What is the go to thermal grease these days?

C

cold_steel

Gawd
Joined
Jun 27, 2004
Messages
576
I've been using Arctic Silver since the original... IS AS5 still the top or has some other company taken over?
 
MX-2 and TX-2 both have their proponents, but I think that those and AS5 are all top-tier TIMs and you're unlikely to experience significant differences between them. I used MX-2 myself.
 
Tuniq TX-2 gives temps about 1-2C lower than AS5, and costs half as less. Plus, it isn't conductive so you don't have to worry about getting it in the wrong place.
 
Any of the good stuff....works fine. Apply it properly, you are good to go. Hell, I have some AS3 and AS5....as well as some Ceramique....all work fine. Hardly 1c of difference between any of them. If you get more than 1-2c difference between any of the "good" paste, you have not applied one of them correctly.
 
I recently tried that new IC Diamond 7 TIM. Beleive it or not, it gave me 4C cooler temps under load than Ceramique. Under Idle, it was only a 1C difference.

Fluke? Maybe, but I recorded the temps on both with the same ambient temp, and I have to go with the numbers.
 
Ceramique is a great non-conductive thermal compound - if you have the foresight and the diligence to cure it properly. Takes upwards of 500 hours of cure time and during that time you need to be stressing, idling and then turning off your computer (for a thorough cool-down) at least once a day for the first couple weeks before it hits it's prime.

I normally use the stuff on chipsets and whatnot, but only after I'm damned sure I don't plan on pulling the parts off soon. I have a bad habit of adding a new component right about the time all the different thermal compounds finally pass their "break-in" / curing periods... <sigh>
 
Honestly, the difference between any two thermal compounds is so minimal that it will likely have absolutely no effect on your system stability or overclock potential. From what I hear MX-2 is the best, but there are a ton of other choices out there that will give you similar temps.
 
arjo_reich said:
Ceramique is a great non-conductive thermal compound - if you have the foresight and the diligence to cure it properly. Takes upwards of 500 hours of cure time and during that time you need to be stressing, idling and then turning off your computer (for a thorough cool-down) at least once a day for the first couple weeks before it hits it's prime.

I normally use the stuff on chipsets and whatnot, but only after I'm damned sure I don't plan on pulling the parts off soon. I have a bad habit of adding a new component right about the time all the different thermal compounds finally pass their "break-in" / curing periods... <sigh>
Click to expand...

It takes only 25 hours for Ceramique to "break-in" and achive MAXIMUM thermal conductivitey compared to AS5's 200 hour break in period.

This is not to be confused with the 100-300 hours it takes for the TIm to thicken to achieve long-term stability.
 
the stuff is all the same. "break in" and "curing" is just marketing bullshit.
 
Well, make sure the base of your heatsink and the IHS are atomically flat, then stick them together. They should weld together into one :p
 
Like most have stated already, a good notable brand will work fine. I been using AS5 since back in the days. The biggest variable is how it is apply and that also makes it hard to compare thermal grease. Even if you were to use the same grease again on the same setup you will get different temperature readings.
 
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