7970m thermal paste preferences, IC Diamond 7 or PK-1??

Hey all,

As the title says, upgrading to the 7970m in my R2, and wondering what thermal paste is preferred! I got IC Diamond 7 and PK-1. Which of those do YOU prefer and why?

 

i would only use IC diamond when your temps are very high all the time as it seems more durable. For example, people running m17x's with 4ghz+ XM processors should use IC-diamond because you will have to repaste less often. You'll still have to repaste monthly with ICD, but it would be every 3 weeks with PK-1 lol

For a 7970m, i would prefer PK-1...the 7970m runs cold so no paste durability issues here. Plus ICD is a pity to work with. Hard to apply, hard to remove plus it is very abrasive so it will 100% scratch or stain your GPU die

 

I use pk-1 mainly because it is probably the best thermal paste which will not scratch the gpu die. I have noticed a 7-8 celsius drop in gpu and 6-7 drop in cpu temps under load (3dmark11 and long gaming sessions with high details and dx11 enabled) with pk-1, however I do have a 6990m, and they do tend to run hot, so I dont think you will see those big declines in temps.

 

monthly repaste with icd ?

i have mine there sitting for like 6-8 months and everything is fine ??

 

then you aren't running a very high OC and your temps are decent.

I had a 2920xm and the temps were very high...almost uncontrollable. I think all those running 2920XM's are running into similar issues if they overclock a lot.

Essentially, repaste and temps are manageable with 4ghz OC for a few weeks...then suddenly temps get outrageous. Repaste again, then temps are ok again...rinse + repeat

This headache was the primary reason why i sold my xm processor in favor of the 2820

 

Thanks SlickDude I installed my 7970m now with PK-1. Did my i7 920xm with PK-1 aswell. Very easy to work with. Can't say much about the temps just yet though.

The problem now though is my screen seems dead? I rechecked the cables and everything but nothing helped. So I plugged in my TV through HDMI and I got everything on my tv. Thought it was a driver issue so I installed 12.6 and now my HDMI works from time to time up untill the login screen then the signal dies. Laptop screen is still dead :/ I'm using the m17x R2. I've posted this under the "Another 7970 in R2 install guide" thread but thought I'd just mention my problem here aswell incase someone has any ideas? Probably better if replies to this issue is posted in the 7970 in R2 install guide thread so we don't go off topic here. All help is appreciated!!!