Xigmatek Announces Its Xi-3 HDT Thermal Paste

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Xigmatek's new thermal compound is optimised for heatpipe direct touch (HDT) coolers

As the name suggests, the heatpipes in a HDT cooler are placed in the base of the cooler and gaps will normally be present between the base and the heatpipes. This results in a lower surface area of contact when the base touches the CPU which will in turn reduce the cooler's thermal efficiency. To solve this problem Xigmatek's Xi-3 thermal compound was designed specifically for HDT coolers and features smaller, more dense particles. The Xi-3 is rated at 104 Pa·s, specific gravity at 2.5 g/cm³, 9.1 W/mK thermal conductivity and features an anti-bleed composition.

As with most other compounds on the market, the compound is non-electrically conductive and will be sold in a 4 g syringe for a currently unknown price.

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Tarun Iyer
13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • fuzzion
    Anyone knows if thermal paste needs to be changed after 3 years?
    Reply
  • alidan
    fuzzionAnyone knows if thermal paste needs to be changed after 3 years?
    depends on the paste... some paste turns to crap after long useage period.
    someone on the steam forum a while ago was haveing reboot problems with his cpu, and it turned out his thermal paste was hard, cracked, and not doing its job at all, once he applied new paste, his system went i believe 15-20c cooler,

    if you are haveing a heat problem with your computer and you dont overclock, odds are its a thermal paste issue, or you have a VERY poor cooler, and at least from my experiences, amd give you a pretty damn good cooler on higher end parts, and intel... i think its resomended to get a after market cooler, but i am not sure.

    Reply
  • warmon6
    alidan and intel... i think its resomended to get a after market cooler, but i am not sure.
    At stock speeds, intel coolers are just fine and newer intel cpu's can even get a mild overclock on them "IF" i recall correctly.

    Although, if you want any major overclock, it's recommended to get an aftermarket cooler.


    Reply
  • alidan
    warmon6At stock speeds, intel coolers are just fine and newer intel cpu's can even get a mild overclock on them "IF" i recall correctly. Although, if you want any major overclock, it's recommended to get an aftermarket cooler.
    ok, os they are good at stock, because i remember a time where both companies gave such poor coolers it was recommended to just toss them and get an after market even at stock.
    Reply
  • zybch
    I'm a huge fan of the TIM pads made by IndogoXtreme and Coolaboratory. You have to heat the hell out of the CPU when 1st installed but the metal pads melt at about 95C and from thereon in provide almost perfect heat transfer from CPU to heatsink. Far better than any pastes I've ever tried, though more expensive of course.
    Oh, and intel stock coolers (at least for 1155/56/2011 sockets) really suck.
    Reply
  • daswilhelm
    10441905 said:
    I have the same paste on my core 2 duo build since august 2007 , still works with no problems :) ( paste is original which came with the box cooler)

    if this "new" paste was just released, how did you get it back in 2007?
    Reply
  • warmon6
    daswilhelmif this "new" paste was just released, how did you get it back in 2007?

    He's not referring to the paste in the article, He's talking to the person about if he/she need to change thermal compound "in general".

    Sometime you have to read outside the box ;)
    Reply
  • daswilhelm
    oh ok, "same paste". i get it.
    Reply
  • 10tacle
    alidanok, os they are good at stock, because i remember a time where both companies gave such poor coolers it was recommended to just toss them and get an after market even at stock.
    That was quite a while ago. Starting with the Core 2 Duo and Quad core chipsets with Intel, the boxed coolers were leaps over previous CPU generation stock fans from Intel (don't build AMD, can't speak for them). However, those stock coolers still approach the maximum recommended temps even when running mild overclocks (up to about a 10% boost over stock). For that reason alone and longevity of a build, I'd still recommend at least spending $20-$30 on an aftermarket cooler like the inexpensive but very capably CoolerMaster Hyper series that actually blows ducted hot air out of the case. Your internal case temps will thank you too.

    I miss the days when we could buy an OEM CPU and save the money over the full retail box. It's really a waste of manufacturing and my money to have a bunch of stock Intel coolers laying around unused.
    Reply
  • 10tacle
    I got some Xigmatek paste free in a combo deal with my Noctua NH-D14 purchase a couple years ago (PTI-G4512). Having always used Arctic Silver 5, I decided to try it for a couple of months, then switch to AS and compare. The Xigmatek paste ran a consistent 2C lower (above ambient) at load than the AS5.
    Reply