# Expensive thermal paste is a complete waste!



## newtekie1 (Jul 2, 2010)

I finally used up the last of my MX-2 this week.  I was going to order some MX-3, but I couldn't find any in stock.  I thought about just ordering some more MX-2, but it is $13 shipped for a 4g tube.  Then I saw that a 14g tube of Artic Silver Alumina was only $10 shipped, so I said screw it and ordered that.

It came in today, and the first thing I did was replace the MX-2 on my i7 just to see what the Alumina was capable of.  To my surprise there was no temp difference under load according to Realtemp and CoreTemp...

Then I did a little figuring:

I releaized that the weight of the paste you buy doesn't matter as much as the volume.  So 4g of MX-2 and 4g of Arctic Silver Alumina is actually a different amount of paste, and hence each give a different number of uses.

A 4g tube of MX-2 gives you about 1.1cc of paste, which is about 25-30 applications per tube.  This means MX-2 costs about $0.45 per application.
A 4g tube of Arctic Alumina gives you about 9cc of paste, which is about 190-200 applications per tube! This means Arctic Alumina costs about $0.05 per application!

So MX-2 costs 9 times as much, and give no temperature difference!:shadedshu


----------



## Delta6326 (Jul 2, 2010)

interesting never heard of Artic Silver Alumina


----------



## TheLaughingMan (Jul 2, 2010)

I knew this already, which is why the paste I bought was $4.99 and worked just as well as stuff twice its price.


----------



## Mussels (Jul 2, 2010)

its not about the temp difference, its about how long it lasts before drying up and needing to be replaced...


----------



## segalaw19800 (Jul 2, 2010)

I hate math..


----------



## trt740 (Jul 2, 2010)

Well I have to tell you Arctic Silver Alumina is no slouch as a cooling paste and maybe cheap now but was once a top dog paste. So to truely make a comparison you need to go cheaper than that, but almost all current and past (last 5 years) thermal past is decent stuff. I just used some Evercool thermal paste that came free with a N/B cooler years ago and it is great stuff. It is hard to find a bad thermal paste on the market these days. *FYI anything Artic Silver makes is top notch they were the orginal big name thermal paste company.* Also they are not affilated with Arctic cooling they made paste a long time before Arctic cooling made paste. They were first then Zalman etc.... and nothing could touch regular Arctic Silver for years. I think Almunia was made after because it doesn't conduct electricty and is easier to clean up, plus it's a bit cheaper to make because it use aluminum oxide instead of silver .


----------



## Mussels (Jul 2, 2010)

trt740 said:


> well I have to tell you Arctic Alumina  is no slouch as a cooling paste and maybe cheap now but was once a top dog paste.



indeed. it used to cost just as much as the new pastes do now.


----------



## LAN_deRf_HA (Jul 2, 2010)

I switched to OCZ freeze last time I ordered a tube, was 5 bucks, is the best performing no hassle paste, and will last me years... I might buy something bulk for client builds but honestly you can just use the intel thermal pads for most of those. So really you could say there's not much reason to skimp either. Just depends on how frequently you need it.


----------



## trt740 (Jul 2, 2010)

Here are some old  reviews Arctic Silver Alumina  
http://www.adriansrojakpot.com/Reviews/Arctic_Alumina/Alumina_05.htm

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/arcticalumina/ 

Here is the info on the grand daddy of all thermal paste companies Arctic Silver http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Silver

The reason you got such good results is because it is good stuff.


----------



## blkhogan (Jul 2, 2010)

Ive been using OCZ Freeze. Its cheap and matches any of my "higher" end greases. Will have to get a tube of AS Alumina and try it when I run out of OCZ. Thanks for the info. Always good to find ways to save some greenbacks.


----------



## surfingerman (Jul 2, 2010)

i will be loyal to the OCZ freeze  i will obey!, wait shh the OCZ is trying to tell me something!


----------



## surfingerman (Jul 2, 2010)

but seriously is anyone here addicted to heatsincs, i like their weight and how they feel, i have a whole box of I7 heatsincs i cant throw their copper goodness away, what a waste!, sometimes i put cooling paste on them just for fun and apply them to objects in the house and use a laser heat gun to measure the temperatures, i like heat sincs alot the problem is i can't throw them away and some have sharp corners and after handling them and feeling their cool radiant metallic glow all day my hands get scratched up sometimes, they feel good against the skin too


----------



## Kantastic (Jul 2, 2010)

surfingerman said:


> but seriously is anyone here addicted to heatsincs, i like their weight and how they feel, i have a whole box of I7 heatsincs i cant throw their copper goodness away, what a waste!, sometimes i put cooling paste on them just for fun and apply them to objects in the house and use a laser heat gun to measure the temperatures, i like heat sincs alot the problem is i can't throw them away and some have sharp corners and after handling them and feeling their cool radiant metallic glow all day my hands get scratched up sometimes, they feel good against the skin too



I will never look at you the same again.


----------



## m1dg3t (Jul 2, 2010)

I have always liked Arctic Allumina/Ceramique. I fnd they are easy to apply/clean, non-conductive, long "shelf life", very cost effective and cool pretty damn good for just a few $$$ Great TIM IMHO 

I do still have a small tube of as5 kicking around that i use for CPU's/GPU's but it need's to be swapped out every so often otherwise it dries up and is useless.

