The Official Thermal Interface Material thread

mechtech · Dec 5, 2022

I have not seen any mx6 yet in Canada. Any consensus on what the best stuff is for longevity and pump out?? I’m looking for something that will last reliably for 6 years minimum before repasting.

mclaren85 · Dec 5, 2022

The best heat transfer (according to thermodynamics law) occurs during the phase change. Which means during the compound melts down or boil etc. (that is the heat coefficient). Also some materials have the "second sound" phenomenon, which enables the heat transfer like a sound-waves do, which is also very important factor to analyze thermal conductivity.

According to this information the best ever paste has to be PCM (Phase change material) type. I don't know it yet to be created, but that is the way the companies should take.

Note: As far as I know, Henkel Industries tries to make some of that type of grease, but for only industrial usage.

Pictus · Dec 6, 2022

mclaren85 said:
The best heat transfer (according to thermodynamics law) occurs during the phase change. Which means during the compound melts down or boil etc. (that is the heat coefficient). Also some materials have the "second sound" phenomenon, which enables the heat transfer like a sound-waves do, which is also very important factor to analyze thermal conductivity.

According to this information the best ever paste has to be PCM (Phase change material) type. I don't know it yet to be created, but that is the way the companies should take.

Note: As far as I know, Henkel Industries tries to make some of that type of grease, but for only industrial usage.

PCM?
Look at https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...e-material-thread.278074/page-11#post-4814383

mechtech · Dec 6, 2022

nja said:
Currently on it
3600 and 3070FE in a NZXT H210i
Literally the best paste i've used to date. Beats everything i've tried (NT-H1, 2, mastergel pro, MX4, gelid gc extreme, kryonaut, hydronaut, ic diamond and so on...)
Haven't tried TFX yet. Heard they come out of the same factory. Lowest temperatures i had and lowest hotspot difference (9 to 11)
Spread it, let it rest 20m and put it back on. For the price it's just amazing.

hmmmm not that I put much faith in Toms but

Best Thermal Paste for CPUs 2024: 90 Pastes Tested and Ranked

The right thermal paste will improve performance.

www.tomshardware.com

Rated it as poor, but then says very good high tension testing results?!?!! Strange.

9. SYY 157

Best Budget Performance

Specifications

Electrically Conductive: No
Thermal Conductivity: 15.7 W/mk
Ease of Use: 3.0 (1=difficult, 5=simple)
Relative Performance: 1 (1=poor, 5=excellent)
Cleanup: lint-free absorbent paper towels, alcohol pads or cotton swabs and alcohol
Price per gram: $2.99

Reasons to buy
+
Cost / price per gram
+
Very good high-tension testing results

Reasons to avoid

-
Rather thick
-
Difficult to spread

freeagent · Dec 6, 2022

Difficult to spread?

Dam noobs.

lexluthermiester · Dec 6, 2022

Shrek said:
Not here to make trouble, but any TIM would transfer the SAME heat for the same CPU (conservation of energy), except for the proviso given above.

However, the bad TIM will have the CPU running hotter.

And while that would seem logical in theory, that's not what happens in real-world practice.

freeagent said:
Difficult to spread?

Dam noobs.

I wouldn't say is "difficult" to spread, but it does require more effort.

damric · Dec 6, 2022

So recently I put a water block on a 6900xt. The grease that came with it was amazing. I just emailed alphacool to see if they sell it or plan on selling it.

Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acetal GPX-A Radeon RX 6800/XT/6900 Reference mit Backplate

Der Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acryl RADEON RX 6800/6900/XT vereint Style mit Performance. Die Erfahrung von über 17 Jahren sind in diesen Grafikkarten-Wasserkühler eingeflossen und stellen den aktuellen Höhepunkt der Alphacool...

www.alphacool.com

nja · Dec 6, 2022

mechtech said:
hmmmm not that I put much faith in Toms but

Best Thermal Paste for CPUs 2024: 90 Pastes Tested and Ranked

The right thermal paste will improve performance.

www.tomshardware.com

Rated it as poor, but then says very good high tension testing results?!?!! Strange.

