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The Official Thermal Interface Material thread

maxfly said:
Actually @lexluthermiester and I already tested a bunch of tim a while back and posted the results in another thread that was merged into this thread. Unfortunately, I have no idea where in this monster of a thread it ended up :(

I'll hook you up if you need some. The TF7 is mostly dried up and useless but everything else looks to be in good shape. I'll inventory what I have if you're serious.
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Yeah, I don't remember where it's at either.
 
maxfly said:
Actually @lexluthermiester and I already tested a bunch of tim a while back and posted the results in another thread that was merged into this thread. Unfortunately, I have no idea where in this monster of a thread it ended up :(

I'll hook you up if you need some. The TF7 is mostly dried up and useless but everything else looks to be in good shape. I'll inventory what I have if you're serious.
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Well, I have plans to do some testing, too, so any unopened packages would be helpful! Thanks!

Shrek said:
Even exposed to air I would not expect TIM to dry up.
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Why not? Even oil- based stuff can get thick and gunky if left exposed for a long time....
 
I had some super old Arctic Silver Ceramique 2 from the early or late 00's that i found in one of my draws. I would have sent it along with some super old tubes of MX-4 back when they were in the older silver and also white packaging circa 00's

1730721285939.png1730721223505.png

I can find the MX-4s but Im not sure where I put the Ceramique 2. I may have laughed when i found it then thrown it straight in the bin. I think one tube of MX-4 is mostly empty while the other has enough for maybe two applications. I used A S Ceramique in the early 939 days. I think that was one of the first thermal pastes that I bought for myself back in those days. I need to try and find it.
 
TPCEA said:
Why not? Even oil- based stuff can get thick and gunky if left exposed for a long time....
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Because in general, TIMs are designed to stay in the general state they came in unless they are designed to have a "curing" phase like ArcticSilver5. None of them are designed to "dry out" as a rule.
 
lexluthermiester said:
Because in general, TIMs are designed to stay in the general state they came in unless they are designed to have a "curing" phase like ArcticSilver5. None of them are designed to "dry out" as a rule.
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I understand that they are homogenized, but that doesn't eliminate dessication..
 
TPCEA said:
Well, I have plans to do some testing, too, so any unopened packages would be helpful! Thanks!


Why not? Even oil- based stuff can get thick and gunky if left exposed for a long time....
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No sweat. I'll dig through what I have when I get home tonight and let you know.
 
TPCEA said:
I understand that they are homogenized, but that doesn't eliminate dessication..
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Properly formulated, it should. The suspension fluids are part of the thermal transfer mechanism and if they dry up, it's a problem. How much of a problem is determined by the qualities and characteristics of the base materials. For some TIMs it's a crippling problem and conduction falls right off a cliff. For others not so much. Just depends on the brand, the formulations and the batch quality.
 
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TPCEA said:
I understand that they are homogenized, but that doesn't eliminate dessication..
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What is evaporating? even lubricating grease does not dry out.

Silicone oil should be good to 260°C and so not evaporate significantly at room temperature.

Silicone oil.png
 
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My Z77 OC Formula came with a tube of something decent. It was brand new sealed, wrapped, and boxed.. and is hard as a rock. I tried to use it in a time of need.. ended up having to go buy some AS5 locally lol..
 
Shrek said:
What is evaporating? even lubricating grease does not dry out.
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Given the right conditions and enough time, just about anything will dry up.

Shrek said:
What is evaporating? even lubricating grease does not dry out.

Silicone oil should be good to 260°C and so not evaporate significantly at room temperature.

View attachment 370228
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We're talking about exposure to the air, in which case it will.
 
I beg to differ

Silicone oil is not going to significantly evaporate at room temperature.
 
Article on hydrogenated silicone oil evaporation: https://www.hskbrchemical.com/how-quickly-does-hydrogenated-silicone-oil-evaporate/

And here's a PDF on, apparently, non-hydrogenated SO.

Several variables involved in when it will evaporate when exposed to air. Especially HSO, which is influenced by higher pressures, temperatures, airflow and surface contact area.

So, as others have stated, if stored propperly and the formulation is good, it should almost never become bad.
 
"The main advantages of hydrogenated silicone fluids are their excellent thermal stability, low volatility and oxidation resistance."
 
Shrek said:
"The main advantages of hydrogenated silicone fluids are their excellent thermal stability, low volatility and oxidation resistance."
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Is that as far as you read? Stop cherry-picking, please. It can and does happen to most liquids when exposed to air or certain gases.
 
But not silicone oil
 
The oil just separates, that's why it gets hard. That rock hard tube that I have has no oil in it, so it must have went somewhere..
 
Now that explanation I can understand.

I wonder if a surfactant would avoid separation.
 
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Shrek said:
I beg to differ

Silicone oil is not going to significantly evaporate at room temperature.
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This is true, but at the temps CPUs & GPU often get to, silicone oil can experience some levels of evaporation unless the oil is chemically attached and bonded to a binder of some kind. This is where I think companies get the chemistry wrong and why we have problems with TIMs drying out.

freeagent said:
The oil just separates, that's why it gets hard. That rock hard tube that I have has no oil in it, so it must have went somewhere..
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This too. Again properly bonded up, the oil will not separate.
 
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My beloved SYY-157 is not doing so well these days.
 
Borc said:
The original SYY-157 from 2021 was better. They did change the formula in 2022.
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They made it thinner.

Your right, it was better.. I just thought it was environmental temps or something else with my setup.

Its also a little more expensive now. I am out of it, and wont be restocking.
 
freeagent said:
They made it thinner.

Your right, it was better.. I just thought it was environmental temps or something else with my setup.

Its also a little more expensive now. I am out of it, and wont be restocking.
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If you're saying it's gone hard, there is a solution. Silicone oil. Get some of the purest stuff you can find(colorless & odorless) and if you have the tub version of the TIM, add a few drops in and mix it up with a stirring utensil of some sort. Should bring it back to a state that will be usable and without dramatically changing the chemistry. I have personally done this with Mineral oil(yes I know, wrong kind of oil, didn't know any better at the time) and it worked like a charm for about a year.
 
lexluthermiester said:
If you're saying it's gone hard, there is a solution. Silicone oil. Get some of the purest stuff you can find(colorless & odorless) and if you have the tub version of the TIM, add a few drops in and mix it up with a stirring utensil of some sort. Should bring it back to a state that will be usable and without dramatically changing the chemistry. I have personally done this with Mineral oil(yes I know, wrong kind of oil, didn't know any better at the time) and it worked like a charm for about a year.
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No no, they reformulated back in 2022, forgot about that.. just got used to it. My stuff doesn't usually sit long enough to change because I have a a couple of CPU's that I routinely play with, and was swapping out coolers on a whim just because I have a bit of a variety..

My next build will not be like this build lol.. just one and done :D
 
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