[EOL] Arctic MX-5 is here!!Tests incoming! Completed. Now its MX-6 testing time!

[ThrashZone]

My link is from the Amazon Arctic store direct. Third party sellers are just scalping.

It seems that arctic mx-5 discontinued.
End-of-Life

MX-5 | Premium Thermal Paste For All CPU Coolers | ARCTIC

Newly developed premium paste from ARCTIC: The MX-5 ACTCP00047A. Especially thin application, high thermal conductivity, very low thermal resistance.

www.arctic.de

Hi,
Yep mine was from above link "removed the (-)" so not disinformation just arctic having more than one seller third party or otherwise.

I have no axe to grind
I do have and use acrtic thermal pads which I've found to be good and inexpensive in large sheets so I have all common sizes

 

[mclaren85]

This is my current temps while using MX-4 . Tomorrow after applying Aeronout, I will post the temps again to compare.
Ps. My cpu is Amd 3900x with stock prism wraith fan (presumably made by cooler master)

 

[Boombastik]

My sapphire rx580 pulse with mx-5 after 6 months....

 

[lexluthermiester]

My sapphire rx580 pulse with mx-5 after 6 months....
View attachment 248786
View attachment 248787

Looks ok to me. What were you trying to show here?

 

[phanbuey]

You can see the middle start to dry and crust, and the liquidy stuff around it looks like the paste is starting to separate/degrade. Could mean +7-10C temperature difference, and a lot more fan noise, vs when first applied. Most people wouldn't really notice it until it fully crusts up.

Not many pastes survive on a GPU very well beyond 6 months without doing this though. Even KPX and Kryonaut do this, Noctua NH-1 does it even faster. That's why all the laptop forums always recommend pastes that spread like a rubber eraser unless you soak them in near boiling water before trying to apply (SYY, TFX, etc.)

EDIT: The new kryonaut extreme also looks promising... soaking the syringe in hot water looks mandatory - stuff comes out like old unprocessed peanut butter.

 

[Space Lynx]

I just remembered I have an unopened Noctua NT-H2 tube, so I will be using that for my build this November (assuming parts to buy are available for a next gen build), SYY will have to wait a bit longer.

@phanbuey what are your thoughts on NT-H2 (not NT-H1)

 

[Boombastik]

You can see the middle start to dry and crust, and the liquidy stuff around it looks like the paste is starting to separate/degrade. Could mean +7-10C temperature difference, and a lot more fan noise, vs when first applied. Most people wouldn't really notice it until it fully crusts up.

Not many pastes survive on a GPU very well beyond 6 months without doing this though. Even KPX and Kryonaut do this, Noctua NH-1 does it even faster. That's why all the laptop forums always recommend pastes that spread like a rubber eraser unless you soak them in near boiling water before trying to apply (SYY, TFX, etc.)

EDIT: The new kryonaut extreme also looks promising... soaking the syringe in hot water looks mandatory - stuff comes out like old unprocessed peanut butter.

In this card i tried now a paste that is very hard, AKASA AK-T565. I will monitor how it will end.
For information deepcool z9 , deepcool g40, mx-4, mx-5 , ceramique 2 eventually all failed. (mx-4 one week, mx-5 6 months, deepcoll 2-3 months).
Also the fanny thing is that i found an old tube of mx-1 from pentium 4 era i put in the t420 sandybridge laptop and it was the only paste that it was not degraded. Mx-1 is the same product with shin-etsu g751.
Then they come with mx-2 that is their product.

 

[phanbuey]

I just remembered I have an unopened Noctua NT-H2 tube, so I will be using that for my build this November (assuming parts to buy are available for a next gen build), SYY will have to wait a bit longer.

@phanbuey what are your thoughts on NT-H2 (not NT-H1)

Unfortunately I haven't tried that one and haven't heard much about it. Looks from a cursory glance it's better than nt-h1 but not a specific reformulation to address longevity - more a reformulation for better thermals over the H1 variant.

