly "sticky" behavior and reviews on Amazon describing how MX-5 can creep around the edges of the CPU integrated heatsink and actually travel underneath onto motherboard pins... I've never ever had that happen with a paste and don't want there to be a first personal experience of such an event.

Based on one recent large review, NT-H2 does fine on low pressure mounts too, so I'll probably just use that.








						Best Thermal Paste for CPUs 2022: 90 Pastes Tested and Ranked
					

The right thermal paste will improve performance.




					www.tomshardware.com
				



One thing I regret is that these reviews often don’t give sufficient curing time to pastes that need it, so results are not completely representative of longer-term performance.


----------



## lexluthermiester (Jan 25, 2022)

VeqIR said:


> but NT-H2 is much easier to use.


However NT-H2 dries out and loses performance over time whereas MX-5 and KPx do not. 


VeqIR said:


> I was thinking about something thicker/denser for low pressure mounts, like for GPU cooling.


Then you want MX-5 or KPx as they are perfectly suited for such use.


VeqIR said:


> The things that scared me away from MX-5 in general were the highly "sticky" behavior


If you'd like to see the testing I did look here;








						[EOL] Arctic MX-5 is here!!Tests incoming! Completed.  Now its MX-6 testing time!
					

Oh I'll pass on that.  That's specifically for TFX.   (I got the best results on my 3090 FE (most stable core temp deltas) applying it like that. SYY-157 still needs full coverage but is easier to get on.  Anyone here use SYY-157 yet?




					www.techpowerup.com
				





VeqIR said:


> and reviews on Amazon describing how MX-5 can creep around the edges of the CPU integrated heatsink and actually travel underneath onto motherboard pins...


Total nonsense.


VeqIR said:


> I've never ever had that happen with a paste and don't want there to be a first personal experience of such an event.


Neither have I and you're not going to.


VeqIR said:


> One thing I regret is that these reviews often don’t give sufficient curing time to pastes that need it


That's because there is no curing time. Arctic Silver 5 was one of the only TIMs that needed curing time, and nothing modern needs it at all.


VeqIR said:


> so results are not completely representative of longer-term performance.


Sure they are.


----------



## VeqIR (Jan 26, 2022)

Do you have a link to discussions of NT-H2 losing performance?  (in non-laptops).  And the comparison you linked to compared against NT-H1.


----------



## eidairaman1 (Jan 26, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> However NT-H2 dries out and loses performance over time whereas MX-5 and KPx do not.
> 
> Then you want MX-5 or KPx as they are perfectly suited for such use.
> 
> ...



I'd still use AS5/Ceramique myself along side A MX series, CM MGM, Gelid, TG Kryonaut. I will not use conductonaut or noctua, or liquid metal/diamond based pastes.

Haven't used hydronaut.


----------



## VeqIR (Jan 26, 2022)

eidairaman1 said:


> I will not use conductonaut or noctua, or liquid metal/diamond based pastes.



Out of curiosity, why not Noctua pastes?


----------



## eidairaman1 (Jan 26, 2022)

Overrated.


----------



## VeqIR (Jan 26, 2022)

eidairaman1 said:


> Overrated.


So just the prejudice?  No personal experience?  There are plenty of comparative reviews with their pastes.


----------



## freeagent (Jan 26, 2022)

I didn’t like Noctua paste either. It is overrated, along with some of their other products.


----------



## lexluthermiester (Jan 26, 2022)

VeqIR said:


> Do you have a link to discussions of NT-H2 losing performance? (in non-laptops).


Those discussions have happened here at TPU in places. Can't remember exactly where. It's also happened in other forums.


VeqIR said:


> And the comparison you linked to compared against NT-H1.











						[EOL] Arctic MX-5 is here!!Tests incoming! Completed.  Now its MX-6 testing time!
					

Interesting results with MX-5, meh... personally I'll stick with thermal grizzly range of TIMs. :)




					www.techpowerup.com
				



This was a similar discussion. Toms Hardware had a good comparison of performance.


----------



## Vario (Jan 26, 2022)

freeagent said:


> I didn’t like Noctua paste either. It is overrated, along with some of their other products.


I had a bunch of tubes of NTH1, I ended up giving them all away.  The NTH1 would always yield great results immediately but after a few weeks worsened, unmounting the heatsink and it was apparent it thins out.

