The Official Thermal Interface Material thread

[sLowEnd]

FWIW the MX-6 on my card wasn't dry. It still had mostly the same consistency as fresh MX-6. I wish I took pictures, but the thought slipped my mind at the time. Anyway, the die looked like it was surrounded by a moat of paste, with very little left on the actual die itself.

Excuse my poor MS Paint skills. This is where most of the paste migrated to.

The initial application was paste spread on the die, with none in the green area around the die.

If TF-7 fails too, I'll give PTM a shot next.

 

[Shrek]

How much did you put on?

 

[Veseleil]

the MX-6 on my card wasn't dry

When I said dry I meant naked. Though I did found some dried out (burned?) particles in the middle of the die on the 6900XT, die almost naked as well.

 

[freeagent]

Wow.. sounds like it reeks of quality

I wonder why there is such a wide variation between batches. They must not bet making it themselves.

 

[Veseleil]

Wow.. sounds like it reeks of quality

I wonder why there is such a wide variation between batches. They must not bet making it themselves.

Cutting costs at our expense. I was the first to recommend their products, but not anymore. I've learned my lesson. People should understand that, for them to be so competitive and have those low prices, the cuts have to be made somewhere.

 

[sLowEnd]

How much did you put on?

Roughly 0.5mm layer on the die

 

[Shrek]

Less is better; I tend to put on the very minimum.

 

[Space Lynx]

Roughly 0.5mm layer on the die

I always do the pea dot method in middle, have since 2012 and never had any issues, in fact when people talk about pump out regardless of paste, I have never experienced it a single time. so not sure wth is going on with the rest of you lol

 

[sLowEnd]

in fact when people talk about pump out regardless of paste, I have never experienced it a single time. so not sure wth is going on with the rest of you lol

I haven't either, with other pastes in other cards

 

[VulkanBros]

I have used MX-6 since it came out here (august 2023) (on the 5800X3D)- with no issues either. It was perfectly as I pulled the AIO block out, to replace it with the FrostSheet

 

[Veseleil]

MX-6 applied half a year ago, on a very rarely used 5700XT opened today:



Same shit each time.

 

[freeagent]

Can’t take the heat and separates.. brutal

 

[Shrek]

Are you sure that the separation is not just when pulling things apart?

Might be worth an experiment; apply the paste and then disassemble soon after.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

MX-6 applied half a year ago, on a very rarely used 5700XT opened today:

View attachment 339689View attachment 339690View attachment 339691View attachment 339692View attachment 339693

Same shit each time.

Isn't that the issue that killed MX-5?

 

[outpt]

OOF and I just got 2 tubes in the mail

 

[Shrek]

I suspect the future of thermal paste may not be in the bulk but rather in the interface.

 

[Veseleil]

Isn't that the issue that killed MX-5?

The improvement is noticeable.

Are you sure that the seperation is not just happening due to separation?

Might be worth an experiment; apply the paste and then seperate soon after.

Can't you see the material difference between the inner and outer part of the application? The dried out center mess?

OOF and I just got 2 tubes in the mail

Maybe you're luckier than me. It's obviously a gamble which MX-6 batch is the repacked MX-5 junk they didn't want to throw away, and which is the new stuff. Please let us know after some time, by posting here.

 

[Shrek]

Can't you see the material difference between the inner and outer part of the application? The dried out center mess?

What I think I see is a vacuum break, where the air rushed in at the center, that is why I suggested trying it without heat.

If silicone oil can work at 500°F, it isn't going to dry out at 200°F.

 

[sLowEnd]

MX-6 applied half a year ago, on a very rarely used 5700XT opened today:

View attachment 339689View attachment 339690View attachment 339691View attachment 339692View attachment 339693

Same shit each time.

My card had the same kind of splotchy appearance too

 

[TheFlow]

Isn't that the issue that killed MX-5?

That what killed the mx-5 was the paste already seperating as it was still in the syringe, which could lead to you not being able to squeeze it out of the syringe if the seperation has progressed too much.

The syringe of mx-5 i had back then looked like this. See the yellowish tint which implicates that the liquid and the solid phases seperated.