9. SYY 157
Best Budget Performance

Specifications
Electrically Conductive: No
Thermal Conductivity: 15.7 W/mk
Ease of Use: 3.0 (1=difficult, 5=simple)
Relative Performance: 1 (1=poor, 5=excellent)
Cleanup: lint-free absorbent paper towels, alcohol pads or cotton swabs and alcohol
Price per gram: $2.99

Reasons to buy
+
Cost / price per gram
+
Very good high-tension testing results

Reasons to avoid
-
Rather thick
-
Difficult to spread

These aren't reviews, they're fully sponsored articles that are copy pasted from sites to sites with affiliated links
Everyone who has tried syy 157 has made similar claims to me (as far as ive read)
No pump out in 4 months after a repaste
They claim it's thick and difficult to spread.. i disagree, kryonaut and gelid are harder to me! And theres always the cup of hot water technique if needed

If you want the best of the best.. TFX or these guys https://www.coolsierra.com/collections/thermal-paste/products/ec360-ruby?variant=39723865211020
They also have the best thermal pads with fujipoly.. But SYY 157 remains the best bang for the buck
I suspect it to be rebranded TFX from "less good" batches or normal batches, for fake concurrence.. Common in asian markets!

freeagent · Dec 6, 2022

SYY-157 is no more difficult to spread than Arctic Silver Ceramique II… Maybe they had some dry stuff, not sure. TFX is waaay thicker for sure, that stuff was a tough spread.. but it was cool in here and I didn’t warm it up.

maxfly · Dec 6, 2022

GerKNG said:
i am highly interested in the SYY 157 paste.
seems to be a very decent paste for direct die applications. anyone here tried it before?

I believe @freeagent has tried some? Or maybe it was gd900... I forget.

damric said:
So recently I put a water block on a 6900xt. The grease that came with it was amazing. I just emailed alphacool to see if they sell it or plan on selling it.

Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acetal GPX-A Radeon RX 6800/XT/6900 Reference mit Backplate

Der Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acryl RADEON RX 6800/6900/XT vereint Style mit Performance. Die Erfahrung von über 17 Jahren sind in diesen Grafikkarten-Wasserkühler eingeflossen und stellen den aktuellen Höhepunkt der Alphacool...

www.alphacool.com

We've got an Alphacool rep, alphacooleddy or eddie. I'll try to find the right user name. Anyhow, he will be able to tell you.

freeagent · Dec 6, 2022

maxfly said:
I believe @freeagent has tried some? Or maybe it was gd900... I forget.

That was me, I have gone through about 50 grams already

Its good stuff, use the spatula.. thin not translucent

But that would depend on your cooler I guess, and its mounting pressure...

maxfly · Dec 7, 2022

damric said:
So recently I put a water block on a 6900xt. The grease that came with it was amazing. I just emailed alphacool to see if they sell it or plan on selling it.

Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acetal GPX-A Radeon RX 6800/XT/6900 Reference mit Backplate

Der Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Acryl RADEON RX 6800/6900/XT vereint Style mit Performance. Die Erfahrung von über 17 Jahren sind in diesen Grafikkarten-Wasserkühler eingeflossen und stellen den aktuellen Höhepunkt der Alphacool...

www.alphacool.com

It's @EddyAlphacool Goodlord that was a pita to find! If you pm him I'm sure he will let you know. He's really helpful. Or...he may post up here

EddyAlphacool · Dec 7, 2022

damric said:
So recently I put a water block on a 6900xt. The grease that came with it was amazing. I just emailed alphacool to see if they sell it or plan on selling it.

With all CPU and GPU coolers and also with all GPU and CPU AIOs (with the exception of the Ocean AIO), the Alphacool Subzero thermal paste with 16W/mk is currently always included.

This paste:

Alphacool

www.alphacool.com

damric · Dec 7, 2022

EddyAlphacool said:
With all CPU and GPU coolers and also with all GPU and CPU AIOs (with the exception of the Ocean AIO), the Alphacool Subzero thermal paste with 16W/mk is currently always included.

This paste:

Alphacool

www.alphacool.com

Ok I was wondering because it was in a black unlabeled tube. I'll be ordering more. Thank you!

