Thermal paste advice between arctic silver 5 vs mx4 vs ic diamond

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johnk_47

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Dec 9, 2012
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Hey guys,

i need some help with making a decision between the mentioned 3 thermal pastes. Ive read in some places that the ic diamond strips of the the top of cpu but not sure. Now between the arctic siver 5 ad mx4 both are not available at performance-pcs , only 20g ones are available but i dont need that much.

I have read that the IC Diamond has 'abrasion issues' and resulting in damaging cooling parts.
Could someone advice because i really dont want to ruin my cpu because of a bad decision.

Thanks a lot in advance
 
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4Ryan6


IC Diamond abrasion issues are correct, many have claimed issues against IC Diamond for loss of CPU warranty because of the abrasion incidents to no avail, there was a thread here at one time regarding it and...
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johnk_47

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Dec 9, 2012
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hey bro thnx for the info but mx 4 has now become seriously rare like i cant find it on any of the pc cooling websites. Do u suggest/recommend any other.
 
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4Ryan6

4Ryan6

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Apr 14, 2002
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IC Diamond abrasion issues are correct, many have claimed issues against IC Diamond for loss of CPU warranty because of the abrasion incidents to no avail, there was a thread here at one time regarding it and covering the impending lawsuit actions but it has since been closed, because it got really nasty!

Artic Silver 5 is old school and most avoid it because of it's extremely long cure in time.

As a second to SR-71 Blackbirds suggestion, Artic MX4 is what you want IMO and if 20grams is what you can get, get it!

Artic MX4 is some of the best thermal compound I've ever used, if you want to settle for less that's up to you!

Good Luck!

Edit: A 20grm tube will give you enough for thermal footprint testing, because the less you use the better the thermal cooling performance, as you're only filling the microscopic imperfections between the 2 contacting metal surfaces, you are not after a layer of the stuff!

So test fitting lets you see what's going on under that heat sink or water block, too much thermal compound insulates instead of conduct the heat transfer, and that's bad!

You are only filling the air gaps, as air is an insulator, that's what thermal compound is for, to replace the air with a thermal conduction compound, and that's all!

MX4 is a thinner consistency and will spread to almost nothing under pressure filling the air gaps! (And that's Good!)

Less is always best, but unless you pull that heat sink, inspect under it, clean the test compound off, apply fresh and re-seat the heat sink, you'll be wondering whether you used too much or not enough?

And as a general rule 98% use too much thermal compound, and are absolutely clueless as to what's actually going on under that heat sink or water block, because they're afraid they won't use enough and use way too much!

Knowing what's going on under that heat sink is much better!


 
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