Thermal paste applied on your GPU / CPU, survey!

[Devon68]

· Thermal paste used on your current video card,
· how long have you been using it,
· application method!
· Why that Compound?

Well here's my input on this:
· Factory thermal paste (no idea what brand MSI uses)
· I've been using it for 30 months more or less (I have the card since November 2012)
· No idea on the application method.

 

[peche]

Well here's my input on this:
· Factory thermal paste (no idea what brand MSI uses)
· I've been using it for 30 months more or less (I have the card since November 2012)
· No idea on the application method.

seems legit...

 

[Frogger]

GELID GC extreme on all GPU's, on air or water. Spread with the included spatula works the best. Repaste every 6/8 months depending on temps
Cool laboratory Liquid Ultra or PRO on CPU's again either air or water.

 

[GreiverBlade]

I honestly cant remember the last time i used AS5. It might of been around or pre socket 939 days. Im not sure if i was a user of ceramique I seem to faintly recall that i did use that for a short period of time before switching over to MX-1 and slowly working my way through AS's MX range to where i am today.

The MX range has always been such great value

just in case MX is not AS but AC (Arctic Cooling a Swiss brand) which is Arctic now but not related at all with Arctic Silver

 

[brandonwh64]

I use arctic silver ceramique on everything I own, Never had an issue and cools just as good as MX2 did when I had a tube of that.

 

[natr0n]

luckily that TIM is sold with a spreader tool ... to avoid using a credit card


Indeed +/-1°, in the end its just a price/quantity ratio


Strange... my MX-4 is never runny, it's even a bit thicker than the Ceramique (tested it too just like the Silver 5 before ditching both ) ask for changing your tube if your is. unless it's on all tube, then it's climate and altitude related... maybe


also on application i shall precise a bit.

on my 290 with is a direct exposed die, no need for spread the rice grain is enough, the surface that you need to cover is so small (which contradict the fact that i tend to spread my TIM on vRAM chip ... and since all cooler use more than 4 screw only around GPU, so the pressure is kinda even, if you do it right ofc)

on my 8800Ultra, which has a huge IHS surface, i do spread the TIM.
View attachment 64177

i found a interesting(funny?) statement...

22.06.2011
"For the longest time, Arctic Silver 5 was known as the pinnacle of thermal paste and its sibling, Ceramique, was also highly regarded for being the best performing paste without any conductivity/capacitance qualities. Things changed a few years back, however; Arctic Cooling MX-2 came on the scene and exceeded Arctic Silver 5’s performance while also not being capacitive. "

oh the MX-2? well then .... the king has been lay down since long, why the price is kept up and the quantity under other's average? it amaze me ...
the MX-2 is a good TIM (a bit more viscous than the MX-4) and both MX-4 and GC-Extreme outperform it (not in price tho )

I live in florida so hot climate affects it im guessing. Maybe i could chill it in fridge before applying so wont shoot out so easily.

 

[GreiverBlade]

I live in florida so hot climate affects it im guessing. Maybe i could chill it in fridge before applying so wont shoot out so easily.

might be a idea ... as i live at 1200m above sea level and the temps are way colder than Florida

 

[RealNeil]

I used to use arctic silver ceramic past on every CPU.
Then I had someone send me several tubes of IC Diamond, (for free) and I used it for almost a year.
I have not done any of my current GPUs. (just older models)

Now I have four tubes of GELID Solutions GC-Extreme, and I have been using it for about eight months. It's reputed to be one of the best, but all that I've tried were OK by me.
I have always used a spatula to apply a thin coating on my CPUs.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Then I had someone send me several tubes of IC Diamond, (for free) and I used it for almost a year.

wasnt the IC Diamond CEO or whatever his name was that was trying to pedal his crap thermal paste to TPU members was it?

 

[R-T-B]

wasnt the IC Diamond CEO or whatever his name was that was trying to pedal his crap thermal paste to TPU members was it?

Their website doesn't look so great:

http://www.innovationcooling.com/

Looks like a cheap blog. Any idea if the stuff is actually even worth using in a "freebie" situation?

 

[manofthem]

wasnt the IC Diamond CEO or whatever his name was that was trying to pedal his crap thermal paste to TPU members was it?

Their website doesn't look so great:

http://www.innovationcooling.com/

Looks like a cheap blog. Any idea if the stuff is actually even worth using in a "freebie" situation?

