Thermal pads. Which one to choose?

mclaren85 · Jan 18, 2023

Thermal pads are almost always overlooked by many. Many user search the best thermal grease but very little of them try to find the best thermal pad. However some specific usage areas like chipset, vram and southbridge cooling requires a thermal pad instead of grease. Its squishable structure make the pads unique for filling the gaps between the chip and the HS.
I've searched many many forums but yet to find a proper answer though; Which pad is the best? We can create a database according to your testimonials or experiences.. Because I don't trust what writes on the package like 14W/(m*K), 20W/(m*K) etc.

damric · Jan 18, 2023

Did you know that there are indium thermal pads?

I had an advert for these in my inbox recently, though I don't know anyone who has tried them yet.

HaKN ! · Jan 18, 2023

mclaren85 said:
Thermal pads are almost always overlooked by many. Many user search the best thermal grease but very little of them try to find the best thermal pad. However some specific usage areas like chipset, vram and southbridge cooling requires a thermal pad instead of grease. Its squishable structure make the pads unique for filling the gaps between the chip and the HS.
I've searched many many forums but yet to find a proper answer though; Which pad is the best? We can create a database according to your testimonials or experiences.. Because I don't trust what writes on the package like 14W/(m*K), 20W/(m*K) etc.

Gelid pads are solid. Buy the ultimate version. they dropped my mem temps by 15c and VRM temps by 10c.

mclaren85 · Jan 18, 2023

HaKN ! said:
Gelid pads are solid. Buy the ultimate version. they dropped my mem temps by 15c and VRM temps by 10c.

Ultimate or extreme?

HaKN ! · Jan 18, 2023

Ultimate. Just be aware when they are on and used , you cant reuse them if you take the cooler of. The pads are almost like thermal grease. But nothing beats it

mama · Jan 18, 2023

damric said:
Did you know that there are indium thermal pads?

I had an advert for these in my inbox recently, though I don't know anyone who has tried them yet.

What is the point of these? They seem to require additional thermal paste.

R-T-B · Jan 18, 2023

mama said:
What is the point of these? They seem to require additional thermal paste.

Probably as an insulator since Indium is literally a conductive metal.

Very bad idea all around.

damric · Jan 18, 2023

mama said:
What is the point of these? They seem to require additional thermal paste.

I don't know but for $5 I'll have to order these and do a science experiment on some old worthless hardware.

If you guys have ideas of what/how I should test, let me know.

ThrashZone · Jan 19, 2023

Hi,
Fujipoly pads are made out of clay and really the best but not cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/mod-smart-Fujipoly-Extreme-Thermal/dp/B00ZSELP3O

delshay · Jan 19, 2023

ThrashZone said:
Hi,
Fujipoly pads are made out of clay and really the best but not cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/mod-smart-Fujipoly-Extreme-Thermal/dp/B00ZSELP3O

That's the pads I use on both my Nano cards. This is what's partly protecting my MOSFETS from blowing-up. Serious finger burning temperatures (full load) when I touch the internal cooling plate.
Anyone truly serious about ultra high performance, then these are the pads.

Recommended best suited for "DirectFET" as seen on cards that have HBM Memory.

EDIT VERY IMPORTANT: Once these pads are fitted never take the card apart again within it's lifetime. These pads will harden after a number of heat cycle & don't like to be disturbed when set, it's permanent

mclaren85 · Jan 19, 2023

delshay said:
That's the pads I use on both my Nano cards. This is what's partly protecting my MOSFETS from blowing-up. Serious finger burning temperatures (full load) when I touch the internal cooling plate.
Anyone truly serious about ultra high performance, then these are the pads.

Recommended best suited for "DirectFET" as seen on cards that have HBM Memory.

EDIT VERY IMPORTANT: Once these pads are fitted never take the card apart again within it's lifetime. These pads will harden after a number of heat cycle & don't like to be disturbed when set, it's permanent

The problem is I can't find it anywhere in Turkey. And I don't trust Aliexpress.

delshay · Jan 19, 2023

mclaren85 said:
The problem is I can't find it anywhere in Turkey. And I don't trust Aliexpress.