PS I preffer to use the Ceramique/Allumina for RAMsink's or anything else i wanna hot glue some sink's on to


----------



## Midnite8 (Jul 2, 2010)

I picked up some Type Z9 Heat Sink Compound from work that was just laying around, wonder if this is useable lol It's a huge tube


----------



## blkhogan (Jul 2, 2010)

surfingerman said:


> but seriously is anyone here addicted to heatsincs, i like their weight and how they feel, i have a whole box of I7 heatsincs i cant throw their copper goodness away, what a waste!, sometimes i put cooling paste on them just for fun and apply them to objects in the house and use a laser heat gun to measure the temperatures, i like heat sincs alot the problem is i can't throw them away and some have sharp corners and after handling them and feeling their cool radiant metallic glow all day my hands get scratched up sometimes, they feel good against the skin too


Edit: Stupid comment erased. Dont leave your rig alone while stupid drunk family members are around. :shadedshu


----------



## TIGR (Jul 2, 2010)

I foresee a thread full of anecdotal evidence with people swearing by completely different types of TIM and all being sure their type of TIM is "best."



surfingerman said:


> but seriously is anyone here addicted to heatsincs, i like their weight and how they feel, i have a whole box of I7 heatsincs i cant throw their copper goodness away, what a waste!, sometimes i put cooling paste on them just for fun and apply them to objects in the house and use a laser heat gun to measure the temperatures, i like heat sincs alot the problem is i can't throw them away and some have sharp corners and after handling them and feeling their cool radiant metallic glow all day my hands get scratched up sometimes, they feel good against the skin too



I just went and took this photo, just for you:







My only complaint is that there is no compatible backplate.


----------



## Thrackan (Jul 2, 2010)

On a scale of 10 to 15 bucks, I don't give a crap which paste is more expensive. My tube of MX-2 will most likely last me for more than 3 years, which ends up at about 5 bucks a year, and I won't be mad about 5 bucks a year


----------



## Perra (Jul 2, 2010)

MY tube of as5 has lasted my atleast 2 years now and it still has some life left in it. 12g, paid $15 for it or something like that. Not much considering how long it has lasted me 

Oh and it's still among the best out there according to that extensive TIM-review someone did, just wish I could find it again, it was an interesting read


----------



## TIGR (Jul 2, 2010)

Perra said:


> ....that extensive TIM-review someone did, just wish I could find it again, it was an interesting read



Maybe this?


----------



## hat (Jul 2, 2010)

I like MX-2 because it lasts like forever... it's easy to apply, easy to clean, and it's non-conductive. My tube has lasted me for a year or so and it's still more than halfway full, and I have used it like 10 times.


----------



## p_o_s_pc (Jul 2, 2010)

hat said:


> I like MX-2 because it lasts like forever... it's easy to apply, easy to clean, and it's non-conductive. My tube has lasted me for a year or so and it's still more than halfway full, and I have used it like 10 times.



I agree ^^
I have to say the more i use MX-2 and AS ceramique the more i like them both. I know the  ceramique is an older paste but it's been tried and proven for years now and is still the one i use most even after getting MX-2 and using it from time to time.


----------



## Champ (Jul 2, 2010)

Mussels said:


> its not about the temp difference, its about how long it lasts before drying up and needing to be replaced...



When I took my PC apart, the paste was dried up.  I thought it was suppose to do that?  Silly me.  That may explain why it slowly started running warmer.  It was Arctic 5.  I had the CPU a little over three years and never replaced it.


----------



## Mussels (Jul 2, 2010)

Champ said:


> When I took my PC apart, the paste was dried up.  I thought it was suppose to do that?  Silly me.  That may explain why it slowly started running warmer.  It was Arctic 5.  I had the CPU a little over three years and never replaced it.



they just dry out over time, its not a good thing.

Yes it can take years, but depending on temps, humidity and such it can dry out much quicker.


----------



## Perra (Jul 2, 2010)

TIGR said:


> Maybe this?



Yep, that was the one, cheers!


----------



## newtekie1 (Jul 2, 2010)

Mussels said:


> its not about the temp difference, its about how long it lasts before drying up and needing to be replaced...



Luckily, Artic Silver Alumina is supposed to never dry up.



trt740 said:


> Well I have to tell you Arctic Silver Alumina is no slouch as a cooling paste and maybe cheap now but was once a top dog paste. So to truely make a comparison you need to go cheaper than that, but almost all current and past (last 5 years) thermal past is decent stuff. I just used some Evercool thermal paste that came free with a N/B cooler years ago and it is great stuff. It is hard to find a bad thermal paste on the market these days. *FYI anything Artic Silver makes is top notch they were the orginal big name thermal paste company.* Also they are not affilated with Arctic cooling they made paste a long time before Arctic cooling made paste. They were first then Zalman etc.... and nothing could touch regular Arctic Silver for years. I think Almunia was made after because it doesn't conduct electricty and is easier to clean up, plus it's a bit cheaper to make because it use aluminum oxide instead of silver .



Very true, but today it is some of the cheapest stuff you can buy, it doesn't have any fancy glam attached to it, it is just a basic white paste that most people today would say you should avoid.

I mean, right now newegg has the 1.75g tube of Alumina for $8, that is the same amount of past as you get with the $13 MX-2.



hat said:


> I like MX-2 because it lasts like forever... it's easy to apply, easy to clean, and it's non-conductive. My tube has lasted me for a year or so and it's still more than halfway full, and I have used it like 10 times.



Actually, the Alumina paste I got is just as easy to apply, in terms of viscosity it is about the same as the MX-2.  It isn't hard and thick like Artic Silver 5.

I wish my MX-2 lasted forever, I had this tube about a 6 months.  But I replace a lot of thermal-paste.  Every time I clean out a computer(mine or a customer's or a friend's/relative's) I pull the heatsink off the processor and give it a good cleaning, which of course means I have to replace the TIM.  And I was reserving the MX-2 for myself at first, until I ran out of the two tubes of ThermalRight Chill Factor that came with my two TRUE heatsinks.



Champ said:


> When I took my PC apart, the paste was dried up.  I thought it was suppose to do that?  Silly me.  That may explain why it slowly started running warmer.  It was Arctic 5.  I had the CPU a little over three years and never replaced it.



I think Arctic Silver 5 is supposed to be replaced every year or so according to something I read, I'll try to find it again.


----------



## Kantastic (Jul 2, 2010)

Woah MX-2 is $13? I bought all my 4g tubes for $7 with the most recent purchase being like 2 months ago.


----------



## trt740 (Jul 2, 2010)

here is another great cheap brand  Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound  and you A/S/A will get better as it cures you may see a temp drop.


----------



## Bassman_soundking (Jul 2, 2010)

Mussels said:


> its not about the temp difference, its about how long it lasts before drying up and needing to be replaced...



How long does paste typically take to dry out and require re-application?


----------



## Bassman_soundking (Jul 2, 2010)

surfingerman said:


> but seriously is anyone here addicted to heatsincs, i like their weight and how they feel, i have a whole box of I7 heatsincs i cant throw their copper goodness away, what a waste!, sometimes i put cooling paste on them just for fun and apply them to objects in the house and use a laser heat gun to measure the temperatures, i like heat sincs alot the problem is i can't throw them away and some have sharp corners and after handling them and feeling their cool radiant metallic glow all day my hands get scratched up sometimes, they feel good against the skin too



I needed a good laugh, and this was the ticket. U sir are over the top....lol
I have the same obsession with sub-woofers...cant throw em away.


----------



## hat (Jul 2, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> Actually, the Alumina paste I got is just as easy to apply, in terms of viscosity it is about the same as the MX-2.  It isn't hard and thick like Artic Silver 5.
> 
> I wish my MX-2 lasted forever, I had this tube about a 6 months.  But I replace a lot of thermal-paste.  Every time I clean out a computer(mine or a customer's or a friend's/relative's) I pull the heatsink off the processor and give it a good cleaning, which of course means I have to replace the TIM.  And I was reserving the MX-2 for myself at first, until I ran out of the two tubes of ThermalRight Chill Factor that came with my two TRUE heatsinks.



I meant lasting forever as in how long it lasts once it's been applied, not how long the tube is around for.


----------



## cdawall (Jul 2, 2010)

i like my nactua NT-H1 works  smidge better than ocz freeze


----------



## erocker (Jul 2, 2010)

I actually like this Zalmann stuff I have in a jar with a brush on the lid. I wish most thermal paste would come that way. I got two of the big tubes of MX-3 for a sweet deal though, so I'm using that at the moment.


----------



## m1dg3t (Jul 2, 2010)

IME i would say that as5 need's to be swapped out every 6 - 12 month's for best performance


----------



## newtekie1 (Jul 3, 2010)

hat said:


> I meant lasting forever as in how long it lasts once it's been applied, not how long the tube is around for.



Ah, yeah.  Arctic Silver Alumina lasts forever according to the product page.

Though I'm usually changing processors, or at least removing the heatsink for cleaning at least once a year anyway, so it doesn't particularly matter if the paste dries up after 2 years of use...


----------



## zithe (Jul 3, 2010)

surfingerman said:


> but seriously is anyone here addicted to heatsincs, i like their weight and how they feel, i have a whole box of I7 heatsincs i cant throw their copper goodness away, what a waste!, sometimes i put cooling paste on them just for fun and apply them to objects in the house and use a laser heat gun to measure the temperatures, i like heat sincs alot the problem is i can't throw them away and some have sharp corners and after handling them and feeling their cool radiant metallic glow all day my hands get scratched up sometimes, they feel good against the skin too



I think you may have a copper fetish. This is extremely common and it's normal to feel confused.


----------



## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 3, 2010)

nice CD i use NT H1 from noctua as well non conductive easy to spread works like a charm hell i even used it on my buds PS3 when it got the ylod we tore it down replaced used the heat gun trick and replaced the tim with NT H1 made a nice difference as his machine was nearly constantly overheating


----------



## Fatal (Jul 3, 2010)

MG Chemicals 860 Silicone HTC Zinc Oxide Grease 

http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/860.html

Works great used others but the amount you get for the price is worth it.


----------



## blkhogan (Jul 3, 2010)

cdawall said:


> i like my nactua NT-H1 works  smidge better than ocz freeze


Ive got a small amount of that laying around. Hmmmm.... Might have to try it on my htpc build.


----------



## crazyeyesreaper (Jul 3, 2010)

its good stuff blk i went from AS 5  to NT H1 and theres no temp difference for me between them on my old 940be i cant say on my 965 as i no longer have the AS5


----------



## surfingerman (Jul 3, 2010)

> but seriously is anyone here addicted to heatsincs, i like their weight and how they feel, i have a whole box of I7 heatsincs i cant throw their copper goodness away, what a waste!, sometimes i put cooling paste on them just for fun and apply them to objects in the house and use a laser heat gun to measure the temperatures, i like heat sincs alot the problem is i can't throw them away and some have sharp corners and after handling them and feeling their cool radiant metallic glow all day my hands get scratched up sometimes, they feel good against the skin too



lol OMG, WTF happened LOL, someone is going to pay!


----------



## Bassman_soundking (Jul 3, 2010)

I use bbq sauce






No really I have Arctic Silver Thermique. I dont see any difference honestly from the one that came with my Zalman cooler I had b4.

I have never tried it, but is there really a temp difference If I use no paste?


I noticed a gradual (over 2 weeks) increase in tepms after applying the creamique. reapplied it temps r down again and now on the rise again. It is like a 5*C difference. I got the creamique because radio shack owed me money and it was on a card, and they didnt have anything better.


----------



## Nick89 (Jul 3, 2010)

I still use Arctic Silver 5. >_>



surfingerman said:


> but seriously is anyone here addicted to heatsincs, i like their weight and how they feel, i have a whole box of I7 heatsincs i cant throw their copper goodness away, what a waste!, sometimes i put cooling paste on them just for fun and apply them to objects in the house and use a laser heat gun to measure the temperatures, i like heat sincs alot the problem is i can't throw them away and some have sharp corners and after handling them and feeling their cool radiant metallic glow all day my hands get scratched up sometimes, they feel good against the skin too



I....I know what you mean.


----------



## BeepBeep2 (Jul 3, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> I finally used up the last of my MX-2 this week.  I was going to order some MX-3, but I couldn't find any in stock.  I thought about just ordering some more MX-2, but it is $13 shipped for a 4g tube.  Then I saw that a 14g tube of Artic Silver Alumina was only $10 shipped, so I said screw it and ordered that.
> 
> It came in today, and the first thing I did was replace the MX-2 on my i7 just to see what the Alumina was capable of.  To my surprise there was no temp difference under load according to Realtemp and CoreTemp...
> 
> ...



