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    Arctic Silver 5 or Matrix?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by icepop4who, Jan 21, 2011.

  1. icepop4who

    icepop4who Notebook Enthusiast

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    For laptop cpu, which thermal compound is better?

    Or is there a better alternative?
     
    icepop4who, Jan 21, 2011
    #1
  2. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Does budget matter?
     
    sgogeta4, Jan 21, 2011
    #2
  3. Judicator

    Judicator Judged and found wanting.

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    There are numerous alternatives, but in the end, most of them will make little practical difference unless you're interested in squeezing the last bit of performance out of your system. Application of the thermal compound frequently (meaning almost always) makes a bigger difference than the actual thermal compound, apart from any quirks in the composition of the compound (such as the 200 hour cure time for AS5).
     
    Judicator, Jan 21, 2011
    #3
  4. ThePantryMaster

    ThePantryMaster Notebook Consultant

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    I use AS Ceramiqué, but it's sticky as hell and a massive pain in the to apply.
     
    ThePantryMaster, Jan 21, 2011
    #4
  5. Gracy123

    Gracy123 Agrees to disagree

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    I have used Arctic 5 numerous times, but I never felt any difference (neither positive nor negative) to the original paste.
     
    Gracy123, Jan 21, 2011
    #5
  6. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    I actually recommend the IC Diamond over AS5. I have seen a significant difference. Any funny enough the IC Diamond is cheaper than AS5.
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Jan 21, 2011
    #6
  7. Pitabred

    Pitabred Linux geek con rat flail!

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    Aye. You will likely not be able to see any functional difference between the two. Just get whichever is cheaper as both are reputable.

    Heck, it's possible they're both made in the same factory and are just relabeled ;)
     
    Pitabred, Jan 21, 2011
    #7
  8. laststop311

    laststop311 Notebook Deity

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    nah pitabred as5 and icd are composed of different materials they are not the exact same thing rebranded i can guarantee that. They both offer very very similar performance tho and you would be happy getting either one as they are both at the top of the class.
     
    laststop311, Jan 21, 2011
    #8
  9. aardvarksystems

    aardvarksystems Notebook Guru

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    I agree that it makes no difference. I have a generic heatsink compound/transistor grease tube from radio shack, as well as two AS5 tubes and two other tubs of Thermaltake compounds, and CoolerMaster Thermalfusion 400. I cannot tell any difference between any of them on the literally hundreds of laptops and desktops I've applied them on. I continue to use the higher priced ones (mainly AS5) on my personal computers but honestly when the AS5 runs out I wont be in a rush to get more as the others work just the same as I can tell, even in overclocking environments. I seriously doubt (assuming all of them are applied correctly) that it will give you any significant overclocking or cooling edge.
     
    aardvarksystems, Jan 21, 2011
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  10. Judicator

    Judicator Judged and found wanting.

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    Well, IC Diamond is a much thicker TIM than AS5, which has both advantages and disadvantages. I've seen a few times where it's made things worse, although that was almost certainly an application issue (because it's so thick, it can be easy to misapply).
     
    Judicator, Jan 21, 2011
    #10
  11. icepop4who

    icepop4who Notebook Enthusiast

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    what about the application? is there any difference?
     
    icepop4who, Jan 21, 2011
    #11
  12. SoundOf1HandClapping

    SoundOf1HandClapping Was once a Forge

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    Matrix and AS5 apply about the same. Much easier than MX-3.

    AS5 is a dated paste. I mean, sure, yeah, the "better" pastes might give you only a couple of degrees difference, but you might as well move on.

    Anyway, Matrix performed fairly well for me. Not as good as MX-3, but certainly not bad either. Also, it didn't have any--nominal--curing time and it's not capacitive. Also pretty easy to spread.

    However, I do recommend Gelid GC-Extreme, as it's incredibly easy to spread and has excellent performance to boot.
     
    SoundOf1HandClapping, Jan 22, 2011
    #12