HAHA IC Diamond. I remember that scandal from a while back. A bunch of forum members tested that paste and got some terrible results, damaged the face of the coolers. And it was ridiculous how the IC Diamond guy handled everything; he even "lost" @sneekypeet's cooler

 

[R-T-B]

Is diamond-matter even a good conductor or is that a ball of fabricated shit as well? I think I remember reading somewhere in chemistry that carbon (what diamonds are made of) is more of an insulator...

 

[sneekypeet]

HAHA IC Diamond. I remember that scandal from a while back. A bunch of forum members tested that paste and got some terrible results, damaged the face of the coolers. And it was ridiculous how the IC Diamond guy handled everything; he even "lost" @sneekypeet's cooler

Shhhhhh..... brings chills just reading that post

 

[R-T-B]

Shhhhhh..... brings chills just reading that post

At least it chills something.

 

[sneekypeet]

At least it chills something.

Literally lol'd a bit uncontrollably when I read that!

 

[natr0n]

That diamond paste had good temps for me, but ate/etched metal. It was scary stuff every time you go to clean and wipe it off would be like a metal abrasive polish.

The only way I would use it is on an old junky ass computer with absurd temps.

 

[R-T-B]

The only way I would use it is on an old junky ass computer with absurd temps.

Pentium 4 / Apple G5 would love that stuff more likely than not.

Unfortunately junky old computers and even sucky diamond based paste don't find themselves in the same room. Simple matter of economics.

 

[micropage7]

That diamond paste had good temps for me, but ate/etched metal. It was scary stuff every time you go to clean and wipe it off would be like a metal abrasive polish.

The only way I would use it is on an old junky ass computer with absurd temps.

i prefer taking higher temp than something that affecting the hardware, its ok if i get 2 degrees higher than the paste eats my hsf

 

[bubbleawsome]

I don't change the TIM on my GPU, but my CPU will always have either MX-4 or the stock NZXT stuff on it. I apply with the rice method but a smaller dot. I keep it applied until I remove the HSF or temps go up.

 

[NC37]

I had a tube from Arctic's competitor years ago. Good size, lasted me a long time. Worked good too. Trouble was, it finally ran out and I had to buy new but the company went out of business or something. So I bought a tube of AS5. Expensive and even more to ship it but it's good right? Ehhhh...what I got was a little dinky tube. Same size CM ships with their coolers. Barely lasted long at all.

So...last time buying AS5 for me. Just using the stock stuff CM gave me which I have a bunch of. Not paying a lot of money for barely anything. Total ripoff compared to what I got years ago.

 

[R-T-B]

I had a tube from Arctic's competitor years ago. Good size, lasted me a long time. Worked good too. Trouble was, it finally ran out and I had to buy new but the company went out of business or something. So I bought a tube of AS5. Expensive and even more to ship it but it's good right? Ehhhh...what I got was a little dinky tube. Same size CM ships with their coolers. Barely lasted long at all.

So...last time buying AS5 for me. Just using the stock stuff CM gave me which I have a bunch of. Not paying a lot of money for barely anything. Total ripoff compared to what I got years ago.

I take it you had a tube of something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186040

Decent paste, and a great size for the money. Not sure where you are located though.

 

[MrGenius]

Is diamond-matter even a good conductor or is that a ball of fabricated shit as well? I think I remember reading somewhere in chemistry that carbon (what diamonds are made of) is more of an insulator...

Thermal Conductivity
Diamond = ~2300 W/m*K
Carbon(graphite) = ~170 W/m*K
Copper = ~400 W/m*K

 

[micropage7]

I don't change the TIM on my GPU, but my CPU will always have either MX-4 or the stock NZXT stuff on it. I apply with the rice method but a smaller dot. I keep it applied until I remove the HSF or temps go up.

i replace stock paste, from processor, the chipset, the vga card
stock paste sometimes poorly applied like too thick, too much, dry so i better repaste it to get better temp

 

[buildzoid]

Thermal Conductivity
Diamond = ~2300 W/m*K
Carbon(graphite) = ~170 W/m*K
Copper = ~400 W/m*K

Yeah but that's solid diamond not a paste. Say a water block made of solid diamond would work great but a paste is iffy at best because you'd need to make a really fine powder out of the diamond and theirs the bonding material that actually makes it a paste.

I use MX-2 I also have some CLU but I think the heat pipes in the cooler on my R9 290X are not able to keep up with the heat output because I didn't see a difference between the CLU and MX2. I plan to test the CLU properly later but for now I stick to MX-2.

 

[Liquid Cool]

I'm with the MX-2 crowd...I've been using it for so long I have lots of it lying around. Although...I did get a free tube of the IC diamond paste and used it a few times, but only on cpu's(grain of rice approach).

Best,

LC