EddyAlphacool · Dec 7, 2022

@damric
That's correct, we don't have any lables on there. Actually inconvenient as you can see, but in the future there will be lables on it as well, so you can see it right away.
But it has always had the Subzero on it for many years. But next year we will switch to the more powerful Alphacool Apex with 17W/mk for all products (except the Ocean AIOs).

Arco · Dec 7, 2022

Would Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut be better than the MX-5 I'm using right now?

Edit: I'm open to suggestions as well.

mechtech · Dec 7, 2022

freeagent said:
That was me, I have gone through about 50 grams already

Its good stuff, use the spatula.. thin not translucent

But that would depend on your cooler I guess, and its mounting pressure...

Lol 50g wth lol

A 4g tube usually gets old before I use it all. I have a newish tube (8 months old?) of mx4 2019 Ed (hopefully legit) that I will use on my noctua cooler when I repaste/reinstall.

edit

jayjr1105 · Dec 7, 2022

Arco said:
Would Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut be better than the MX-5 I'm using right now?

Edit: I'm open to suggestions as well.

Considering your MX-5 application is probably recent, I wouldn't bother.

freeagent · Dec 7, 2022

mechtech said:
Lol 50g wth lol

A 4g tube usually gets old before I use it all. I have a newish tube (8 months old?) of mx4 2019 Ed (hopefully legit) that I will use on my noctua cooler when I repaste/reinstall.

edit

I've got 3 CPUs in rotation, 3 or 4 heatsinks, and a few cases

I do all kind of experimenting

nomdeplume · Dec 7, 2022

How much of that 40g went to disproving the fingertip smear debate we'll never know.

maxfly · Dec 7, 2022

There was a fingertip debate? Do share @nomdeplume.

P4-630 · Dec 7, 2022

mechtech said:
hmmmm not that I put much faith in Toms but

Best Thermal Paste for CPUs 2024: 90 Pastes Tested and Ranked

The right thermal paste will improve performance.

www.tomshardware.com

Rated it as poor, but then says very good high tension testing results?!?!! Strange.

9. SYY 157
Best Budget Performance

Specifications
Electrically Conductive: No
Thermal Conductivity: 15.7 W/mk
Ease of Use: 3.0 (1=difficult, 5=simple)
Relative Performance: 1 (1=poor, 5=excellent)
Cleanup: lint-free absorbent paper towels, alcohol pads or cotton swabs and alcohol
Price per gram: $2.99

Reasons to buy
+
Cost / price per gram
+
Very good high-tension testing results

Reasons to avoid
-
Rather thick
-
Difficult to spread

I'm missing Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme..... :ohwell:

maxfly · Dec 7, 2022

P4-630 said:
I'm missing Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme.....

And pk3 is $51.99 from the only vendor selling it on Amazon... apparently they think its made of gold.

nomdeplume · Dec 7, 2022

maxfly said:
There was a fingertip debate? Do share @nomdeplume.

Yes, just as there was a bendable iPhone debate.

Effectively you just dip a finger into the barrel sized repository your industrial byproduct of note and finger paint it all over the place like you're 3 years old again. Which prompted howls of micro-sized air bubbles and all the usual suspected failure modes being examined in nauseating detail. :laugh:

lexluthermiester · Dec 7, 2022

Arco said:
Would Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut be better than the MX-5 I'm using right now?

If it is, it's not by much. Maybe 1 or 2 degrees C

EddyAlphacool said:
With all CPU and GPU coolers and also with all GPU and CPU AIOs (with the exception of the Ocean AIO), the Alphacool Subzero thermal paste with 16W/mk is currently always included.

This paste:

Alphacool

www.alphacool.com

Anyone who considers this, the 20g package, while pricey, is the best value per gram.

For those inclined, there's also an Amazon listing;

https://www.amazon.com/Alphacool-Subzero-Thermal-Grease-13009/dp/B0BDXSKPMV

There is also AlphaCool's Apex;

https://www.amazon.com/Alphacool-Apex-Thermal-Grease-13036/dp/B0B51C4KHL

This stuff is pricey as well, but it's supposed to be excellent.

