# Generic Thermal paste VS Other Non-Generic Brands



## tkpenalty (Jan 15, 2007)

So guys, here I am again to ask about this tube of generic thermal paste from balance stars. So far it has impressed me by lowering the temps on my P4SBeholder+, when compared to stock thermal crap. Here are the specs of it:



> Thermal Conductivity:>0.95/m-k
> Thermal Resistance: <0.229*C-in^2/W



Tell me how well it will compare with these products:

-Arctic Silver Ceramique
-Arctic Silver 5
-Stock Zalman Thermal Paste.

Btw, something else, is it normal to have temps of 40*C when Idle for a C2D? I find it sort of odd that its so called "Low wattage" produces that much heat. Im using a CNPS7700 CU so how would the temps compare to you guys?


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## p-jack (Jan 15, 2007)

specs for arctic silver 5:



> Specifications:
> 
> Thermal Conductance:
> >350,000W/m2 °C (0.001 inch layer)
> ...



specs for arctic silver ceramique:



> Specifications:
> 
> Thermal Conductance:
> >200,000W/m2.°C (0.001 inch layer)
> ...




compared with these, that generic stuff looks pretty poor imo...


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## Wile E (Jan 15, 2007)

Yeah, I say just go with the proven performer, and go with AS5.


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## tkpenalty (Jan 15, 2007)

Fine, compare it with Zalman VS Generic


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## OOTay (Jan 15, 2007)

no need for comparison, the obvious answer is AS5 it doesn't even cost much.


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## tkpenalty (Jan 15, 2007)

OOTay said:


> no need for comparison, the obvious answer is AS5 it doesn't even cost much.



I said compare Zalman and Generic  , my god damn parents don't let me spend $15AUD D:


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## OOTay (Jan 15, 2007)

tkpenalty said:


> I said compare Zalman and Generic  , my god damn parents don't let me spend $15AUD D:



time for a job? maybe lil bit of male gigolo action, thats my profession.


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## Scavar (Jan 15, 2007)

40C idle isn't terrible. Just make sure your case has good Airflow. I have mine on stock cooling, but my ambient temperture is always freezing because I live in FL so my AC is always on. Mine idles at around 36c or so with AS5.

It's an e6600 by the way, not OC'd.


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## Taz100420 (Jan 15, 2007)

well I got some stuff off ebay I paid $12 USD for a 12 gram syringe, Im sure its generic and my idle temp is 35C


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## curt (Jan 15, 2007)

*hey*

nothin if used is better then #1 articsilver 5 like 2c lower then #2 oczultra ultra high density!

i tryed star tech silver paste an i got better temps with no paste at all then with the star tech silver stuff evin the star tech white stuff works better then the star tech silver lol


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## tkpenalty (Jan 16, 2007)

Zalman VS Arctic silver then.. (FREAKING STAY ON TOPIC)


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## PVTCaboose1337 (Jan 17, 2007)

Taz100420 said:


> well I got some stuff off ebay I paid $12 USD for a 12 gram syringe, Im sure its generic and my idle temp is 35C



Calling it a syringe...


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## WarEagleAU (Jan 17, 2007)

That syringe, if its the liquid metal stuff, is probably the liquid thermal material, which is the best, beat AS5 like by 1 or 2 Degrees C in a maximum pc review.

As far as AS5 vs Zalman, AS5 is king. AS5 is for cpu. I use the ceramique for Video Cards and NB and SB chips. Zalman is great, dont get me wrong, but its not better than AS5. Zalman works well for their coolers, but AS5 is a tad bit better. Hope that helps. 

As far as Zalman vs Generic, ZALMAN.


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## ny_driver (Jan 20, 2007)

what about this Radio Shack brand silicone based heat sink fan compound I got for $2.99...might I be better off with nothing? seriously!