Most of the new pastes from the "spreads easy, no cure, great performance off the bat" style are great for reviews and youtube, the initial performance makes stuff like shin-etsu look like you tried to put toothpaste on your cpu, but after a few months you may need to repaste.

 

[Shrek]

Most of the new pastes from the "spreads easy, no cure, great performance off the bat" style are great for reviews and youtube, the initial performance makes stuff like shin-etsu look like you tried to put toothpaste on your cpu, but after a few months you may need to repaste.

I think that is exactly what we are missing, the long-term performance; we judge on that one degree saved.

 

[tabascosauz]

I just remembered I have an unopened Noctua NT-H2 tube, so I will be using that for my build this November (assuming parts to buy are available for a next gen build), SYY will have to wait a bit longer.

@phanbuey what are your thoughts on NT-H2 (not NT-H1)

Unfortunately I haven't tried that one and haven't heard much about it. Looks from a cursory glance it's better than nt-h1 but not a specific reformulation to address longevity - more a reformulation for better thermals over the H1 variant.

Most of the new pastes from the "spreads easy, no cure, great performance off the bat" style are great for reviews and youtube, the initial performance makes stuff like shin-etsu look like you tried to put toothpaste on your cpu, but after a few months you may need to repaste.

H2 is even runnier than H1. Noticeably better temps, but probably not what you're looking for in a GPU/laptop application. For CPUs I just don't go out of my way to buy NT-H1 anymore, been going through 3.5g H2 tubes.

That said, I did use it on my laptop and it's not degraded over time - it's just equally mediocre as it was day 1 because of the horrible mounting pressure

 

[Space Lynx]

H2 is even runnier than H1. Noticeably better temps, but probably not what you're looking for in a GPU/laptop application. For CPUs I just don't go out of my way to buy NT-H1 anymore, been going through 3.5g H2 tubes.

That said, I did use it on my laptop and it's not degraded over time - it's just equally mediocre as it was day 1 because of the horrible mounting pressure

I won't be using it on my laptop, it will be for my next gen desktop build this Fall

 

[mclaren85]

Well I did test and compare the 2 different pastes, mx-4 vs aeronout. It seems aeronout is full 5 celcius degrees lower than mx4. Can't imagine what would have been if kryount was used.

 

[Deleted member 202104]

@CallandorWoT

I've been working my way through a 10g tube of H2 over the last year without any complaints, but ordered some SYY today because peer pressure.

The longest I've had it installed without a re-paste is 6 months on the 12700k. Haven't noticed anything change in that time.

 

[tabascosauz]

I won't be using it on my laptop, it will be for my next gen desktop build this Fall

then it's a great choice if the price is not a concern

@CallandorWoT

I've been working my way through a 10g tube of H2 over the last year without any complaints, but ordered some SYY today because peer pressure.

The longest I've had it installed without a re-paste is 6 months on the 12700k. Haven't noticed anything change in that time.

I don't think the degradation part is really a thing on desktop CPUs. Ran NT-H2 up to about 1.5 years without repasting but MX-4 and NT-H1 for years on end at a time, they're all fine, but I know for sure MX-4 is very different on bare GPU die

no offence to the SYY master @freeagent but those two tubes are still lying around. No matter how much hot water soaking and credit card spreading, just couldn't get a decent enough spread to beat a quick NT-H2 job. I think I tried 10 times in one week? Might be useful for a GPU so I keep em

 

[Shrek]

Well I did test and compare the 2 different pastes, mx-4 vs aeronout. It seems aeronout is full 5 celcius degrees lower than mx4. Can't imagine what would have been if kryount was used.

GPU temps tend to suggest the room may have been 3-4C warmer between tests

 

[freeagent]

then it's a great choice if the price is not a concern



I don't think the degradation part is really a thing on desktop CPUs. Ran NT-H2 up to about 1.5 years without repasting but MX-4 and NT-H1 for years on end at a time, they're all fine, but I know for sure MX-4 is very different on bare GPU die

no offence to the SYY master @freeagent but those two tubes are still lying around. No matter how much hot water soaking and credit card spreading, just couldn't get a decent enough spread to beat a quick NT-H2 job. I think I tried 10 times in one week? Might be useful for a GPU so I keep em

None taken my man!

