Thermal paste applied on your GPU / CPU, survey!

[AsRock]

Lol these threads....

For my 24/7 GPUs, I just use MX-4. Like my CPUs, I use the small ball in the middle and let the pressure of the heatsink spread it.

I been having problems with MX-4 lately having to change it every 3-4 months, been finding it drying up in to pretty much nothing. Been happier with TG3,

Seems like MX-4 separates really fast.

 

[peche]

I don't use the same paste every time. In my opinion best price/perf is the MX-2 - at least where I live. Other than that, sometimes I go with what the manifacturer provdied. If I got a cooler from Zalman, they have a decent paste. If it is from Thermaltake as well. I discard the low-end pastes usually. But I have tried. Only brand I can discard straight away is Evercool (for thermal paste).

Concidering spreading techique I usually wear unsterilized medical gloves when I work on my PC, so I just use my pinky finger to spread it evenly. The credit card method, never worked for me. I don't get why people recommend it so much. Manual spreading gives second best results to "X" spread: https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Thermal-Paste-Application-Techniques-170/

well, my preferreerd and always used method:

Cooler / Waterblock: tint a ultra thin layer, using cards or spreader,

CPU: application method my vary from processor model and brand:
intel core seires [ivy bridge, sandy bridge, haswell and broadwell]: a thin line in I.H.S. center,
pemtium & Celerom processors [old ones, before 2009 series ]: small bean size on center,
AMD processors: "X" on center, thin layer of paste!


Sometimes, I look for the specific processor model, for being sure where is the processor Die located, for an exact application of TIM,


Regards,

 

[shoti02]

...Gigant is now in deliver......

 

[peche]

Well here are some facts in about the post,
Some information filled out by all the people that shared some info with us!

Official data:

the question!?:

Did you always use the same TIM on your hardware?

1. .Yes I do use the same one…Always!
46 votes → 50.5%

2. .No I don’t have any preferred or "trusted brand"
35 votes→ 38.5%

3. .If I could I would! not always have stock of the same products!
10 votes → 11.0%

Total Votes: 91.


Thanks for sharing, discussing, and helping me and my friend with such a helpful information,

Is excellent to see that many people have similar methods, trusted brands and also use to be so enthusiast with this little topic!


Thanks, I will leave the topic open for future replies of everyone! you can still having the current discussions,!

As I mentioned before, all information about this can be helpful for my friend and his new store!


Regards,

 

[EarthDog]

That what the poll says up top, yep.

 

[peche]

a

That what the poll says up top, yep.

aye, information taken at the first post...!
also you can look at the question poll,

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Before and after applying MX -4 as opposed to some generic gloop


BEFORE

AFTER

 

[AxGaming]

I use thermal grease from Koolance in my xfx HD 5450 and also on my CPU, I gained a friend for over a year I'm satisfied with it, for now I have no interest in buying another infirm.

 

[Shambles1980]

i use MX-2 or MX-4
usually MX-4 to be honest. i voted that i always use the same one although i have dabbled with more expensive and cheaper pasters.
I find that mx-4 is the best paste as an all round level. its not that expensive at all. its non conductive so its usefull in a multitude of situations. and it has great conductive properties.
it is also a nice consistency so applying it is easy enough (i usually use the make an X method)

 

[Woomack]

Depends what is on stock I'm using MX4 or Gelid Supreme ( not Extreme ). Gelid Supreme is as good for my needs as MX4 but cost less ( bigger package in similar price ). However is not always available on stock. I don't like to apply Gelid Extreme and it's too expensive to use more often. I'm mainly testing hardware so I'm swiching cooling more often.
I was trying some other new TIMs but all were too expensive for what they offer or I didn't like to apply them. There were also TIMs like BeQuiet which was worse than MX2/4/Gelid Supreme and was also terrible to apply.