Processor	Ryzen 5700x
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570S Aero G R1.1 BiosF5g
Cooling	Noctua NH-C12P SE14 w/ NF-A15 HS-PWM Fan 1500rpm
Memory	Micron DDR4-3200 2x32GB D.S. D.R. (CT2K32G4DFD832A)
Video Card(s)	AMD RX 6800 - Asus Tuf
Storage	Kingston KC3000 1TB & 2TB & 4TB Corsair LPX
Display(s)	LG 27UL550-W (27" 4k)
Case	Be Quiet Pure Base 600 (no window)
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC1220-VB
Power Supply	SuperFlower Leadex V Gold Pro 850W ATX Ver2.52
Mouse	Mionix Naos Pro
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe with browns
Software	W10 22H2 Pro x64

System Name	MSI-MEG
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Motherboard	MSI MEG X570S ACE MAX
Cooling	AMD Wraith Prism + Thermal Grizzly
Memory	32 GB
Video Card(s)	MSI Suprim X RTX 3080
Storage	500 GB MSI Spatium nvme + 500 GB WD nvme + 2 TB Seagate HDD + 2 TB Seagate HDD
Display(s)	27" LG 144HZ 2K ULTRAGEAR
Case	MSI MPG Velox Airflow 100P
Audio Device(s)	Altec Lansing
Power Supply	Seasonic 750W 80+ Gold
Mouse	HP OMEN REACTOR
Keyboard	Corsair K68
Software	Windows10 LTSC 64 bit

Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard	Asus TUF Gaming B550-Plus
Cooling	Thermalright Frost Commander 140
Memory	2x16 3200@3733 Crucial Ballistix
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte RX 5600 XT WindForce OC 6G (GV-R56XTWF2OC)
Storage	Some
Display(s)	Acer XV280K
Case	Cooler Master HAF XB EVO
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE 650 Bronze
Mouse	Logitech G502SE
Keyboard	Ajazz AK35i with AKKO CS Rose Red Switches and white YMDK PBT keys

Processor	Ryzen 5700x
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570S Aero G R1.1 BiosF5g
Cooling	Noctua NH-C12P SE14 w/ NF-A15 HS-PWM Fan 1500rpm
Memory	Micron DDR4-3200 2x32GB D.S. D.R. (CT2K32G4DFD832A)
Video Card(s)	AMD RX 6800 - Asus Tuf
Storage	Kingston KC3000 1TB & 2TB & 4TB Corsair LPX
Display(s)	LG 27UL550-W (27" 4k)
Case	Be Quiet Pure Base 600 (no window)
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC1220-VB
Power Supply	SuperFlower Leadex V Gold Pro 850W ATX Ver2.52
Mouse	Mionix Naos Pro
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe with browns
Software	W10 22H2 Pro x64

Processor	AMD R9 5900X
Motherboard	Asus Crosshair VIII Dark Hero
Cooling	Thermalright Aqua Elite 360 V3 1x TL-B12, 2x TL-C12 Pro, 2x TL K12
Memory	2x8 G.Skill Trident Z Royal 3200C14, 2x8GB G.Skill Trident Z Black and White 3200 C14
Video Card(s)	Zotac 4070 Ti Trinity OC
Storage	WD SN850 1TB, SN850X 2TB, Asus Hyper M.2, 2x SN770 1TB
Display(s)	LG 50UP7100
Case	Fractal Torrent Compact RGB
Audio Device(s)	JBL 2.1 Deep Bass
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNova 750w G+, Monster HDP1800
Mouse	Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard	Logitech G213
VR HMD	Oculus 3
Software	Yes
Benchmark Scores	Yes

System Name	Main
Processor	Ryzen 5950x
Motherboard	B550 PG Velocita
Cooling	Water
Memory	Ballistix
Video Card(s)	RX 6900XT
Storage	T-FORCE CARDEA A440 PRO
Display(s)	Samsung UE590
Case	QUBE 500
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z623
Power Supply	LEADEX V 1KW
Mouse	Cooler Master MM710
Keyboard	Huntsman Elite
Software	11 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://hwbot.org/user/damric/