You had a bad mount with the MX-2.

Arctic Alumina sucks. Worse than AS3, worse than Ceramique, worse than AS5, worse than OCZ Freeze, worse than Chill Factor, worse than TX-1, wors than MX-1, worse than MX2, worse than TX-2, worse than MX3, worse than TX-3...

You get the picture.

If the mounts are right, then Arctic Alumina will be 5c worse than MX-3.


----------



## Wile E (Jul 4, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> I finally used up the last of my MX-2 this week.  I was going to order some MX-3, but I couldn't find any in stock.  I thought about just ordering some more MX-2, but it is $13 shipped for a 4g tube.  Then I saw that a 14g tube of Artic Silver Alumina was only $10 shipped, so I said screw it and ordered that.
> 
> It came in today, and the first thing I did was replace the MX-2 on my i7 just to see what the Alumina was capable of.  To my surprise there was no temp difference under load according to Realtemp and CoreTemp...
> 
> ...


I just like MX-2 because it's easy to spread and the fact that it's non-conductive, and doesn't dry up. It's just a personal preference as opposed to a performance difference for me.

Really, you'll only see a degree or 2 difference tops between most pastes.


----------



## trt740 (Jul 4, 2010)

Wile E said:


> I just like MX-2 because it's easy to spread and the fact that it's non-conductive, and doesn't dry up.
> 
> Really, you'll only see a degree or 2 difference tops between most pastes.



WilE remember back in the day when AMD and Intel would void your warranty if you used Thermal paste. They said it was useless. I think with newer heatsinks it's getting more and more uselss.


----------



## Wile E (Jul 4, 2010)

trt740 said:


> WilE remember back in the day when AMD and Intel would void your warranty if you used Thermal paste. They said it was useless. I think with newer heatsinks it's getting more and more uselss.



Lol. Back before heatspreaders. Yeah, I remember.

But yeah, as long as you have something under there, it doesn't matter much. The only time it would matter is if you are pushing it to the edge, or extreme cooling.



BeepBeep2 said:


> You had a bad mount with the MX-2.
> 
> Arctic Alumina sucks. Worse than AS3, worse than Ceramique, worse than AS5, worse than OCZ Freeze, worse than Chill Factor, worse than TX-1, wors than MX-1, worse than MX2, worse than TX-2, worse than MX3, worse than TX-3...
> 
> ...



You can't say it would be 5C worse. It depends on the heat output of the cpu and the heatsink. A low heat output cpu isn't going to see much difference at all. The crappy silicon paste would work fine in those situations. The effectiveness of thermal paste is way overblown for the average enthusiast.


----------



## Mussels (Jul 4, 2010)

Wile E said:


> You can't say it would be 5C worse. It depends on the heat output of the cpu and the heatsink. A low heat output cpu isn't going to see much difference at all. The crappy silicon paste would work fine in those situations. The effectiveness of thermal paste is way overblown for the average enthusiast.



^ that

if you have cool running hardware, thermal paste wont matter much. If its idling, it will matter even less.

We use expensive TIM on high end heatsinks with hot CPU's that are OC'd - if you're using expensive paste on stock cooling at stock clocks and volts, of course it will make no difference.


----------



## Necrofire (Jul 4, 2010)

Same, I've applied enough different thermal pastes to know that the difference between the crappy silicon paste and anything else is negligible.

My friend bought a tube of "daimond paste" not too long ago because it was on sale and as cheap as the cheap stuff. I can say that it doesn't perform any different, but it sure does go on a lot easier than AS5.


----------



## newtekie1 (Jul 4, 2010)

BeepBeep2 said:


> You had a bad mount with the MX-2.
> 
> Arctic Alumina sucks. Worse than AS3, worse than Ceramique, worse than AS5, worse than OCZ Freeze, worse than Chill Factor, worse than TX-1, wors than MX-1, worse than MX2, worse than TX-2, worse than MX3, worse than TX-3...
> 
> ...



I guess you didn't read this posted earlier?

Arctic Alumina is _better_ than AS3, _better_ than Ceramique, less than 1°C worse than AS5, less than 0.5°C worse than OCZ Freeze, _better_ than Chill Factor, _better_ than MX-1, less than 1°C worse than MX-2, less than 1°C worse than TX-2, less than 1°C worse than TX-3...

Yeah, I get the picture.  The mount is perfect on both my MX-2 and the Arctic Silver Alumina.  How do I know? Because their test shows less than 1°C difference between MX-2 and Alumina too.



Mussels said:


> ^ that
> 
> if you have cool running hardware, thermal paste wont matter much. If its idling, it will matter even less.
> 
> We use expensive TIM on high end heatsinks with hot CPU's that are OC'd - if you're using expensive paste on stock cooling at stock clocks and volts, of course it will make no difference.



So an i7 875K@3.6GHz with a TRUE is cool running hardware with the stock cooler and stock clocks and volts?  Interesting, I've been totally misinformed...

No, expensive TIM doesn't matter on high end heatsinks with hot CPU's that are OC'd either, because that is specifically what I tested it on...



Necrofire said:


> Same, I've applied enough different thermal pastes to know that the difference between the crappy silicon paste and anything else is negligible.
> 
> My friend bought a tube of "daimond paste" not too long ago because it was on sale and as cheap as the cheap stuff. I can say that it doesn't perform any different, but it sure does go on a lot easier than AS5.



Yep, in fact the 80 way TIM shootout shows that there is less than a 5°C between the absolute worst paste and the absolute best.


----------



## de.das.dude (Jul 4, 2010)

Mussels said:


> its not about the temp difference, its about how long it lasts before drying up and needing to be replaced...



correct, i use toothpaste and replace once every weeks.


----------



## Bassman_soundking (Jul 4, 2010)

My BBQ sauce works great and smells great too when temps go up!


----------



## Inioch (Jul 4, 2010)

Here's one recent review with:


> * Intel QX9650 @ 4000Mhz @ 1,325 Volt
> * Thermalright IFX-14 + Noiseblocker NB-Multiframe M12-P - PWM
> * EVGA 790i Sli FTW Digital
> * XFX 8800 Ultra








Source


----------



## SystemViper (Jul 4, 2010)

I  am a big Arctic Silver Ceramique fan for 24/7  , when i am benching i use the cheap stuff and the grey stuff, goes on easy and comes off even easier...

but when it comes time to do the final install it's always Arctic Silver Ceramique , give it time to set up and it';s #1 to me!


----------



## DonInKansas (Jul 4, 2010)

TIGR said:


> I just went and took this photo, just for you:
> 
> http://www.tigrcs.com/1/img/tpu/rumhsf.jpg
> 
> My only complaint is that there is no compatible backplate.



TIGR and the Captain make overclocking happen.


----------



## segalaw19800 (Jul 4, 2010)

Dose any one know what tim is under the  integrated Heat Spreader on the cpu


----------



## Mr McC (Jul 4, 2010)

I used to worry about different grades of paste, but the last I heard most companies have now come up to scratch, so I just use whatever comes with the cooler.


----------



## 2wicked (Jul 5, 2010)

Fatal said:


> MG Chemicals 860 Silicone HTC Zinc Oxide Grease
> 
> http://www.mgchemicals.com/products/860.html
> 
> Works great used others but the amount you get for the price is worth it.



Zinc Oxide is what they use in ointments like diaper rash cream.
lol


----------



## Fatal (Jul 5, 2010)

2wicked said:


> Zinc Oxide is what they use in ointments like diaper rash cream.
> lol



 Well it seems to keep my temps close to the other pastes I have used. So when I need to apply TIM again if my wife asks what I am doing I will say my baby has a rash


----------



## de.das.dude (Jul 5, 2010)

segalaw19800 said:


> Dose any one know what tim is under the  integrated Heat Spreader on the cpu



O M F G!!
HOW'D U TAKE IT OFF!!


----------



## Meizuman (Jul 8, 2010)

In MetalPad I trust, for now. Both CPU and heatsink lapped, for maximum contact.


----------



## BeepBeep2 (Jul 8, 2010)

newtekie1 said:


> I guess you didn't read this posted earlier?
> 
> Arctic Alumina is _better_ than AS3, _better_ than Ceramique, less than 1°C worse than AS5, less than 0.5°C worse than OCZ Freeze, _better_ than Chill Factor, _better_ than MX-1, less than 1°C worse than MX-2, less than 1°C worse than TX-2, less than 1°C worse than TX-3...
> 
> ...




LOL.

You wanna say that again?






The Cooler Master paste is your basic generic paste. The Difference between AS5 and MX-2 is 3c. With a headload of 192w, it's about the same as an average i7 @ 3.6 Ghz.











Test was done with five different mounts, and a 1055T @ 3.85 Ghz / 1.62v.

Two MCR320, six Yate Loon 2200RPM High speed. Laing DDC 3.2, Koolance CPU-360, Laing D5 @ setting 5.


----------



## p_o_s_pc (Jul 8, 2010)

so from the look of those charts i need to get some better paste for my i7 and that may help bring down temps alittle(as if 55c on a i7 920@3.9ghz was bad)


----------



## Perra (Jul 8, 2010)

BeepBeep2 said:


> The Cooler Master paste is your basic generic paste. The Difference between AS5 and MX-2 is 3c. With a headload of 192w, it's about the same as an average i7 @ 3.6 Ghz.



You forgot to mention that he states that something was off with as5 in that review, performed much worse than it did in his last review on an intel where the difference between as5 and mx-2 is 0.4 degrees... Link


----------



## BeepBeep2 (Jul 8, 2010)

Different CPU, different heatload, different temperature sensor...

But that is quite interesting.

Dated a year back.


----------



## newtekie1 (Jul 8, 2010)

BeepBeep2 said:


> LOL.
> 
> You wanna say that again?
> 
> ...



Yes, I will say it again, because that guy can't test thermal paste, he is an idiot and can never get it right.  He can't even duplicate his own results, in fact in one test he puts MX-2 and AS5 neck and neck, then in the results you posted, he puts them way apart!

I'll believe the 80 TIM shootout results more than his, especialy since it is backed up by my own experience, and many other more experienced people.


----------



## trt740 (Jul 8, 2010)

Try your heatsink without paste. I'm betting you see little difference watch and see. Atleast with a quality cooler thats flat.


----------



## de.das.dude (Jul 8, 2010)

^ +1 to that, i dont use toothpaste anymore, its not necessary if the base of the cooler is really flat.

and if you want to make it flat, you can try very fine sandpaper.

or maybe apply a layer of solder(this hasnt been tested be me yet)?? pure clean solder makes really flat surfaces.


----------



## Naekuh (Jul 9, 2010)

Mussels said:


> its not about the temp difference, its about how long it lasts before drying up and needing to be replaced...



well the main reason why I and many testers like Skinnee and vapor use MX-2 is because of the repeatable mounts you get with it. 

MX-2 just applys overall better so you get more constant mounts, and less variation on cores.


----------



## Perra (Jul 9, 2010)

BeepBeep2 said:


> Different CPU, different heatload, different temperature sensor...
> 
> But that is quite interesting.
> 
> Dated a year back.



Yeah well you were the one who compared the amd and intel to begin with 

Different heatload, yup, it's a bigger heatload in the old test. ( unless I am mistaken? )

The only sensors that are different are the built-in sensors on the chips, rest is the same. And Intel has 4 sensors on the processor, while AMD has 1. He even states that the amd sensor is unrealistic in its readouts.

A year back, what has that got to do with anything, has the as5 somehow gotten worse since then?


