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Thermal Paste Round-up: 85 Products Tested

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Results: Closed-Loop Liquid Cooler; High Mounting Pressure

We start with closed-loop liquid cooling, since this is the most popular type of water cooling used by enthusiasts. Relatively high performance and low complexity are particularly suited to less experienced builders.

Unlike the rest of the field, Coolaboratory's Liquid Metal Pad necessitates a burn-in, so we heated the CPU momentarily to 75°C Tcase and verified that the film melted, combining the two metallic surfaces. As far as usability goes, this is definitely a negative against that particular product.

In the meantime, high-quality, expertly-applied pastes are hardly any worse, so there's really no good reason to go the pad route. We also note that the variation between pastes is very low when applied thinly and with adequate contact pressure.


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92 Comments Comment from the forums
  • AndrewJacksonZA 04 August 2017 13:22
    *heavy breathing*
    I love these kinds of articles and in-depth super tests!! Thank you so much for all your time, effort and hard work, I appreciate it. I'm sure that I'm going to enjoy reading it.

    Um, do you guys still have a single page or "printable" view please?
    Reply
  • Yuka 04 August 2017 13:51
    Oh, amazing article. I love it a lot.

    Maybe it's because I've used Artic Silver 5 for so many years, but for me it's the best all-rounder compound there is. Plus it's very cheap. I like it more than the MX-2 and MX-4 compound siblings people usually recommends. But I have to say, the "diamond" compounds are indeed better it seems. I had my doubts, but no more with these tests.

    Cheers!
    Reply
  • InvalidError 04 August 2017 13:55
    Long story short: apart from esoteric TIMs, all pastes are practically as good as any other for typical uses when applied correctly. That really shouldn't surprise anyone as all pastes rely on the same principle of various particle sizes in silicon oil suspension getting crushed together.
    Reply
  • DarkSable 04 August 2017 13:58
    Hang on, I'm sorry.

    Also, very cheap silicone-based solutions like Arctic MX-2 and MX-4, despite being easy to apply and affordable, aren't worth the trouble they cause later as they deteriorate.

    I work with MX-4 almost exclusively. Yeah, it's not $30 a tube, but it's also not "very cheap," are you kidding me? "Very cheap," is the Elmer's glue you sniffed as a kid, repackaged as thermal paste.

    I use MX4 specifically because it doesn't have a burn in period and because it lasts FOREVER.

    No, it doesn't deteriorate. I've seen reports a decade after the fact showing less than three degrees celsius difference from when it was first applied.

    So. Either you're biased because of ignorance, or both Artic's warranty and every long term test done before this has been lying. Gosh, lemme think which is more likely...

    Now, is something like MX4 the best thermal paste out there? Of course not. But it IS way better than a lot of the market, super easy to apply and maintenance-free, and very reliable. If you're going to be a snob about your thermal pastes, at least be accurate about it.
    Reply
  • zippyzion 04 August 2017 14:35
    Well, I didn't see that result coming. They are almost all the same. So, why even bother picking? Just get the cheapest stuff from a reputable name. That's a little disappointing that doubling your money gains you a degree or two, at best.
    Reply
  • grimfox 04 August 2017 14:41
    Within the article you talk about the considerations for GPU backplate for augmented cooling. Do you plan to do a review/article for products involved in that? I would be interested to know which thermal pads or shims or pastes you are using to augment GPU cooling. And to see a comparison of different products. I recently replaced a laptop GPU and redid the pads for that. The installation did involve a learning curve and finding products was not straight forward.
    Reply
  • JamesSneed 04 August 2017 14:41
    Nice job on this article. Do more of this It helps the enthusiast community.

    Looking at your data Thermal grizzly Kryonaut wins as the best non-metal TIM except in low mounting pressure situations. it doesn't seem to matter as long as you have one of the decent pastes but its obvious there are a few to avoid like the Coolplast20 or Amasan T12 for example.
    Reply
  • FormatC 04 August 2017 14:43
    @DarkSable:
    I'm using TIM since over 15 years, not only for Home PC's, but also in the industry. The major problem of this MX-4 are the long Burn-In time to get a better performance and the fast dry-out issue. As hotter a CPU or GPU works, as worse this grease performs (and is drying out). I does a lot of long-term runs with different products and especially this older products (not only from Arctic) were showing this typical behavior.

    If you prefer MX-4, why not? Use it. But please accept, that a test of different products over 4 years can show at the end a completely different picture. :)

    I get a lot of hardware (mostly VGA) with MX2- or MX-4 as replacement of the original TIM from other reviewers in rotation. And I have every time to replace this replacement with better (or original) products to get the original performance back. MX-2 on a VGA card is pure pain. Simply try one time another, better products and you will be surprised.

    @JamesSneed
    I have to take, what's in Germany on the market. All pastes were retail and not sponsored samples from the manufacturer. It was my idea to do this under real conditions. But I think it is possible to organize some stuff also from the US or Asian market.
    Reply
  • JamesSneed 04 August 2017 14:51
    With Ryzen and more so Thredripper I wonder if those will impact application methods due to the multiple dies under the heat spreader? Seems you would want to make sure you have the area the dies are covered with TIM and that area is spread out more with those CPU's.
    Reply
  • AndrewJacksonZA 04 August 2017 14:52
    A great article, thank you! :-)

    Reply