The pads can be found at website below. I have bought from them in the pass, so yeah can be trusted. When it comes to refund, can be a little slow. Pads can also be found on Amazon never had any issue there either.

Pick your nearest European Country from menu

Can be found here, search 17W m/k or price "high to low" Thermal Pads & Paste | Aquatuning United Kingdom

Note their come in different thickness

mclaren85 · Jan 19, 2023

delshay said:
The pads can be found at website below. I have bought from them in the pass, so yeah can be trusted. When it comes to refund, can be a little slow. Pads can also be found on Amazon never had any issue there either.

Pick your nearest European Country from menu

Can be found here, search 17W m/k or price "high to low" Thermal Pads & Paste | Aquatuning United Kingdom

Note their come in different thickness

There is only Alphacool brand If I've seen correctly. Is Fujipoly a generic brand or something?

Space Lynx · Jan 19, 2023

HaKN ! said:
Gelid pads are solid. Buy the ultimate version. they dropped my mem temps by 15c and VRM temps by 10c.

ok if I buy the Ultimate version, where the heck do I install them? i have to physically remove my ram heatsinks and place these on, then the heatsinks on top? what if my heatsink doesn't stay on the ram after that and just keeps falling off?

delshay · Jan 19, 2023

mclaren85 said:
There is only Alphacool brand If I've seen correctly. Is Fujipoly a generic brand or something?

Alphacool I do believe is the same product as Fujipoly. Cam't confirm that, but I think it's re branded.

Remember I have bought this product from them in the pass & it perform extraordinary well. so i'm guessing it's the same product. If you feel uncomfortable you could try Amazon.

I think I still have some here, let's see if I can find it & upload photo

Solaris17 · Jan 19, 2023

ThrashZone said:
Hi,
Fujipoly pads are made out of clay and really the best but not cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/mod-smart-Fujipoly-Extreme-Thermal/dp/B00ZSELP3O

This. Been grabbing Fujipoly pads for probably over a decade and these things are no joke.

HaKN ! · Jan 19, 2023

Space Lynx said:
ok if I buy the Ultimate version, where the heck do I install them? i have to physically remove my ram heatsinks and place these on, then the heatsinks on top? what if my heatsink doesn't stay on the ram after that and just keeps falling off?

Install the pads just like normal pads. They are just pads , nothing speciel about the instal. Your heatsinks/blocks whatever will stick as they are really sticky when they are installed on components.

The only difference between the Ultimate pads and "normal" pads is that they are more like paste/sticky but works really good ! much better then the original pads

delshay · Jan 19, 2023

Here is photo of pads I bought off Amazon many years ago. One of them is still sealed, never opened, but I have admit. the Alphacool ones seem to performed better even thou I think it's the same product

.

kiriakost · Jan 19, 2023

According my experiences, they are four B2B Asian factory that deliver such professional chemical products.
Now according to thickness factor, all products has the same thermal resistance factor.
In conclusion, branded distributors they are plenty, but their pricing this is totally unreasonable.

Quick tip, MSI shops their goods from quality factory, some one will need new pads if he acts irresponsibly and destroy the original pads.

maxfly · Jan 19, 2023

Space Lynx said:
ok if I buy the Ultimate version, where the heck do I install them? i have to physically remove my ram heatsinks and place these on, then the heatsinks on top? what if my heatsink doesn't stay on the ram after that and just keeps falling off?

You need what delshay posted for your memory, thermal tape. The same thickness as your original thermal tape (If you've never removed memory heatsinks before, practice on some old modules and watch a video. It's really easy to pull an ic off).The other Fuji poly stuff is for GPUs and MBs (thermal pads). Otherwise, you will have the problem you were concerned with, they wont stick.

delshay · Jan 19, 2023

Space Lynx said:
ok if I buy the Ultimate version, where the heck do I install them? i have to physically remove my ram heatsinks and place these on, then the heatsinks on top? what if my heatsink doesn't stay on the ram after that and just keeps falling off?

I do not recommend them for ram stick. Remember what I said, "they do not like to be disturbed when hardened". For ram sticks you need a different type of pads, but I can't see much of a gain (if any) in changing ram stick thermal pads.