----------



## Morgoth (Jul 10, 2010)

i used a diomand based paste expensive it is works realy good
atleast in the netherlands
in us around 7 us dollar
http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/ic-diamond-7-carat-thermal-compound-15-gram-p-16605.html


----------



## danwat1234 (Jun 3, 2013)

*Coollaboratory liquid ultra; expensive but crappy*

Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra isn't all that good after a year of hard use (around 85 C almost 24/7). In fact, it completely hardens / dries. On my X9100 after 9 months I started seeing high temps and after 1 year auto shut downs while crunching. Turns out it was shutting off because it hit the 105 C thermal protection.
Opened it up; thermal compound was as hard as a rock. has to pocket knife blade and sand it down.
So for longevity it sucks.
So yea, expensive pastes sometimes aren't very good in the long run!
Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra thermal compound dries...

I did some research and I just bought 4g of Arctic MX2 for cheap on Ebay. I like how they say that it will last at least 8 years before needing to be replaced. Important in a long term gaming laptop.


----------



## drdeathx (Jun 3, 2013)

Thrackan said:


> On a scale of 10 to 15 bucks, I don't give a crap which paste is more expensive. My tube of MX-2 will most likely last me for more than 3 years, which ends up at about 5 bucks a year, and I won't be mad about 5 bucks a year



Not me, I went through at least 10 tubes of TIM  in the last 1.5 years


----------



## LagunaX (Jun 3, 2013)

Mussels said:


> its not about the temp difference, its about how long it lasts before drying up and needing to be replaced...



And the certain TIM's with pump out effect after several months...

Fan of MX-2 and MX-4.  How it just spreads and covers uneven areas ( i.e. unlapped CPU's ) and how easily it cleans off is great.

Liked IC Diamond 7 too but the diamond actually wore off the CPU markings on the CPUs I didn't lap.

No pump out effect with either.


----------



## johnspack (Jun 3, 2013)

Just get mx-2,  or mx-4,  or arctic silver 5...  the difference is like 1 or 2c.  It's mainly about how you like to apply it.  If you do it right,  mx-4 spreads just as evenly as as5 or whatever.  I get better temps with mx-4,  but it could just be a placebo effect..  who knows.  Use whatever works best for you,  period.


----------



## Frick (Jun 3, 2013)

surfingerman said:


> but seriously is anyone here addicted to heatsincs, i like their weight and how they feel, i have a whole box of I7 heatsincs i cant throw their copper goodness away, what a waste!, sometimes i put cooling paste on them just for fun and apply them to objects in the house and use a laser heat gun to measure the temperatures, i like heat sincs alot the problem is i can't throw them away and some have sharp corners and after handling them and feeling their cool radiant metallic glow all day my hands get scratched up sometimes, they feel good against the skin too



This needs to be quoted.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Jun 3, 2013)

I used to run MX-3, but it was pretty thick and didn't spread well. Right when they released MX-4 I grabbed some and its quite a bit better. Spreads perfectly nearly every time. Not to thick or thin.


----------



## newtekie1 (Jun 3, 2013)

Wow, 3 years and this topic is back from the grave!

I'd just like to point out that I'm still using the tube Arctic Silver Aluminia, you just get so much for the price it is ridiculous.


----------



## Melvis (Jun 5, 2013)

I learnt this a very long time ago, the expensive stuff is way over rated.

I use a brand called Duratech and its been fantastic for me over the last 6+ Yrs. Cost about $5 AUS per tub. Its that good that my old FX-57 rig still has the original Duratech paste on it from 2006 and keeps the CPU so cool that the fan turns off when not under load. (20-25c) Stock cooler.


----------



## Naito (Jun 5, 2013)

Melvis said:


> I learnt this a very long time ago, the expensive stuff is way over rated.
> 
> I use a brand called Duratech and its been fantastic for me over the last 6+ Yrs. Cost about $5 AUS per tub. Its that good that my old FX-57 rig still has the original Duratech paste on it from 2006 and keeps the CPU so cool that the fan turns off when not under load. (20-25c) Stock cooler.



Looks like something you can buy at Jaycar.


----------



## Melvis (Jun 5, 2013)

Naito said:


> Looks like something you can buy at Jaycar.



You would be correct


----------



## DinaAngel (Jun 5, 2013)

Inioch said:


> Here's one recent review with:
> 
> 
> http://www.xpert-oc-team.de/forum/v...es/original_images/rz_30_waermeleitpasten0134
> Source


im using the Liquid Ultra for my phase cooler and waterblocks i totally recomend it but be careful as it leads electricity since its metal, and its a great conductor!


----------



## Vario (Jun 8, 2013)

Liquid Ultra is the only one I have had any luck with, everything else seems to perform exactly the same.  Liquid Pro is too hard to use and actually gave worse results than ultra most of the time because it took more luck than anything to get it to apply just right.  I use AS5 most of the time but my delid and h100i have ultra.


----------



## Peter1986C (Jun 8, 2013)

Coolink Chillaramic :thumbsup:
It's not electrically conductive, affordable and works well. According to Coollink 10g is enough for about 30 applications, but I think it is way more than that.


----------



## Jstn7477 (Jun 8, 2013)

I bought a 20g tube of Arctic MX-4 off Newegg for $20 last week. The tube is quite huge and I have barely used any for the several applications I have done already. Liquid Pro/Ultra is pretty much needed for delids though because MX-4 loses most of its effectiveness pretty quickly after a couple hours to a few days under the IHS from what I personally see. My thermals on my 3770K are only slightly better than before the delid now.


----------



## ogharaei (Jun 9, 2013)

PK-3 is good. I have some Liquid Ultra but am too lazy to apply it right now, and I dont't think it will make much of a difference.


----------



## Jstn7477 (Jun 9, 2013)

The problem with Liquid Pro/Ultra is that it hardens into essentially a solder and it will dissolve aluminum, so usually it's just good for delidded Intel processors. Otherwise, it will form a near permanent bond with your cooler and you may have to lap both surfaces to restore them to a usable state of the bond is broken.


----------



## Ikaruga (Jun 9, 2013)

There was a review many years ago which proved that Grandma's different kind of home made jams/jellys (dunno which is the right word for the flowing type in English) are just as good as any custom thermal paste. It was shocking and I truly loved that experiment. Sadly the guy did not test how long were the jams effective, which would have been the more important question imo.