I like AS5 because it is very stable.  Right now I have a Radeon 7850 2GB graphics card running 9 years on the same AS5 mount with the same temperatures as when installed.  I use a plastic bag on my finger tip and spread the AS5 thin and uniform.


----------



## freeagent (Jan 26, 2022)

Vario said:


> I had a bunch of tubes of NTH1, I ended up giving them all away.  The NTH1 would always yield great results immediately but after a few weeks worsened, unmounting the heatsink and it was apparent it thins out.
> 
> I like AS5 because it is very stable.  Right now I have a Radeon 7850 2GB graphics card running 9 years on the same AS5 mount with the same temperatures as when installed.  I use a plastic bag on my finger tip and spread the AS5 thin and uniform.


That is exactly what I saw too. AS5 definitely beats NTH1.


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Jan 26, 2022)

Im using HT-H2 on just about everything -- all my laptops, GPUs and CPUs. been running it for 2-3 years and never had a drop in performance.

In any case, I tend to steer clear from diamond particle based pastes because i dont want any pitting or scratching on mating surfaces. Chasing that 2-3'c aint worth the risk to me and my 8600k and 1080Ti are pretty much maxed. My 8600k in particular wont go any faster.


----------



## freeagent (Jan 26, 2022)

Glad they fixed it with H2. H1 was unbecoming of the Noctua name.


----------



## Vario (Jan 26, 2022)

freeagent said:


> That is exactly what I saw too. AS5 definitely beats NTH1.


Here is my idle (19C room ambient) and load (P95 blend) with AS5 that was put on my i5 8600K a year ago.  I don't see a reason to use other pastes.  This particular AS5 syringe was bought in the mid 2000s as well, so it may be 15 years old.


----------



## freeagent (Jan 26, 2022)

Vario said:


> I don't see a reason to use other pastes


For me it was when I moved to 3rd gen Intel. I tried out the paste that came with my Le Grand Macho RT, the paste was CFIII and it held up pretty well against AS5 for the short term. Then I got curious and tried some others.. I still think of AS5 with fondness, but I think they should play with their formula a little bit, or maybe reformulate something that can better deal with the unique heat load of modern CPU’s. The mid 2000s was a good time for AS5, I’ve remounted so many times over the years that I have got my process down pat lol.


----------



## toilet pepper (Jan 26, 2022)

I've done a lot changing coolers over the past few years and I've tried almost all the top pastes out there.

MX4 is cheap, has good performance.

NT-H1 consistent performance but the performance degraded on my 1070 and replacing it with MX4 after several years improved temps.

Kryonaut maybe a few degrees better than MX-4 and almost the same as NT-H1. Expensive.

ID-Cooling - it sucks.

Cooler Master Master gel - Same performance as MX4

TFX - Best paste I've tried ever. PITA to apply. Consistency is akin to snot oozing from your nose when you have the flu (including the hard parts.. I'm talking about the green stuff and not the clear stuff). I've wasted a lot of these since it is hard to apply.


----------



## freeagent (Jan 26, 2022)

toilet pepper said:


> Consistency is akin to


Mine was like really soft hashish.. I should order another tube. I swap back and forth between my 5600 and 5900, it chews a lot of paste.. that's why I like SYY, nearly the same performance, much easier to spread, and its cheap like borsch, sorta.


----------



## toilet pepper (Jan 26, 2022)

freeagent said:


> Mine was like really soft hashish..


That's it!!

Heard great things about SYY and GD900 and they come really cheap but never really wanted to risk it. I just bought a Hydronaut for my rig maintenance as it should be better than Kryonaut in the "pump-out" sense.


----------



## gasolin (Jan 26, 2022)

PR | ARCTIC MX-5 paste
					

ARCTIC Press Information on MX-5 Thermal Compound




					www.arctic.de


----------



## FreedomEclipse (Jan 26, 2022)

toilet pepper said:


> That's it!!
> 
> Heard great things about SYY and GD900 and they come really cheap but never really wanted to risk it. I just bought a Hydronaut for my rig maintenance as it should be better than Kryonaut in the "pump-out" sense.