 

[peche]

Before and after applying MX -4 as opposed to some generic gloop


BEFORE
View attachment 66532

AFTER
View attachment 66533

thanks for the update with your TIM!
application method caps?

i use MX-2 or MX-4
usually MX-4 to be honest. i voted that i always use the same one although i have dabbled with more expensive and cheaper pasters.
I find that mx-4 is the best paste as an all round level. its not that expensive at all. its non conductive so its usefull in a multitude of situations. and it has great conductive properties.

well I found that arctic cooling mx series the most famous and also the most important fact, well priced, good product and also easy to apply / spread, also another star for the product, is always available mostly on internet! great stock !

Depends what is on stock I'm using MX4 or Gelid Supreme ( not Extreme ). Gelid Supreme is as good for my needs as MX4 but cost less ( bigger package in similar price ). However is not always available on stock. I don't like to apply Gelid Extreme and it's too expensive to use more often. I'm mainly testing hardware so I'm swiching cooling more often.
I was trying some other new TIMs but all were too expensive for what they offer or I didn't like to apply them. There were also TIMs like BeQuiet which was worse than MX2/4/Gelid Supreme and was also terrible to apply.

well testing hardware is always a interesting thing, may I ask about your application methods?

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

thanks for the update with your TIM!
application method caps?

A kind of shaky X i didnt spread it at all.

 

[jboydgolfer]

A little information to those who may be faithful AS5 user such as Myself......I keep a stock of 1 3.5G tube onhand for emergencies, because You NEVER know when You'll need it....this year I bought My annual tube from Newegg, and as normal I store it in a Air tight container. Well to MY surprise, when I went to use the New tube, it was dried out, and useless, So i contacted Arctic Silver, and have been ignored.

I provided My invoice from Newegg, Pic's of My container, and pics of the tube in question (so they would see there was no damage) but they still have ignored me. The tube in question is only 4-5 months old, and being that it was stored airtight, it should be PERFECTLY fine, and frankly I've had tubes MUCH older than that, which were Perfectly fine.

My point is NOT to hijack a thread, but instead to Warn any of You who may, like Me stock AS5 ahead of time, Arctic Silver has treated Me like crap(actually crap would've been better than being ignored). I still love the Product, just NOT the support(even if its something You RARELY need support for).

My apologies for anyone who feels I placed this comment inapproriately.

Regard's

 

[peche]

is not the better post for it, but is welcome here….

sometimes a customer support is who really sells a brand, I hate asus mostly for its customer service and RMA, despite their products haven't fill my speciation's as gigabyte does,

actually I have sent an email to arctic silver like 28 days ago and I'm here waiting the reply …. well, not always all brands are like we want or wish they were....

 

[jboydgolfer]

is not the better post for it, but is welcome here….

sometimes a customer support is who really sells a brand, I hate asus mostly for its customer service and RMA, despite their products haven't fill my speciation's as gigabyte does,

actually I have sent an email to arctic silver like 28 days ago and I'm here waiting the reply …. well, not always all brands are like we want or wish they were....

IKR? Asrock, and Powercolor are the Two #1 IME. They have ALWAYS taken Good care of ME, and Fast too... I remember when the Fan on My 6950 started to go, The REP from Powercolor ,just sent me a Brand new Shroud.I had proof of purchase of course, but C'mon does it get better than that?

Arctic Silver 5 Support...SHAME!!!

 

[peche]

IKR? Asrock, and Powercolor are the Two #1 IME. They have ALWAYS taken Good care of ME, and Fast too... I remember when the Fan on My 6950 started to go, The REP from Powercolor ,just sent me a Brand new Shroud.I had proof of purchase of course, but C'mon does it get better than that?

Arctic Silver 5 Support...SHAME!!!

gigabyte… #1 for sure..

like 5 years ago, I sent a vide card for RMA service from costa rica with the national postal service from CR [Costa rica] and they send it back in the same way, directly to my home, arctic cooling reply pretty fast to my email, ando so thermlatake distributor here in costa rica, also for several doubts I have written them and they reply pretty fast,

 

[mcraygsx]

Tuniq TX-4 Extreme works like dream.