System Name	DadsBadAss
Processor	I7 13700k w/ HEATKILLER IV PRO Copper Nickel
Motherboard	MSI Z790 Tomahawk Wifi DDR4
Cooling	BarrowCH Boxfish 200mm-HWLabs SR2 420/GTX&GTS 360-BP Dual D5 MOD TOP- 2x Koolance PMP 450S
Memory	4x8gb HyperX Predator RGB DDR4 4000
Video Card(s)	Asrock 6800xt PG D w/ Byski A-AR6900XT-X
Storage	WD SN850x 1TB NVME M.2/Adata XPG SX8200 PRO 1TB NVMe M.2
Display(s)	Acer XG270HU
Case	ThermalTake X71 w/5 Noctua NF-A14 2000 IP67 PWM/3 Noctua NF-F12 2000 IP67 PWM/3 CorsairML120 Pro RGB
Audio Device(s)	Klipsch Promedia 2.1
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus PX-850 w/CableMod PRO ModMesh RT-Series Black/Blue
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Black Aluminun Mechanical Clicky Thing With Blue LEDs, hows that for a name?!
Software	Win11pro

System Name	Work / Eddy 1 / Wive 2
Processor	i5-8500 / i7 13700kf / i9 12900k
Motherboard	They work, no super duper whatever.
Cooling	Eisbaer / Alphacool Enterprise stuff / Alphacool Enterprise stuff
Memory	16GB / 32 GB DDR5-5600 / 64GB DDR5-6000
Video Card(s)	4090 / 4080 / 2080TI
Storage	1TB SDD / 2TB M.2 + 2TB HDD / 2TB M.2 SSD + 1TB M.2 SSD
Display(s)	49" UWHQD / 32" UWHQD / 32" UWHQD
Case	Jonsbo / TT TG6 White / TT TG6 Green
Audio Device(s)	Audio? Monitor Speaker ...lol
Power Supply	400W / 1200W / 1200W
Mouse	Mionix Naos / Mionix Naos / Logitech
Keyboard	Logitech K740 / K740 / Craft

System Name	Firestarter
Processor	7950X
Motherboard	X670E Steel Legend
Cooling	LF 2 420
Memory	4x16 G.Skill X5 6000@CL36
Video Card(s)	RTX Gigabutt 4090 Gaming OC
Storage	OS: 2TB P41 Plat, 2TB SN770, 1TB SN770
Display(s)	FO48U, some dinky TN 10.1 inch display.
Case	Fractal Torrent
Audio Device(s)	PC38X
Power Supply	GF3 TT Premium 850W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard	OG Razer Black Widow

System Name	Ryzen 1
Processor	Ryzen 5800X
Motherboard	MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling	Scythe Fuma 2
Memory	32GB Patriot Viper 3600 CL16
Video Card(s)	AMD RX 7800 XT 16GB
Storage	SSD's
Display(s)	HP X32 32" 1440p 165Hz
Case	Phanteks P400A
Power Supply	Superflower Leadex III 750w

Processor	Intel i5 8400
Motherboard	Asus Prime H370M-Plus/CSM
Cooling	Scythe Big Shuriken & Noctua NF-A15 HS-PWM chromax.black.swap
Memory	8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT DDR4-2400
Video Card(s)	ROG-STRIX-GTX1060-O6G-GAMING
Storage	1TB 980 Pro
Display(s)	Samsung UN55KU6300F
Case	Cooler Master MasterCase Pro 3
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex III 750w
Software	W11 Pro

System Name	AlderLake / Laptop
Processor	Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz / Intel i3 7100U
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master / HP 83A3 (U3E1)
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans / Fan
Memory	32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MHz CL36 / 8GB DDR4 HyperX CL13
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio / Intel HD620
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2 / Samsung 256GB M.2 SSD
Display(s)	23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p / 14" 1080p IPS Glossy
Case	Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window / HP Pavilion
Audio Device(s)	Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W / Powerbrick
Mouse	Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless / Logitech M330 wireless
Keyboard	RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless / HP backlit
Software	Windows 11 / Windows 10
Benchmark Scores	Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock

The Official Thermal Interface Material thread

9. SYY 157​

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Reasons to avoid​

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9. SYY 157​

Specifications​

Reasons to avoid​

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