Back to the subject; I personally tried many and settled with the Noctua NT-H1, and I'm very satisfied.


edit:


surfingerman said:


> but seriously is anyone here addicted to heatsincs, i like their weight and how they feel, i have a whole box of I7 heatsincs i cant throw their copper goodness away, what a waste!, sometimes i put cooling paste on them just for fun and apply them to objects in the house and use a laser heat gun to measure the temperatures, i like heat sincs alot the problem is i can't throw them away and some have sharp corners and after handling them and feeling their cool radiant metallic glow all day my hands get scratched up sometimes, they feel good against the skin too



You dear sir, just won the Internet for today


----------



## Jetster (Jun 9, 2013)

You get more of a change with lapping then TP


----------



## silkstone (Jun 9, 2013)

I'm still using my tube of OCZ Freeze from about 4 years ago. It's lasted quite a few applications, but I rarely take of the HS once it's on properly.

(For some reason I thought I was using MX-2 until I saw the tube)


----------



## laptop-hpc (Jun 9, 2013)

I recently re-pasted an older laptop with an i3-2330M in it, just to experiment with 
different stuff, and found the stock paste wasn't too bad for once. 

Max core temps were about 74C before changing anything.

First I tried some zinc oxide ointment, and surprisingly max temps were around 76C. That stuff is probably 10 years old. 

Next, what I'm using now, Vaseline gave max temps of about 73C.
The machine has been running at 100% CPU for over a week now 24/7, and temps haven't risen at all. 

I don't think I'll bother with high end paste after this, at least for stock components.


----------



## micropage7 (Jun 9, 2013)

laptop-hpc said:


> Next, what I'm using now, Vaseline gave max temps of about 73C.
> The machine has been running at 100% CPU for over a week now 24/7, and temps haven't risen at all.


vaseline? really?
wait i google for a while and yes 
http://www.overclockers.com/homemade-thermal-grease/

i never use expensive paste, i rather lapping and using less paste to make sure heat transfer


----------



## DinaAngel (Jun 9, 2013)

Jstn7477 said:


> The problem with Liquid Pro/Ultra is that it hardens into essentially a solder and it will dissolve aluminum, so usually it's just good for delidded Intel processors. Otherwise, it will form a near permanent bond with your cooler and you may have to lap both surfaces to restore them to a usable state of the bond is broken.


only pro, the ultra is allways liquid, iv had no issues separating waterblock and cpu.
its actually the reason i didnt get pro. problem is that it conducts electric current like a solid metal like copper just as good, its a very delicate job to take it on a cpu, i used 1,5 hours to fully place the ultra over the cpu, since u dont need much of the paste, its liquid so u only need one drop then u take it over the cpu slowly and gently. i got -60 degrees on average there but its still working perfectly, funny fact is that i tried the pro on a 7990 with the evaporator for ln2 and its still stuck on it, i think the pcb would break before the paste


----------



## niko084 (Jun 14, 2013)

Agreed and glad someone said it... I can't explain how many times I've had people cry about thermal paste... Seriously if temps are THAT important, get a better cooler... 

Thermal paste wont vary when properly used (without extreme cases like seriously warped IHS) by more than maybe a single degree... I've wasted countless hours myself testing it.

Then again single degree? How many other factors that I didn't know could do the same? Was I breathing in that general direction? 



All that being said I buy large amounts of a basic silicon paste and mix in some nice diamond powder.
Why? So I can feel good about it and it sounds really cool to customers! (Silver? why so cheap?)


----------



## DinaAngel (Jun 14, 2013)

niko084 said:


> Agreed and glad someone said it... I can't explain how many times I've had people cry about thermal paste... Seriously if temps are THAT important, get a better cooler...
> 
> Thermal paste wont vary when properly used (without extreme cases like seriously warped IHS) by more than maybe a single degree... I've wasted countless hours myself testing it.
> 
> ...


 aww i couldnt hold back posting a test i did with a test bench


----------



## xvi (Jun 14, 2013)

DinaAngel said:


> aww i couldnt hold back posting a test i did with a test bench
> http://puu.sh/38QWp



That last one there.. Grilled processor sandwich?


----------



## DinaAngel (Jun 14, 2013)

xvi said:


> That last one there.. Grilled processor sandwich?


the cheese melted lilbit but i wouldnt recomend it for more than 30 minutes 
it was propperly cleaned between each test using alcohol, not the stuff you drink, thats for other times, i tried once to put alcohol as waterloop, it worked for awhile but hoses got brown and i dont even have a idea what happened but that was just a test for fun. the smells, i used gloves and face mask for such experiements


----------



## danwat1234 (Jun 15, 2013)

amp281 said:


> Liquid Ultra is the only one I have had any luck with, everything else seems to perform exactly the same.  Liquid Pro is too hard to use and actually gave worse results than ultra most of the time because it took more luck than anything to get it to apply just right.  I use AS5 most of the time but my delid and h100i have ultra.



But how many years did it take before the Liquid Ultra dried up and became less conductive?
Maybe the batch I have is flawed or I am harder on the thermal compound than most people - 85-95 degrees Celsius nearly 24/7
I think the next compound I'll use is Arctic MX2 since it supposedly has a durability of 8 years.


----------



## DinaAngel (Jun 15, 2013)

danwat1234 said:


> But how many years did it take before the Liquid Ultra dried up and became less conductive?
> Maybe the batch I have is flawed or I am harder on the thermal compound than most people - 85-95 degrees Celsius nearly 24/7
> I think the next compound I'll use is Arctic MX2 since it supposedly has a durability of 8 years.


 i doesnt think it will ever dry up, maybe in 250 years, its mostly only metal,
i believe they are based off the structure of gallium,
it might degrade into some lower elements in 6700000 years but i doubt i will be alive that long,
i might be wrong

Edit: its still liquid after year or so on my table


----------



## Grnfinger (Jun 15, 2013)

BeepBeep2 said:


> LOL.
> 
> You wanna say that again?
> 
> ...