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## Taz100420 (Jan 20, 2007)

WarEagleAU said:


> That syringe, if its the liquid metal stuff, is probably the liquid thermal material, which is the best, beat AS5 like by 1 or 2 Degrees C in a maximum pc review.
> 
> As far as AS5 vs Zalman, AS5 is king. AS5 is for cpu. I use the ceramique for Video Cards and NB and SB chips. Zalman is great, dont get me wrong, but its not better than AS5. Zalman works well for their coolers, but AS5 is a tad bit better. Hope that helps.
> 
> As far as Zalman vs Generic, ZALMAN.



It says Spectracool on it and yes it beats AS5 by a degree or two, tried both on my old rig.


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## Lazzer408 (Jan 20, 2007)

ny_driver said:


> what about this Radio Shack brand silicone based heat sink fan compound I got for $2.99...might I be better off with nothing? seriously!


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## tkpenalty (Jan 20, 2007)

I got AS5... *state of euphoria* as well as some nifty high RPM zalman fans... KOREAN QUALITY = the best shit on earth ever... f**** (hes high guys, high from the zalman)


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## tkpenalty (Jan 20, 2007)

WarEagleAU said:


> That syringe, if its the liquid metal stuff, is probably the liquid thermal material, which is the best, beat AS5 like by 1 or 2 Degrees C in a maximum pc review.
> 
> As far as AS5 vs Zalman, AS5 is king. AS5 is for cpu. I use the ceramique for Video Cards and NB and SB chips. Zalman is great, dont get me wrong, but its not better than AS5. Zalman works well for their coolers, but AS5 is a tad bit better. Hope that helps.
> 
> As far as Zalman vs Generic, ZALMAN.



That stuff is leaky and unsafe to use... if it leaks onto your processor's non IHS part.. fizzle-pop fun!!! .
Obviously its better, but considering that its extremely easy to kill something that doesn't have an IHS/Shimmy (I think its called that ) installed.

This would be a person who got screwed:  > > > > >  (last one, he's crying in pain after giving himself a concussion).


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## Wile E (Jan 20, 2007)

tkpenalty said:


> That stuff is leaky and unsafe to use... if it leaks onto your processor's non IHS part.. fizzle-pop fun!!! .
> Obviously its better, but considering that its extremely easy to kill something that doesn't have an IHS/Shimmy (I think its called that ) installed.
> 
> This would be a person who got screwed:  > > > > >  (last one, he's crying in pain after giving himself a concussion).


The liquid stuff also destroys aluminum heatsinks. Turns them to powder.


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## Lazzer408 (Jan 20, 2007)

I have GEIL

Off the syringe.

>1.729w/m-k
<0.06c-in2/w
5% silver 5% copper

That any good?


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## ny_driver (Jan 20, 2007)

so what about my cheap Radio Shack silicone based heatsink fan compound? I seated the chip with it last weekend and I was getting 55c under load, now I came home and reseated it, got the HSF centered on the chip, but my temps are running higher under load. Would I be better off using more than a tiny drop? Seems like I should cover the surface off the HSF at least. Any advice would be great. I am going to order some AS5 right now.


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## Lazzer408 (Jan 20, 2007)

If you remove the heatsink you should clean and reapply the paste. You can trap air if you don't and it squished out the paste from the first application as well. I've always had good luck with a dot in the center and let the heatsink spread it. The Radioshack stuff they have now is crap imo. There old stuff was -ok- in a pinch but I wouldn't be doing crazy overclocking on it. I'm using white paste now and running a 6600 2.4@3.4@60c full load after about 10 min but that's not the same stuff Radioshack has now. This is less runny/oily and more like toothpaste.


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## Grings (Jan 20, 2007)

ive used coolermaster premium before and that stuff is really pasty, almost like car body filler!, seems to work good though, didnt see any difference between this and as5, which were both about 2 degrees cooler than as3 on a64, and 3 degrees cooler on an axp


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## tkpenalty (Jan 22, 2007)

Hmm....why is the AS5 performing the same as the crappy generic POS?


