Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive,
the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)
This last part is the reason why I don't recommend AS5 for a "Novice". Needing to ask the question says novice PC builder.
MX4 actually transfers heat better by theg way look up the review of thermal paste done here on toms.
Edit: here is the link:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616-18.html
Arctic Silver 5 contains over 88% thermally conductive filler by weight. In addition to micronized silver
Silver also has the highest thermal conductivity of any element and the highest light reflectance. Although it is the best conductor, copper and gold are used more often in electrical applications because copper is less expensive and gold has a much higher corrosion resistance, Arctic Silver 5 also contains sub-micron zinc oxide,
Is zinc oxide conductive? Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an attractive transparent conductor that can potentially substitute the commercially used materials at a reduced cost. A good transparent conducting oxide is characterized by high-electrical conductivity and optical transparency. aluminum oxide
Alumina has an electrical resistivity of about 1x10 to the 14th power Ω. So it is not good at conduting electricity. and boron nitride particles
Boron nitride is often referred to as “white graphite” because it is a lubricious material with the same platy hexagonal structure as carbon graphite. Unlike graphite, BN is a very good electrical insulator. It offers very high thermal conductivity and good thermal shock resistance.. These thermally-enhanced ceramic particles improve the compound's performance and long-term stability
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram