The Official Thermal Interface Material thread

[Magic Cube]

Best temps I have ever gotten are with Cryonaut and Gelid GC extreme. Both have similar effect, when enough time has past temperatures do get higher. Noctua, Arctic and Arctic silver products have been ok with the temps and they seem to keep temperatures at the same level much longer.

I have also experience with IC diamond. One of the worst thermal pastes I have used. Performance was good from start and started declining week by week. After a while decided to use something different paste. It took couple months and IC diamond paste in syringe started to smell awful(smell was similar to pig shit but chemical version). I had to throw it away.

Worst paste I have used is probably Nexus silver something. It's performance was bad and if you did get it to your fingers, you would smudge everything. I had to wash my hands several times to get it off. And if you did get it on your clothes, it needed also several washes.

Next thing I wanna really try is Honeywell PTM7950 SP thermal pad.

 

[LabRat 891]

Best temps I have ever gotten are with Cryonaut and Gelid GC extreme. Both have similar effect, when enough time has past temperatures do get higher. Noctua, Arctic and Arctic silver products have been ok with the temps and they seem to keep temperatures at the same level much longer.

I have also experience with IC diamond. One of the worst thermal pastes I have used. Performance was good from start and started declining week by week. After a while decided to use something different paste. It took couple months and IC diamond paste in syringe started to smell awful(smell was similar to pig shit but chemical version). I had to throw it away.

Worst paste I have used is probably Nexus silver something. It's performance was bad and if you did get it to your fingers, you would smudge everything. I had to wash my hands several times to get it off. And if you did get it on your clothes, it needed also several washes.

Next thing I wanna really try is Honeywell PTM7950 SP thermal pad.

I can't believe I forgot about THE SMELL. I assumed it was because it was technically an 'organic mixture', and there was literal rot occurring due to biological contamination of the industrial diamond powder*.
(*highly micro/nano-ized, high surface area, Carbon is food for many microbes, especially fungi. I'd expect even diamond to be easily 'eaten' by microbes, if the particles were small enough)

Alternatively, IIRC there's a couple common plastics/plasticizers that decomposes into a sticky stink too. First ran across that as a kid on some very old 'rubber grip' screwdrivers my dad had.

 

[Soul_]

Thank you MagicCube and Labrat for sharing your experience. As you suggested I am thinking about something that I don’t have to change often.

Shinetsu 7921 might be polymer based as you suggested, and I am hoping it wouldn’t pump out, but their official paper categorized it under oil based. So I wished to see if anyone had experienced it first hand, and would like to share.

I think shin Etsu 7921 is on par with Kryonaut on temps, is it not?

And PTM 7950 SP is also an option, but I have seen some temp results being not so good, but it is highly resistant to pump out.

Quite torn.

 

[LabRat 891]

Thank you MagicCube and Labrat for sharing your experience. As you suggested I am thinking about something that I don’t have to change often.

Shinetsu 7921 might be polymer based as you suggested, and I am hoping it wouldn’t pump out, but their official paper categorized it under oil based. So I wished to see if anyone had experienced it first hand, and would like to share.

I think shin Etsu 7921 is on par with Kryonaut on temps, is it not?

And PTM 7950 SP is also an option, but I have seen some temp results being not so good, but it is highly resistant to pump out.

Quite torn.

Clearly, I'm none-too-familiar with Shinetsu's modern offerings. -pleased to see you're already attentive to such details.

In my experience* and choice-by-research*, the absolute most 'long-term stable' and best performing TIM is Gallium-eutectic alloy. AKA: Liquid Metal, Conductonaunt, Galinstan.
I've always used clear nail lacquer (clearcoat/nail polish) around bare die, and all over the package and SMDs. (also, the nearest Aluminium, if the copper cold plate is small; laptops, etc.)
Though, it is not without risks. I've never killed anything from a proper (or even improper application); only spills. (I have a dead 8GB DDR3L SODIMM out of a matched pair, thanks to spilling it under the BGAs )

*'back in my day' hardly anyone was talking about 'thermal pump-out'. Most prosumer uses for TIM, never saw the power and thermal cycling that top-end GPUs and CPUs do today. (AFAIK).