 

[peche]

Tuniq TX-4 Extreme works like dream.

tell us more about your experience!

application methods used, how much have you been using it?

 

[kn00tcn]

i'm staring at these charts...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616-18.html (high pressure air)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616-19.html (low pressure air)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616-20.html (gpu)

they are noting that certain pastes that were 'ok' on cpu end up performing relatively much worse on higher temp gpu

i am really debating between gelid extreme, prolimatech pk3, arctic mx4... i want to redo my laptop paste these days without using my conductive as5 (or my likely useless vantec/zalman/coolermaster, forgot if i mentioned earlier in thread)

gelid & prolim look pretty tied, arctic isnt as good with high pressure or high temps

EDIT: my 2670qm can reach 95 degrees during encoding on a hot day, it's exactly as hot & sometimes slightly hotter than a gpu

as5 forget about it, so obsolete, pointlessly conductive, pointless curing time, i could never make a dot with it in the last decade as there is always a dripped string when i lift away, @jboydgolfer i dont understand why you would STOCK UP by schedule, just buy a new tube when the current one is nearing the end unless you're seriously trying to tell us you're using that much paste every single year... i have the same as5 tube for 10 years & i dont think it dried up (why be faithful to it, it's not close to the best at all anymore)

related question, do i need to buy/replace the thermal pads of the vram if i'm remounting the cooler? (570m, laptop heatsink... or any modern gfx card i guess)

 

[jboydgolfer]

@jboydgolfer i dont understand why you would STOCK UP by schedule, just buy a new tube when the current one is nearing the end unless you're seriously trying to tell us you're using that much paste every single year... i have the same as5 tube for 10 years & i dont think it dried up (why be faithful to it, it's not close to the best at all anymore)

I buy it when i need it ... I keep a tube on hand for repairs etc...which i do for a part time living. I dont buy it on a schedule( i dunno why i said "annual" probably tired or something, I THINK I meant Semi Annual), i buy it when im nearing the end of my remaining tube...or in this case, i ordered Several components from newegg, and decided to add AS5 to the list since my remaining tube was close to 5 Y/o.

The dried out one occurred because the Head of the syringe was broken, causing the Thermal paste to be exposed to air.

IME , AS5 works great. It has NEVER caused ME a problem, or failed ME..thats Why I am faithful to the brand. I personally haven't gone through all of the brands to find the Newest, best type, and frankly i dont care to. I am FAR too busy to do that, but @ the same time, I am ALSO far too busy to take a chance on something that might not work. Also, AS5 IS NOT Conductive... it is a slight bit capacitive, but NOT conductive, either way, I have NEVER had a n issue with it, so im not concerned.From What ive PERSONALLY noticed, MANY of the claims like You posted above, are gathered from different sources online, seen in passing, and frankly I dont put stock in what I see others Post...Certainly You would agree that NOT Everything You read /Hear online is trustworthy..Im not personally saying I DONT beleive You...but I simply beleive MYSELF more than people online..I KNOW what works...I KNOW its not conductive...I KNOW it works well @ high temps..Ive never really noticed a "Curing Time" although I read about it MANY times Ive never noticed it efficiency increase a week later..as far as High pressure, I dont know how to test that, The term "High Temps" is relative...for My High temps it is VERY effective..Conductive..it just isn't...high pressure You may be right. but Im sure You can understand that It works for Me, and Im comfortable with it..So I buy it.( please dont take my reply personal..its not intended as an insult etc..Its just my experience VS Others word...and im sure you can guess which will win.

IMO it is better to KNOW something is viable, rather than to rely on reviews etc.. While Im certain ALL work well, AS5 Works best for ME, SO I use it, and intend to continue to do so.personally, and for customers.Or maybe it is better to Say I TRUST it? either way,

As for thermal Pads...NO JUST removing the Shroud doesn't require thermal pads to be replaced...unless they are desintegrated, or something, normally You can just stick them in place (if they Even came out of place because they usually wont) and replace the shroud.

 

[Aquinus]

I personally have never had an issue with AS5. In fact my CPU still runs plenty cool and the TIM application is over 3 years old. I have a little bit of reluctance with trusting TIM reviews because the process of prepping it seems to be ignored in a lot of reviews. AS5 is one of those pastes, as others have said, doesn't dry out very quickly. Unfortunately it is also the reason why AS5 takes a good amount of time (or in reality, heating/cooling cycles,) to spread out and harden. As a result, I think that a lot of reviews are slapping AS5 on, run a stress test for 5-10 minutes and see where the temperature is at. In all candor, that's a really bad thing to do. The thing is with AS5, after each heating/cooling cycle for 5 cycles showed improvement in heat transfer (gradually becoming less and less,) but the first attempts always had very high temperatures in comparison to all of the prior tests. At least that was my experience after applying it to one of my 6870s in the past.

So I want to just put out there that people rail on AS5 but, it's a proven TIM that does work if you know how to use it. In all seriousness, 2-3 degrees could easily be variation in room temperature over the course of the day and in all seriousness, won't notice much of a difference with the exception of that conductive coolabratory pro stuff. All in all, I think how you apply the TIM (in many cases,) impacts numbers more than the TIM itself (assuming a half-reputable brand.)

 

[kn00tcn]

ya the application is definitely important, as for reviews, i'm pretty sure tomshardware is reputable & can read the instructions regarding the curing time

some other sites show charts over time for multiple pastes, & most of them are also dropping, not just as5

but how did i first come to choose as5? what else did i have other than reviews & a couple friend recommendations.... if i chose then, then i can choose the same way now, right? i'm sure there are people that just dont care & end up with a collection of pastes from the coolers they buy, then proceed to use whatever paste they grab first from the drawer, in a way that's slightly similar to continuing to use as5 (of course, as5 is a good choice in the first place so it's not like it would be a problem)

i guess i will try to find some information on the potential shorting, lifespan, & pads

that's another thing, when you need to give someone something that needs to last years without being taken apart, that's a different need than your own enthusiast parts that you enjoy taking apart & racing for peak performance

 

[peche]

i'm staring at these charts...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616-18.html (high pressure air)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616-19.html (low pressure air)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-paste-performance-benchmark,3616-20.html (gpu)

they are noting that certain pastes that were 'ok' on cpu end up performing relatively much worse on higher temp gpu

Well I do trust tom's hardware, also those reviews that eve include toothpaste are prety iteresting to read, I have seen several of them, nice reference fella! thanks for sharing

i am really debating between gelid extreme, prolimatech pk3, arctic mx4... i want to redo my laptop paste these days without using my conductive as5 (or my likely useless vantec/zalman/coolermaster, forgot if i mentioned earlier in thread)

gelid & prolim look pretty tied, arctic isnt as good with high pressure or high temps

EDIT: my 2670qm can reach 95 degrees during encoding on a hot day, it's exactly as hot & sometimes slightly hotter than a gpu

well I trust coolermaster, arctic cooling and also why not thermaltake TG1… since you mentioned that you don’t want a thermal conductive paste I would not said a thing about coollab!

also for laptops I have used arctic MX4 and temps still as the first day of tim application, coolermaster ice fusion show better results on high temps .. for example o stock coolers or air coolers…pretty helpful for laptos or stock cooled rigs….

related question, do i need to buy/replace the thermal pads of the vram if i'm remounting the cooler? (570m, laptop heatsink... or any modern gfx card i guess)

if you have the thermalpads...excellent...
also it depends how they are... still i excellent condition... worn out ... so if you have the chance for buying new ones... go ahead...

I buy it when i need it ... I keep a tube on hand for repairs etc...which i do for a part time living. I dont buy it on a schedule( i dunno why i said "annual" probably tired or something, I THINK I meant Semi Annual), i buy it when im nearing the end of my remaining tube...or in this case, i ordered Several components from newegg, and decided to add AS5 to the list since my remaining tube was close to 5 Y/o.

well i do the same also i have always like 3 alternatives...

