Thermal Compunds...

Hi Everyone,


I am planning to buy a thermal paste as my E8400 is running a little hot these days on stock. Could you please mention a good brand and price.
I have shortlisted some:
1. OCZ Freeze .
2. Sunbeam TX-3 Extreme Performance.
3. Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound.

If there's any other good options please do mention it.

Also i would like to know that are thermal compounds a must these days or we can do without them?
 
They are necessary. I've successfully used Arctic Silver 5 and Arctic Silver Ceramique, but most reviews I've read say that any high quality thermal compound will work. Whichever you choose, look at the mfrs' webpage to see the best way to apply to your E8400 C2D, and remember, it doesn't take much.

Good Luck!
 

blackhawk1928

Distinguished
I am using Artic Silver 5 right now and its very good.
And yes thermal paste is a must these days, unless you can buy a heatsink with a 100% flat surface even on microscopic levels (which will be super expensive if possible) and make a CPU with a 100% flat top surface which is also not happening, thermal paste is very important as it compensates for thes imperfections.
 

Vythiel

Distinguished
Feb 14, 2008
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I've used Arctic Silver 5 and OCZ Freeze. Both work equally well, however the OCZ Freeze is easier to work with and clean up than AS5. I believe that it is also cheaper.
 
It's better to just buy a better aftermarket cooler than spending money on thermal paste. A better HSF will drop load temps by 10-15'C, whereas better thermal pate would only drop it by maybe 3'C. A better HSF will also allow you to overclock.

The Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 costs around $30, and is a great cooler that is good for cooling 95w-105w TDP CPUs. It also comes pre-applied with Arctic Cooling MX2, which is better than artic silver 5.

Another good one I recommend is the CM N520 for $35, it's larger than the FreeerPro7 but it cools better, good for 130w TDP cpus...and you can cool 95w-105w TDP cpus with passive cooling by removing the fan.
 

tecmo34

Administrator
Moderator

Your memory services you correctly!! :D

The Thermalright TRUE Rev. C is one of the best air coolers you can buy, along with the Prolimatech Megahalems. Also, I would look at the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus or Sunbeam Core Contract Freeze for good cheaper coolers.

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2473&page=2
 
I have shortlisted it down to these three:
1. CoGage True Spirit.
2. Thermalright CPU Cooler Ultra 120 Extreme Rev. C and
3. Thermalright CPU Cooler TRUE Black 120 Rev. C.

But from pictures all the three look too huge to fit into a CM 690! Would that be a problem??