 

[Pictus]

Thank you MagicCube and Labrat for sharing your experience. As you suggested I am thinking about something that I don’t have to change often.

Shinetsu 7921 might be polymer based as you suggested, and I am hoping it wouldn’t pump out, but their official paper categorized it under oil based. So I wished to see if anyone had experienced it first hand, and would like to share.

I think shin Etsu 7921 is on par with Kryonaut on temps, is it not?

And PTM 7950 SP is also an option, but I have seen some temp results being not so good, but it is highly resistant to pump out.

Quite torn.

The Shin-Etsu X-23-7921-5 is probably the most dense thermal paste, it feels like a dry thermal paste.
No pump out and its components does not separate, top performance and long lifespan, but higher
temperatures will shorten its lifespan.
For higher temperatures and still having longer lifespan PCM is the way to go, there are lots
and lots of reports in laptop forums, buy some Honeywell PTM7950 pad and be happy.

Here for my modded GPU that doesn't go over 80ºC, I used a mixture of Shin-Etsu X-23-7921-5 plus +- 20% Krytox GPL 205g0 to
make Shin-Etsu more resistant to higher temperatures, it's working fine, but it's more practical to just use the Honeywell PTM7950 pad.
The Honeywell PTM7950 pad is good for flat surfaces, for non flat better the SP(paste) version, PCM stuff also needs temperatures above
45ºC and good heatsink pressure.

 

[electrowind]

Best temps I have ever gotten are with Cryonaut and Gelid GC extreme. Both have similar effect, when enough time has past temperatures do get higher. Noctua, Arctic and Arctic silver products have been ok with the temps and they seem to keep temperatures at the same level much longer.

I have also experience with IC diamond. One of the worst thermal pastes I have used. Performance was good from start and started declining week by week. After a while decided to use something different paste. It took couple months and IC diamond paste in syringe started to smell awful(smell was similar to pig shit but chemical version). I had to throw it away.

Worst paste I have used is probably Nexus silver something. It's performance was bad and if you did get it to your fingers, you would smudge everything. I had to wash my hands several times to get it off. And if you did get it on your clothes, it needed also several washes.

Next thing I wanna really try is Honeywell PTM7950 SP thermal pad.

Thank you for sharing your experience with different thermal pastes. It's important to find a paste or pad that works well for your specific setup and needs. It's also worth noting that the effectiveness and longevity of thermal paste can be affected by factors such as the type of CPU/GPU, cooling solution, and environmental conditions.

It's interesting that you've had good results with Cryonaut and Gelid GC Extreme but have noticed temperature increases over time. Noctua, Arctic, and Arctic Silver products are known for their reliability and long-term performance, so it may be worth considering these options if you're looking for a paste that maintains consistent temperatures over time.

It's concerning to hear about your negative experience with IC Diamond, particularly the decline in performance and unpleasant odor. Nexus silver paste also sounds like it was difficult to work with.

The Honeywell PTM7950 SP thermal pad could be an interesting choice to try next. It's important to keep in mind that thermal pads and pastes can have different thermal conductivity ratings and thicknesses, so it's worth doing research and potentially consulting with experts or other users to find the best option for your specific setup.

 

[Soul_]

So I realized why some people weren’t having too much success with PTM 7950 SP, which is a paste (some websites are incorrectly showing SP as a pad, as well as a paste. But as per Honeywell white paper, SP is a paste and non SP is a pad). The paste has drying time of 5 minutes at 100C or 24 hours at 23C. And it seems that people running into temp issues weren’t letting the paste dry for 24 hours before clamping and squeezing it out.

As for the PTM 7950 non SP, which is a pad, as per Honeywell white paper, no drying time is required.

So I just ordered PTM 7950 (pad), no drying time, and less chance of error.

Thank you everyone above for your help and insight. I will keep you in loop on how it goes with it.

I hope this helps.

 

[80-watt Hamster]

So I just ordered PTM 7950 (pad), no drying time, and less chance of error.

Who's your source? The electronics suppliers don't seem to stock it.

 

[Soul_]

Who's your source? The electronics suppliers don't seem to stock it.

A store that I have bought from before on AliExpress. They have 75 day money back as well. So, I semi trust them.

Edit: Link https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004744337186.html

 

[Franz]

Next week will completes one year since I applied the GD007 and no signal of degradation or higher temps on my overclocked 6900k. I think it was my best purchase in thermal paste

 

[Soul_]

Is it on bare die?

 

[Franz]

Is it on bare die?

No, its on his with some deformations

 

[D007]

Running EKWB velocity V2 with 2x 360 Corsair XR7 rads and distro plate. Thermal grizzly CPU Contact frame, thermal grizzly Liquid Metal at 1.37v Turbo LLC. Level 4ish. Overclocking i9 13900k. Peaks around 98c. I don’t hit 100c in testing. If that helps lol.

 

[Ruru]

Missed totally that there's now MX-6, worth the extra money over MX-4? Though not gonna get it at least not yet, as I have probably ~10g of MX-4 left.

 

[LabRat 891]

Missed totally that there's now MX-6, worth the extra money over MX-4? Though not gonna get it at least not yet, as I have probably ~10g of MX-4 left.

IIRC, it's MX-5 'fixed'; and also IIRC it 'can' bench slightly worse than MX-4, but supposedly is better about not thermally-migrating (pumping out).

 

[lexluthermiester]

IIRC, it's MX-5 'fixed'

No, it's not. The formulation of MX-6 is vastly different from MX-5.

MX-6 is an improved MX-4.

 

[gaseosx]

Has anyone tried if this is legit? I haven't compared how much this is to the Aliexpress version.

https://www.amazon.com/PTM7950-40x80x0-2mm-JOYJOM-Conductive-Silicone/dp/B0BRJB8JNX/

 

[ThrashZone]

No, it's not. The formulation of MX-6 is vastly different from MX-5.

MX-6 is an improved MX-4.

Hi,
Yeah mx-5 was greenish and wet or at least mine was mx-6 is gray and on the thick side.

 

[Space Lynx]

has anyone ever reviewed the Frostsheet? just curious

FrostSheet

BRING ON THE HEAT FrostSheet is the best choice for demanding activities like gaming, bitcoin-mining and 3D-rendering, where consistent computer performance is key for your success. - Get more out of your hardware - Less energy for the better performance - Less heat spikes - Better FPS - Easy...

frostsheet.com

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Nope just the IC graphite pads which is terrible for pc except for maybe server.

 

[1100R]

has anyone ever reviewed the Frostsheet? just curious

FrostSheet

BRING ON THE HEAT FrostSheet is the best choice for demanding activities like gaming, bitcoin-mining and 3D-rendering, where consistent computer performance is key for your success. - Get more out of your hardware - Less energy for the better performance - Less heat spikes - Better FPS - Easy...

frostsheet.com

From their web site:
FrostSheet is made out of graphene which is a carbon based material that basically lasts a lifetime. FrostSheet is a very delicate product only about 0,2 mm thick. You can reuse FrostSheet as many times as you like as long as you handle it with care.

 

[Space Lynx]

From their web site:
FrostSheet is made out of graphene which is a carbon based material that basically lasts a lifetime. FrostSheet is a very delicate product only about 0,2 mm thick. You can reuse FrostSheet as many times as you like as long as you handle it with care.

I already know all of that... I am talking temperature comparisons with IC and Thermal Grizzly pads.

 

[freeagent]

Might be a bit thin

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Crazy I can read ryzen on the cooler

 

[Space Lynx]

Might be a bit thin

View attachment 288587

is this good or bad? I have never seen this before!!! wow