Also Arctic repacking mx-5 as mx-6 does not make any sense as both thermal pastes have a different color and i dont expect arctic to just add a darker pigment to the older paste and call it a day as the phase seperation issues would still be present and in some cases very obvious.

 

[Veseleil]

Also Arctic repacking mx-5 as mx-6 does not make any sense as both thermal pastes have a different color and i dont expect arctic to just add a darker pigment to the older paste and call it a day as the phase seperation issues would still be present and in some cases very obvious.

That's true, the color is different. The MX-6 I got is much stiffer than MX-4 I'm used to. One would think it sticks to the surface better, but hell no.

 

[LabRat 891]

Came here looking for a suggestion on new TIM.

I'm quite behind the times: Last paste application I did, I had to stick a paperclip in a drill and re-mix my MX-4
Oof... 'seeing MX-6 is panning out to be a flop, too.


@TM, I have an FSP Windale 6 HDT cooler w/ PTM7950; it and my 5800X3D are not gettin along. ('gaming loads' hit the CPU's thermal limit, regularly.)
I'm wondering if I need a more voluminous TIM than PTM7950, or if a thermal shim and LM/paste might be an option?

My thinking:
A. proper 'paste' will flow into the HDT's very uneven base much-better than PTM7950. -making better contact with the 5800X3D's IHS.
B. adding a thermal shim would act like a coldplate base for the HDT cooler, more evenly cooling the 5800X3D's MCMs
[I've already made a single .999 pure silver 1troyOz round thermal shim; originally intended for modded Vega 10 cooling.]

 

[Pictus]

Came here looking for a suggestion on new TIM.

Shin-Etsu’s X-23-8117

Shin Etsu MicroSi Thermal Interface Material X23 8117 3g

Buy Shin Etsu MicroSi Thermal Interface Material X23 8117 3g for $14.99 with Free Shipping Worldwide (In Stock)

www.moddiy.com

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806023094576.html

Maybe there is no good contact between the CPU and cooler.
Without good pressure PCM does not work well.

 

[Space Lynx]

Came here looking for a suggestion on new TIM.

I'm quite behind the times: Last paste application I did, I had to stick a paperclip in a drill and re-mix my MX-4
Oof... 'seeing MX-6 is panning out to be a flop, too.


@TM, I have an FSP Windale 6 HDT cooler w/ PTM7950; it and my 5800X3D are not gettin along. ('gaming loads' hit the CPU's thermal limit, regularly.)
I'm wondering if I need a more voluminous TIM than PTM7950, or if a thermal shim and LM/paste might be an option?

My thinking:
A. proper 'paste' will flow into the HDT's very uneven base much-better than PTM7950. -making better contact with the 5800X3D's IHS.
B. adding a thermal shim would act like a coldplate base for the HDT cooler, more evenly cooling the 5800X3D's MCMs
[I've already made a single .999 pure silver 1troyOz round thermal shim; originally intended for modded Vega 10 cooling.]

5800x3d is a hot chit, and that is a slightly weak cooler pairing for that particular chip. you really might want to consider an AIO 240mm or larger, and use the paste that comes with the cooler. I know you probably don't want to buy a new cooler, but that cooler just looks outmatched to me. smallest air cooler I would consider on the 5800x3d would be a dual tower cooler. and yours is barely a single tower, it looks quite small from the quick Google search I did. I might be wrong, I didn't look at it in detail. anyways good luck

 

[LabRat 891]

5800x3d is a hot chit, and that is a slightly weak cooler pairing for that particular chip. you really might want to consider an AIO 240mm or larger, and use the paste that comes with the cooler. I know you probably don't want to buy a new cooler, but that cooler just looks outmatched to me. smallest air cooler I would consider on the 5800x3d would be a dual tower cooler. and yours is barely a single tower, it looks quite small from the quick Google search I did. I might be wrong, I didn't look at it in detail. anyways good luck

It *claimed* to be a 250W+ TDP cooler. -Grabbed it after reading TPU's review on it.

At the time, it seemed like one of the 'best value' coolers one could get.

I'm not particularly interested in going to AIO LC route. (Especially, after I just had 2 'shelved' units fail in quick secession.)
However, the TR Assassins are looking very attractive, today.

https://www.amazon.com/Thermalright-Peerless-Assassin-120-Cooler/dp/B0C5MBLHD2