1. TIMs haven't changed much in recent years .... these things are basically rebranded industrial products repackaged for the PC industry. The only new product of any impact was Grizzly's Kryonaut.
2. Just because the come from the same place, doesn't mean the products are the same ... Conductonaut, Kryonaut, Hydronaut, Aeronaut.... all have different thermal properties
3. When ya can find the product direct from the manufacturer, you can save a ton.
4, This 80-way comparison is still completely relevant almost 10 years later ... not much has changed since outside Grizzly's entry into the field.
https://archive.benchmarkreviews.co...k=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=12
5. Liquid metal is the superior performing solution but it remains risky.
6. I have never quite understood the "doesn't matter" argument as they same argument can be made for a 4.9 versus 5.0 OC, can it not. Given 2 products of equal cost, there's no logic to taking the one that performas slightly better. It's not about worrying whether the system will fry with an extra 2C ... it's about building a system that can be kept as cool as possble with the budget available and yes, unarguably, a result of 67 id better than 69. When performance is equal, other properties should be considered. Take AS5 probably the most oft recommended product for example ...
a) AS5 is capacitive ... so there is a risk that dropping some o electrical contacts could be an issue ... it's a small risk for an experienced user, but no matter how infinitesmal, why take it if there's no upside ?
b) AS5 has a horrendously long cure time of 7+ weeks under normal usage. I can't leave a PC on my workbench that long. I want to dial in those OCs with all my tools at hand, not try and do the final dial in 7 weeks from now with the PC somewhere else. So if no upside, why put up with the inconvenience ?
c) But as we can see in the above link, AS5 has the same Thermal Properties as Shin Etsi G751 ... and Shin Etsu is cheaper !. So why pay more money, for something with the same thermal properties, which adds increased risk and inconvenience ?
7. The TIM should be chosen with the same thought in mind as the cooler... makes no sense pairing a $20 cooler with $20 TIM. OTOH, availability and cost is a reasonable decision criteria. Is half a degree worth paying 5 times more for your TIM or the extra effort in finding it in stock ? That's an individual decision.
My recommendation:
a) Shin Etsu G751 at < $4 should be the baseline ... No reason to purchase a product that performs almost as well or the same that costs more.
b) I used to avoid Kryonaut cause it always cost more and was difficult to find. That's not true a smuch anymore as it's readily available on newegg from $18 to $20 ... even better newegg business has it for $10. If the extra 0.5C tickles ya fancy, I can't argue with 6 bucks.
c) If ya want t pick up a bit extra, give LM a try ... but be aware of the fact that it has a negative effect on copper and you will have to reapply one or twice during your box's lifetime ... there's a risk but if ya have experience building a dozen or more boxes, it's not that great a risk. read the Charles C experience under reviews here:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4YU4GP8298
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