GD900 all the way. Less scratching and pitting than kryonaut


----------



## Shrek (Jan 26, 2022)

Yep, I got me a lifetime supply of GD900

GD900 not GD900-1


----------



## toilet pepper (Jan 26, 2022)

Andy Shiekh said:


> Yep, I got me a lifetime supply of GD900
> 
> GD900 not GD900-1


I'd say this is where marketing and branding falls short. I'm hesitant to buy them with their packaging and it looks cheap. It simply looks like a generic thermal paste you see sold everywhere.


----------



## Shrek (Jan 26, 2022)

The reviews say it is great.
What's The BEST Thermal Paste in 2019....? (Ft. GD900) - Bing video

Marketing drives prices up.


----------



## Borc (Jan 26, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> However NT-H2 dries out and loses performance over time whereas MX-5 and KPx do not.
> 
> Then you want MX-5 or KPx as they are perfectly suited for such use.




MX-5 is the opposite of what he needs, it's a watery paste and not recommended. And KPx loses performance over time, even though this can happen on a lots of pastes on a bare die chip.

My personal recommendation is Coolermaster CryoFuze or SYY-157.


----------



## Remeca (Jan 26, 2022)

I don't repaste often, usually only when I'm swapping CPU's. Less than once a year on average. I'll use whatever is handy, either the square of paste that comes on some HSFs, or the tube of whatever came with the cooler, which right now is whatever Noctua packages with theirs. One time I didn't have any and used diaper cream, which worked fine for a while.


----------



## Shrek (Jan 26, 2022)

In a bind I'd also use diaper cream, but preferably the 40% zinc oxide strength.


----------



## freeagent (Jan 26, 2022)

Andy Shiekh said:


> In a bind I'd also use diaper cream, but preferably the 40% zinc oxide strength.


Prevents fungus, chaffing, and keeps from overheating.. quite versatile..


----------



## lexluthermiester (Jan 27, 2022)

gasolin said:


> PR | ARCTIC MX-5 paste
> 
> 
> ARCTIC Press Information on MX-5 Thermal Compound
> ...


That was one batch. New stock will be free of the problem.



Andy Shiekh said:


> In a bind I'd also use diaper cream, but preferably the 40% zinc oxide strength.


Seriously? You are never going to let the "diaper cream" thing go, are you?


----------



## eidairaman1 (Jan 27, 2022)

Vario said:


> I had a bunch of tubes of NTH1, I ended up giving them all away.  The NTH1 would always yield great results immediately but after a few weeks worsened, unmounting the heatsink and it was apparent it thins out.
> 
> I like AS5 because it is very stable.  Right now I have a Radeon 7850 2GB graphics card running 9 years on the same AS5 mount with the same temperatures as when installed.  I use a plastic bag on my finger tip and spread the AS5 thin and uniform.


I use a cc or spatula to spread all pastes across entire die/ihs



toilet pepper said:


> I've done a lot changing coolers over the past few years and I've tried almost all the top pastes out there.
> 
> MX4 is cheap, has good performance.
> 
> ...


What is TFX?


----------



## VeqIR (Jan 27, 2022)

eidairaman1 said:


> What is TFX?


Thermalright TFX:  http://thermalright.com/product-category/products/thermal-paste/thermal-paste-thermal-paste/


----------



## eidairaman1 (Jan 27, 2022)

VeqIR said:


> Thermalright TFX:  http://thermalright.com/product-category/products/thermal-paste/thermal-paste-thermal-paste/


I had a tube of TF4 come with the TR ARO-M14G that is on a Ry7 5800 in a Zalman Z1 Neo with 140MM fan mounted correctly (IT FIT!) I already got TG Kryonaut so i used that, glad I have spare paste to use though)


----------



## Shrek (Jan 27, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> Seriously? You are never going to let the "diaper cream" thing go, are you?



I didn't bring it up again.



Remeca said:


> One time I didn't have any and used diaper cream, which worked fine for a while.



My thing is diaper cream, yours is pump-out


----------



## VeqIR (Jan 27, 2022)

Andy Shiekh said:


> My thing is diaper cream, yours is pump-out


And MX5.


----------



## Shrek (Jan 27, 2022)

No offense intended; the diaper cream idea is more for amusement than anything.

But it does make me wonder how 'modern' thermal pastes are so different from pastes of old (liquid metal aside).