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## Scavar (Jan 22, 2007)

As an expierment when I was installing my e6600, I had everything stock. it was like 70c. Then I changed to AS5, it went down to like 60C, changed the heatsink to AC FreezerPro7, went to like 45C, changed to AS5, down to 36-40C.


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## Wile E (Jan 22, 2007)

tkpenalty said:


> Hmm....why is the AS5 performing the same as the crappy generic POS?


The better compounds usually only lower temps by a few degrees at first. After a couple of a days to cure, they start to perform much better.


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## Scavar (Jan 22, 2007)

Wile E said:


> The better compounds usually only lower temps by a few degrees at first. After a couple of a days to cure, they start to perform much better.




I believe for AS5 it is 200hours with 5 thermal cycles.(Turning the OC off and letting it cool down completely to room temperture.)

You'll get this after two or so weeks if you leave your PC on during the day and turn it off at night, or vice versa. Or just leave it on for a few  days, and turn it off, and repeat the cycle. It could add anywhere between 2c to 5c off what it already took off.

Thats if I remember what I read on the AS site right.


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## ny_driver (Jan 26, 2007)

I just got tube of AS5 I am going to reseat and leave my pc on all weekend which I never do.


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## Mediocre (Jan 26, 2007)

Application is EVERYTHING.

Personally I hate the 'put a grain size in the middle and squish it'. 

Hope you're all spreading a SUPER thin (nearly transparent) layer.

Even the factory Intel sinks come with too much paste. Copper conducts better than that paste. The paste's true function is to fill the AIR gaps between the metal (heat) conductors - CPU and HSF.

Thought I saw a guide on here somewhere...


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## tkpenalty (Jan 26, 2007)

Mediocre said:


> Application is EVERYTHING.
> 
> Personally I hate the 'put a grain size in the middle and squish it'.
> 
> ...



It is one of the best methods anyway since it spreads all over the IHS. Spreading it evenly all over so that you can see it is okay but won't give you better performance after the burn-in period. 

AS5's method on dual core IMHO is making you spread far too much thermal paste (so you can buy more of their tubes LOL).


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## Mediocre (Jan 26, 2007)

Grain of sand puts too thick of a layer to completely cover the cpu.

Also, correctly applied, I've never seen it 'completely' cover a 'modern' cpu...in my experience. 
Factory applied it usually misses ALL 4 corners. If you use enough to 'squish' it out over the 4 corners...you've used too much.

I usually use ~2 grains of sand sized drops, but when they are spread with a STRAIGHT edge, MOST of it ends up on the straight edge. Its an even, see-through light grey layer of AS5...too much and you loose anywhere around ~3C


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## Mediocre (Jan 26, 2007)

We've had sort of a recall at work b/c we put a Celeron 2.66GHz (533MHz bus) into a tiny box with 1 fan....O and we had the factory put 1U coolers on them.

There was a huge difference in temp caused by the procedure used in the thermal paste application...

In the right situation, its worth applying it right..in most it doesn't matter.


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## Lazzer408 (Jan 27, 2007)

Scavar said:


> As an expierment when I was installing my e6600, I had everything stock. it was like 70c. Then I changed to AS5, it went down to like 60C, changed the heatsink to AC FreezerPro7, went to like 45C, changed to AS5, down to 36-40C.



I'm confused. How did you switch to AS5 twice? Did you try the AC FreezerPro 7 with regular paste first (45c) -then- AS5 (36-40c)?


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## ny_driver (Jan 28, 2007)

I used a drop of AS-5 in the middle(you know a little bit out each side, but not the corners) and had 49c max temperature while I was racing/testing. No better than the radioshack stuff so I removed the Arctic Cooler, popped the chip out cleaned and all the paste off of it with a paper towel. I then scraped all but a thin layer off of the HS with a plastic card and put it back together. After testing for 20 minutes or so I stopped to check the temperatures and to my surprise I found a max temperature of 43c then I tested again with the same results.