I bought Indigo extreme for my 1366 chip and never used it, running the chip up to 100c is not really a smart idea imo.
Wonder if I could use it on my 3570K the whole kit is unused and it was expensive iirc


----------



## danwat1234 (Jun 17, 2013)

DinaAngel said:


> i doesnt think it will ever dry up, maybe in 250 years, its mostly only metal,
> i believe they are based off the structure of gallium,
> it might degrade into some lower elements in 6700000 years but i doubt i will be alive that long,
> i might be wrong
> ...



Mine dried up completely within 1 year installed. Had to use a razor blade and sanding paper to remove the application. There is no aluminum in the heatsink so it wasn't corrosion that caused it. The remaining in the tube is still a liquid of course.


----------



## DinaAngel (Jun 17, 2013)

danwat1234 said:


> Mine dried up completely within 1 year installed. Had to use a razor blade and sanding paper to remove the application. There is no aluminum in the heatsink so it wasn't corrosion that caused it. The remaining in the tube is still a liquid of course.


 pro and ultra are the same almost, since i had some i spilled on my desk and its been there over a year and its still perfectly liquid.

this is the details off that ultra, goes the same for pro i think i saw, not detailed however but both leads electric current and melts at 8 Centigrades,
just heat it up and u can separate it 8 degrees celsius, same goes for me with my ln2 block 
also its impossible to dry up, its 100% alloy,
also it doesn't corrode anything, it makes aluminium soft as butter as gallium loves to do that,
taking it off aluminium as panic does not help as it goes into the metal, but it needs around 30 minutes depending the size of the block,
example if u put it on a car engine it would go into the aluminium and make it insanely alot weaker, it might even given in on itself
if you have a aluminium engine ofc like alot of race cars does and newer car models,
it doesnt need much but theres a math label i got somewhere

it contains 
Chemical characterization:
Alloy of the metal components gallium, indium, rhodium, silver, zinc and stannous, bismuth; 
suspended in a graphite-copper matrix
.
Contents materials: GALLIUM CAS-Nr.: 7440-55-3 EG-Nr.: 231-163-8

pH-value (20 °C) not applicable
Melting point (°C) 8°C
Boiling point (°C) > 1350 °C
Inflammability (°C) not applicable
flash point (°C) not applicable
Vapour pressure (°C) <10-8Torr bei 500 °C
Density (g/cm3) 6,85g/cm3
bulk density (kg/m3) not applicable
Solubility in water ( 20°C in g/l) insoluble
Solubility in organic solvents insoluble
dynamic viscosity
(mPa s/20° C)
0,0018
lower explosion limit not applicable
upper explosion limit not applicable
Electrically conductivity 7,28*106 S/m

source: http://www.coollaboratory.com/pdf/safetydatasheet_liquid_ultra_englisch.pdf
on detail 9.2

as a note i noticed it has alot of graphite in it, thats why its better than the diamond paste


----------



## GreiverBlade (Jun 17, 2013)

DinaAngel said:


> aww i couldnt hold back posting a test i did with a test bench
> http://puu.sh/38QWp



personal lubrication??? wtf?  ewwwww i just hope its the upper side personal lubrication...


----------



## DinaAngel (Jun 17, 2013)

GreiverBlade said:


> personal lubrication??? wtf?  ewwwww i just hope its the upper side personal lubrication...


who doesn't use it! 
that should been the next poll on the TPU site


----------



## GreiverBlade (Jun 17, 2013)

DinaAngel said:


> who doesn't use it!



indeed ... and for adding thermal crap to it ... : NEVER EVER IN ETERNITY USE Spire Bluefrost...

oh it lowered th temp of my X4 955BE from 5c but totally not worth it against other past ... i think i re order myself a tube of AC MX4 (i mean 5c from the pre applied corsair H60 pad ... MX4 give me 9-10c on the last test but with 5 rig needing a Thermal past change i ran out before doing the main rig and my supplier had only Spire Thermal past)

Spire BlueWorst that is


----------



## DinaAngel (Jun 17, 2013)

GreiverBlade said:


> indeed ... and for adding thermal crap to it ... : NEVER EVER IN ETERNITY USE Spire Bluefrost...
> 
> oh it lowered th temp of my X4 955BE from 5c but totally not worth it against other past ... i think i re order myself a tube of AC MX4 (i mean 5c from the pre applied corsair H60 pad ... MX4 give me 9-10c on the last test but with 5 rig needing a Thermal past change i ran out before doing the main rig and my supplier had only Spire Thermal past)
> 
> Spire BlueWorst that is


never even heard of that paste
use butter! its the best


----------



## VulkanBros (Jun 17, 2013)

GreiverBlade said:


> indeed ... and for adding thermal crap to it ... : NEVER EVER IN ETERNITY USE Spire Bluefrost...
> 
> oh it lowered th temp of my X4 955BE from 5c but totally not worth it against other past ... i think i re order myself a tube of AC MX4 (i mean 5c from the pre applied corsair H60 pad ... MX4 give me 9-10c on the last test but with 5 rig needing a Thermal past change i ran out before doing the main rig and my supplier had only Spire Thermal past)
> 
> Spire BlueWorst that is



The official specs for the Spire Bluefrost says: "BlueFrost
thermal compound will begin to function at its optimum potential, after
a gradual increase in heat-dissipation, approximately 168 hours
after initial application".

I am not defending Spire - never used it - just for info


----------



## Hayder_Master (Jun 17, 2013)

for me i am tried mx4 and see there is a bit of performance over mx-2 so i am stick with mx-4


----------



## de.das.dude (Jun 17, 2013)

i use cheap ass 20$ CM one.


----------



## Ephremius (Jun 17, 2013)

I went from Arctic MX-2 to IC Diamond 24 carat, and I noticed idle temps were the same but at load, I was getting 4 Celsius better on my gpu and about 3 Celsius better on my cpu after a few days of testing/burn in.

Got it for $15 free ship no tax off platinum micro, best $15 I ever spent.


----------