Forgot to add, I do like the idea of using copper based anti-seize grease, although I prefer oxides as there is nothing left to oxidize.


----------



## freeagent (Jan 27, 2022)

Andy Shiekh said:


> No offense intended; the diaper cream idea is more for amusement than anything.


It’s better than toothpaste


----------



## VeqIR (Jan 27, 2022)

Andy Shiekh said:


> No offense intended; the diaper cream idea is more for amusement than anything.
> 
> But it does make me wonder how 'modern' thermal pastes are so different from pastes of old (liquid metal aside).
> 
> Forgot to add, I do like the idea of using copper based anti-seize grease, although I prefer oxides as there is nothing left to oxidize.


My guess is they try to improve the temperatures while _also _improving longevity/durability.  Which of course your diaper cream doesn't have.  The longevity is the issue in terms of testing new pastes.  Things like bad batches--and that also means batch variations--exist, complicating and skewing reviews.  Not to mention different use cases can have different effects on longevity, so someone's experience with temperatures and longevity might differ from another person's with a totally different system and usage conditions.  Even just a suboptimal mounting of a cooling plate or uneven distribution of paste can skew results enough to push a paste to the top or bottom of a comparative chart, when the differences are fractions of a degree.  Also unless what's running on a test system is tightly controlled, power usage might be slightly different from one test to the next, so CPU or GPU temperatures might be up or down based on that, also skewing results.  I'm seeing a fair number of contradictory "rankings" proposed by reviewers and individual users, so my personal tactic is to read as many reviews and personal experiences as possible, and then form an educated guess.


----------



## Shrek (Jan 27, 2022)

A most excellent point; I wonder how many reviews cover longevity.


----------



## VeqIR (Jan 27, 2022)

P.S.: if we want less biased results, then tests need to be done in some other way: on some simulated metal plates with heated elements underneath (not on CPUs) with temperature sensors and controlled cooler mounting pressure, while
1. Making multiple tests for each paste and calculating statistical averages
2. Testing all other pastes in the same controlled manner.

Such conditions are of course inaccessible to most end users, but I'm surprised there are no professional reviewers doing this kind of thing.  That'd be how I'd compare pastes against each other if I had access to an engineering lab, etc.  Also, we don't really care about absolute performance as much--that's a known number range already, and plenty of end users give the ballpark numbers.  We mostly care about the _relative _performance of the pastes--and pads--with respect to each other (and longevity/durability, but that's definitely a more involved one to test).  One could even turn this into a PhD project for material science research or perhaps mechanical engineering for creating the equipment and conditions needed for such a project.

Any anecdotal experience of One mounting and One set of test results is within small number statistics of uncertain precision and accuracy.


----------



## Chrispy_ (Jan 27, 2022)

Andy Shiekh said:


> A most excellent point; I wonder how many reviews cover longevity.


It's not been done for a very long time but I stopped caring because I remember sites like sharkyextreme, dansdata, and techreport (all now dead) proving that eventually they all end up the same.

The runny pastes get squeezed to such a thin layer over time that their performance is irrelevant because there's so little of it between the die/IHS and the cooler base plate.
The viscous stuff is often more conductive but gets squeezed out less, so its performance over time remains largely unchanged.

As a rule of thumb, the only longevity issues are with pastes that dry out and then exhibit movement due to poor mounting pressure. The paste drying isn't in itself a problem; microscopic valleys and troughs of the two mating surfaces are still full of the dried conductive paste. It only matters if your mounting pressure is so poor that it allows movement (which is horrendously awful in the first place) because at that point the paste is too dry to re-flow into the new required position.

TL;DR

Long-term paste performance should be negligible because eventually the mounting pressure squeezes nearly all of the paste out of the sides anyway.
Pastes that dry out faster are often better performers in the short term because the above action happens sooner
Viscous pastes that dry out slower will catch up in relative performance over time.
Dry paste is only a problem if your mounting pressure is so bad that your cooler MOVES, you're already overdue a remount and repaste at that point anyway.


----------



## Borc (Jan 27, 2022)

Andy Shiekh said:


> A most excellent point; I wonder how many reviews cover longevity.




Basically nobody, it is very hard to test and even harder to test longevity on several pastes in the same environment. For example this test:










After 6 months longevity for one paste, imagine having 10+ pastes.