I personally have never had an issue with AS5. In fact my CPU still runs plenty cool and the TIM application is over 3 years old. I have a little bit of reluctance with trusting TIM reviews because the process of prepping it seems to be ignored in a lot of reviews. AS5 is one of those pastes, as others have said, doesn't dry out very quickly. Unfortunately it is also the reason why AS5 takes a good amount of time (or in reality, heating/cooling cycles,) to spread out and harden. As a result, I think that a lot of reviews are slapping AS5 on, run a stress test for 5-10 minutes and see where the temperature is at. In all candor, that's a really bad thing to do. The thing is with AS5, after each heating/cooling cycle for 5 cycles showed improvement in heat transfer (gradually becoming less and less,) but the first attempts always had very high temperatures in comparison to all of the prior tests. At least that was my experience after applying it to one of my 6870s in the past.

So I want to just put out there that people rail on AS5 but, it's a proven TIM that does work if you know how to use it. In all seriousness, 2-3 degrees could easily be variation in room temperature over the course of the day and in all seriousness, won't notice much of a difference with the exception of that conductive coolabratory pro stuff. All in all, I think how you apply the TIM (in many cases,) impacts numbers more than the TIM itself (assuming a half-reputable brand.)

well many others here trust arctic silver 5 so as you said ... " TIM that does work if you know how to use it." well said my friend!

 

[Pill Monster]

gigabyte… #1 for sure..

like 5 years ago, I sent a vide card for RMA service from costa rica with the national postal service from CR [Costa rica] and they send it back in the same way, directly to my home, arctic cooling reply pretty fast to my email, ando so thermlatake distributor here in costa rica, also for several doubts I have written them and they reply pretty fast,

I had a 5 year old BFG 6800GT which died one day. Since it was BFG I opened a ticket which they not only accepted for RMA but paid to have the GPU shipped back to the States from NZ.

Anyway I sent the dead card off and figured that was that. Not 3 weeks later a UPS parcel arrived on my doorstep, and sitting inside was a BRAND NEW 7600GT, and a T-Shirt.


Really sad to see BFG go under. They were a truly great company.

 

[kn00tcn]

i ended up using my old AS5... one of the pads is starting to tear, i dont have new pads, cleaned the dust, etc... one of the VRMs or MOSFETs of the cpu is sticking out, MSI's design doesnt seem to cover it properly either by the pad or by the heatsink

yes i spread it with plastic wrap, the instructions say so for exposed cores, i was debating if i should put some to test multiple methods then lift off the heatsink, but i'm really not sure how little paste i have left

so far, full load temps are promising & i dont think it's due to the dust cleaning as there wasnt much, particularly on the cpu's fins

should i bother to post pics? i was surprised by the stock paste, it looked quite good, grey color, not overflowing everywhere, nothing like this russian video i saw where he takes apart the same series laptop that a mess from the factory

EDIT: one thing lacking around the internet is longevity tests, how do pastes react after 1, 2, 5, or even more years? how do pastes react to 90 degrees rather than 70?

some more interesting reads:
http://skinneelabs.com/2011-thermal-paste-review-comparison/ large amount, different mounting pressures
http://archive.benchmarkreviews.com...k=view&id=150&Itemid=62&limit=1&limitstart=12 a ton of stuff
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2285595 water + bare core
http://foro.noticias3d.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=391334 delidding

so annoying, newegg canada has expensive shipping for some syringes, newegg usa has free shipping, i just want to try a tube of gelid extreme & prolimatech pk3, is that so much to ask... i can get mx4 in person without a problem at least (i can get gelid supreme in person but it's worse than extreme, which is out of stock on clearance at canadacomputers for some nonsensical reason... also out of stock at dazmode, which looks like a cool modding+water store)