Fujipoly 17W m/k pads are best suited to video card where you don't have to remove the internal VRM cooling plate to gain access to the GPU die. The VRM cooling plate can never be removed once the pads have hardened, it's forever. If you removed the cooling plate after it has hardened the pads may start to break up.

These pads should also work well on motherboard VRM, but only on "certain type" of MOSFETS, but I have never tested them on motherboards.

mclaren85 · Jan 19, 2023

HaKN ! said:
Ultimate. Just be aware when they are on and used , you cant reuse them if you take the cooler of. The pads are almost like thermal grease. But nothing beats it

Thanks, from what I understand the extreme version can be more presseable, therefore more gentle to chipset when pressing the hs.

ThrashZone · Jan 19, 2023

Hi,
Personally I just use arctic thermal pads
Inexpensive and large sheets of different thicknesses 0.5-1.0-1.5mm aren't going to cost a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-TP-2-APT2560-Performance-Installation/dp/B00UYTU6Z6/ref=sxin_15_ac_d_bv?ac_md=4-2-QWJvdmUgJDIw-ac_d_bv_bv_bv&content-id=amzn1.sym.8f2bf95d-b9c2-4e6d-96a9-5fdf77a1951d%3Aamzn1.sym.8f2bf95d-b9c2-4e6d-96a9-5fdf77a1951d&cv_ct_cx=arctic%2Bthermal%2Bpads&keywords=arctic%2Bthermal%2Bpads&pd_rd_i=B00UYTU6Z6&pd_rd_r=9f26c4cd-9bc3-49ae-b197-b808edab8954&pd_rd_w=NaVpZ&pd_rd_wg=VaOdi&pf_rd_p=8f2bf95d-b9c2-4e6d-96a9-5fdf77a1951d&pf_rd_r=ARGCT6B3SDDCAV8V2BZT&qid=1674147043&sr=1-3-270ce31b-afa8-499f-878b-3bb461a9a5a6&th=1

wow now that's a url :laugh:

Code:

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-TP-2-APT2560-Performance-Installation/dp/B00UYTU6Z6/ref=sxin_15_ac_d_bv?ac_md=4-2-QWJvdmUgJDIw-ac_d_bv_bv_bv&content-id=amzn1.sym.8f2bf95d-b9c2-4e6d-96a9-5fdf77a1951d%3Aamzn1.sym.8f2bf95d-b9c2-4e6d-96a9-5fdf77a1951d&cv_ct_cx=arctic%2Bthermal%2Bpads&keywords=arctic%2Bthermal%2Bpads&pd_rd_i=B00UYTU6Z6&pd_rd_r=9f26c4cd-9bc3-49ae-b197-b808edab8954&pd_rd_w=NaVpZ&pd_rd_wg=VaOdi&pf_rd_p=8f2bf95d-b9c2-4e6d-96a9-5fdf77a1951d&pf_rd_r=ARGCT6B3SDDCAV8V2BZT&qid=1674147043&sr=1-3-270ce31b-afa8-499f-878b-3bb461a9a5a6&th=1

happy hopping · Oct 6, 2024

delshay said:
Here is photo of pads I bought off Amazon many years ago. One of them is still sealed, never opened, but I have admit. the Alphacool ones seem to performed better even thou I think it's the same product

. View attachment 279862

where do anyone get Fujipoly GR130.

I went to the above website, they only have

Thermal Pads 1.0mm

This is the home of Primochill.com. We are a Premium Computer Water Cooling company. Our selection includes Coolants, Tubing, Fittings and Water Blocks

www.primochill.com

I need them for SSD Heatsink, so the above link product is too narrow, they need to be 24mm

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Thermal pads. Which one to choose?

mclaren85

damric

HaKN !

mclaren85

HaKN !

mama

R-T-B

damric

ThrashZone

delshay

mclaren85

delshay

mclaren85

Space Lynx

Astronaut

delshay

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator

HaKN !

delshay

kiriakost

maxfly

delshay

mclaren85

ThrashZone

happy hopping

New Member

Thermal Pads 1.0mm

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