----------



## lexluthermiester (Jan 27, 2022)

Andy Shiekh said:


> I didn't bring it up again.


No worries mate, was only giving you a bit of light-hearted teasing..


----------



## VeqIR (Jan 27, 2022)

Chrispy_ said:


> The runny pastes get squeezed to such a thin layer over time that their performance is irrelevant because there's so little of it between the die/IHS and the cooler base plate.
> The viscous stuff is often more conductive but gets squeezed out less, so its performance over time remains largely unchanged.





Chrispy_ said:


> Long-term paste performance should be negligible because eventually the mounting pressure squeezes nearly all of the paste out of the sides anyway.


Theoretically that should be a good thing.  In the sense that less TIM but just enough to fill in the shape of the gaps exactly would be perfect.  In other words the plates get closer and closer together, squeezing out excess, and any paste in the "valleys" between various local peaks and imperfections should remain and provide contact.  I'm just not sure why in practice it doesn't work as well as it seems it should.  My guess is that perhaps there's also some separation of oil that happens when this thinning gradually takes place, such that the filler material is not of the original paste consistency.  What do you think?  Perhaps it's because of some small movement / expansion / contraction that ends up in temporary air gaps instead of perfect contact?


----------



## Shrek (Jan 27, 2022)

lexluthermiester said:


> No worries mate, was only giving you a bit of light-hearted teasing..



It's hard to know with the written word; I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem.


----------



## freeagent (Jan 28, 2022)

Andy Shiekh said:


> It's hard to know with the written word; I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem.


I’m terrible too. I read into things waay to much at times, and I am sensitiff/insensitiff too.. meow. But still a jerk sometimes, not sure why.. maybe my sore back lol.


----------



## Shrek (Jan 28, 2022)

VeqIR said:


> Perhaps it's because of some small movement / expansion / contraction that ends up in temporary air gaps instead of perfect contact?



I think you are right here, the end of the heatsink is hotter than the rest and so expands out, putting pressure on the center of the CPU; then when it cools it flattens back driving paste out.

I attach a diagram from the Semikron application note.


----------



## lexluthermiester (Jan 28, 2022)

Andy Shiekh said:


> It's hard to know with the written word; I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem.





freeagent said:


> I’m terrible too. I read into things waay to much at times, and I am sensitiff/insensitiff too.. meow. But still a jerk sometimes, not sure why.. maybe my sore back lol.


Yeah, that was my fault, I should have thrown a smile or laugh emoji on the back of that comment. It's kinda what they're there for.


----------



## Chrispy_ (Jan 28, 2022)

Andy Shiekh said:


> I think you are right here, the end of the heatsink is hotter than the rest and so expands out, putting pressure on the center of the CPU; then when it cools it flattens back driving paste out.
> 
> I attach a diagram from the Semikron application note.


Interesting; Thermal expansion and contraction acts as a very slow paste pump...
This could be why laptops need repasting more frequently than desktops - the temperature deltas between idle and load are much larger, increasing the stroke of this pumping action.

Desktop coolers typically use solid baseplates with a lot of material that are mechanically rigid and likely remain flatter under thermal cycling, and their load-idle delta is probably ~40C
Laptop coolers are definitely way more flexible and and with many laptops operating at 95C by design we're looking at maybe a 60C load-idle delta.


----------



## Pictus (Jan 30, 2022)

Migliore pasta termica 2022 - Roundup e classifica migliori paste termiche
					

Quale è la migliore pasta termica 2022 per pc, cpu e overclock? Roundup, classifica, test, benchmark e temperature migliori paste termiche.




					albestech.com


----------



## CyberCT (Apr 21, 2022)

Shrek said:


> I think you are right here, the end of the heatsink is hotter than the rest and so expands out, putting pressure on the center of the CPU; then when it cools it flattens back driving paste out.
> 
> I attach a diagram from the Semikron application note.




So if my CPU stays cool enough (die temp doesn't go past 55C under high CPU usage gaming loads) there isn't as much expansion / contraction going on, minimizing this effect? Honestly I've had past on CPUs that I haven't changed 5+ years and they're still running cool I always have AIDA64 running in the background to check.


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## Shrek (Apr 21, 2022)

If one is running below 55°C max, one almost doesn't care if one loses thermal paste or not.


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