Sounds like 6c improvement. I believe the air was actually colder earlier today also. I'm impressed.


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## JerryClitnon (Nov 18, 2014)

tkpenalty said:


> So guys, here I am again to ask about this tube of generic thermal paste from balance stars. So far it has impressed me by lowering the temps on my P4SBeholder+, when compared to stock thermal crap. Here are the specs of it:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



So I have been reviewing generic compound pastes vs. regular compound pastes Ill give you some advice.

 HY510-TU20(grey compound paste) was descent  spread, temperatures were better than arctic silver  5, by like 6*c

White silicone thermal paste Chinese sheet(was crap just terrible) was afraid to run the furmark test on my GPU, was afraid for my CPU so I didnt apply it.
GD900 diluted looking sheet was 5*c below thermaltake CPU 

Mystery grey paste 
Paste Color:Gray 

Net Weight:1g/pc                                                 paste was runny didnt spread heat that good.

Gross Weight:3g/pc

Operation Temperature: -50/180°c

Thermal Conductivity:>1.22W/m.k

Thermal Rcsistance:<0.201°c-in2/w

Evaporation: <0.001%
    Bleed: <0.05%  
Some things to consider when applying paste never mentioned for some fcking reason, the type of heatsink and processor its applied to, for instance mine was tested on a I7, and AMD FX 8300.
The heatsink does make a difference, for instance copper distribution(pipping in some cases to base), then I apply at more then one way for most accurate results. Best method that works for me is a equal distribution of the pea size method tweeked.


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## micropage7 (Nov 18, 2014)

i use small dabs method with generic paste
since its a generic paste and i know the thicker paste would give bad effect (especially on generic paste)
i use small dabs method to get the paste as thin as possible


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## Aquinus (Nov 18, 2014)

tkpenalty said:


> Hmm....why is the AS5 performing the same as the crappy generic POS?


AS5 needs to cure before temps go down. It will most likely take you about a week unless you're constantly stress testing it.


ny_driver said:


> I used a drop of AS-5 in the middle(you know a little bit out each side, but not the corners) and had 49c max temperature while I was racing/testing. No better than the radioshack stuff so I removed the Arctic Cooler, popped the chip out cleaned and all the paste off of it with a paper towel.


You also didn't wait long enough for the AS5 to cure. My GPU temps easily dropped 10*C after the AS5 cured. You people are incredibly impatient...


Scavar said:


> I believe for AS5 it is 200hours with 5 thermal cycles.(Turning the OC off and letting it cool down completely to room temperture.)
> 
> You'll get this after two or so weeks if you leave your PC on during the day and turn it off at night, or vice versa. Or just leave it on for a few  days, and turn it off, and repeat the cycle. It could add anywhere between 2c to 5c off what it already took off.
> 
> Thats if I remember what I read on the AS site right.


Every thermal cycle you'll notice temp drops for the first 3-4 cycles, at least that was the case with my 6870s. Initially after applying it the GPU could barely stay under 80*C at stock under full load, the attempt after it went down to 72, then 65, eventually I was able to run my 1Ghz overclock @ 1.3v on my GPU without breaking 85*C

People simply need to be patient. This whole instant gratification thing doesn't work well with AS5.


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## RCoon (Nov 18, 2014)

Aquinus said:


> AS5 needs to cure before temps go down. It will most likely take you about a week unless you're constantly stress testing it.
> 
> You also didn't wait long enough for the AS5 to cure. My GPU temps easily dropped 10*C after the AS5 cured. You people are incredibly impatient...
> 
> ...



Those people posted this in 2007. Don't expect a reply from most of them  Although this thread still looks useful for all.


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## Aquinus (Nov 18, 2014)

RCoon said:


> Those people posted this in 2007. Don't expect a reply from most of them  Although this thread still looks useful for all.


 Gah, fricken thread necros.

I think I need to stop posting before I drink my coffee.


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