They sound like they dried up? My tubes have been pretty easy to spread, my last 30 grams anyway..

 

[mclaren85]

3.5C warmer between tests

Good catch! After applying Grizzly, I immediately started the windows and run the benchmarks. But I don't think it will affect the net result much.

 

[Deleted member 202104]

I don't think the degradation part is really a thing on desktop CPUs. Ran NT-H2 up to about 1.5 years without repasting but MX-4 and NT-H1 for years on end at a time, they're all fine, but I know for sure MX-4 is very different on bare GPU die

no offence to the SYY master @freeagent but those two tubes are still lying around. No matter how much hot water soaking and credit card spreading, just couldn't get a decent enough spread to beat a quick NT-H2 job. I think I tried 10 times in one week? Might be useful for a GPU so I keep em

I can totally agree on the lack of degradation for desktop. Before I dove back into hardware hardcore in late 2020, my previous CPU was an overclocked 2700k from 2012 on the original paste that was included with the Hyper 212 I used. 8 years @ 4.5GHz.

I've read reviews of the SYY that said the same thing. It's crazy hot here right now so maybe it arrives pre-softened. Worst-case, it ends up on the shelf in the spare room with everything else that now looks like a failing tech youtuber's backdrop.

 

[Vario]

Not many pastes survive on a GPU very well beyond 6 months without doing this though. Even KPX and Kryonaut do this, Noctua NH-1 does it even faster. That's why all the laptop forums always recommend pastes that spread like a rubber eraser unless you soak them in near boiling water before trying to apply (SYY, TFX, etc.)

I've been running a single application of Arctic Silver 5 on a HD7850 for almost 10 years now with no change in paste. Temps are the exact same 2012 to 2022. I know its not trendy anymore to use Arctic Silver 5, but it's extremely stable.

 

[Bong-Jovi]

Why doesn't anyone mention AS-5? I've never had a single issue with it. Been using it for probably a decade now. It's my go-to when I don't have any liquid metal around, which I only get the Thermalright stuff since it's almost half the price of Thermal Grizzly and is probably the exact same shit anyways

edit: Go figure... as I'm writing this post, someone else finally posts about AS-5 lmao

 

[Vario]

Why doesn't anyone mention AS-5? I've never had a single issue with it. Been using it for probably a decade now. It's my go-to when I don't have any liquid metal around, which I only get the Thermalright stuff since it's almost half the price of Thermal Grizzly and is probably the exact same shit anyways

It isn't popular any more because it loses on benchmarks to trendy modern pastes by a margin of error single degree Celsius. Stuff is fantastically stable though.

 

[Bong-Jovi]

It isn't popular any more because it loses on benchmarks to trendy modern pastes by a margin of error single degree Celsius. Stuff is fantastically stable though.

I've had people straight-up tell me it's trash and they would rather use mayonnaise. Those are also the same people who say it's electrically conductive though, so I guess I shouldn't take their opinion too seriously.

 

[Vario]

I've had people straight-up tell me it's trash and they would rather use mayonnaise. Those are also the same people who say it's electrically conductive though, so I guess I shouldn't take their opinion too seriously.

Here is one of the popular "best in category" pastes for most people against Arctic Silver 5. Wow what a difference!

 

[freeagent]

I used AS5 for at least a decade, probably more.. it’s good stuff. It does lose out to modern pastes though. I still have a tube just in case lol..

 

[maxfly]

Here is one of the popular "best in category" pastes for most people against Arctic Silver 5. Wow what a difference!

If your still rockin a quadcore from 2008 and using that $60 DD tdx block (I've got an AMD version in my junk box) those results look saweet!
Today? Mmmmnah, nice try.