Best Thermal Paste sold at Frys?

Hey all,

Any suggestions on thermal paste that's sold at Frys or Radio Shack? (Those are the only B&M computer stores near me, as Microcenter is tooooooooo far).

It would be for repasting the cpu and gpu in my R3.

Thanks!

 

use arctic silver 5

 

Well, that used to be the case, but with the advent of new materials and technologies used in TIM, there are other (sometimes better) options available. I like AS5 and still use it today (only because I still have a tube or two left to use), although I have heard great things about IC7 Diamond.

And really, to the OP, if you want good TIM, try getting it from Newegg or Amazon. Radio Shack and Fry's are good in a pinch, but their selection is most likely terrible, and you're only doing yourself a disservice by buying off-brand TIM in the long run.

 

Really? Thermal compounds are only marginally different, at best. We're talking 1-2C differences at the very most. It's mostly a religion-type thing.

Just get pretty much any non-conductive, name-brand compound and you'll be fine. The major quality differences are in how fast they dry out.

 

Seconded what Pitabred said. There are many many threads of this nature in NBR.

 

lmao. dude wanted to know if anybody knows what options are the best that are locally available to him. and those options happen to be fry's and radio shack.

to op, i haven't been by fry's lately, because well it's too far to drive for just tim, but i know they carry arctic silver 5. look around, too. sometimes the tims are in 2 or 3 spots. you should be able to get a tube of as5 and arctic clean 1 and 2 for around or less than $20 altogether. arctic silver 5 is still one of the top tims so you can't go wrong with it. i haven't tried the other highly recommended brands but ic7 seems to be real popular. i can say that arctic silver 5 spreads easily and you don't need a lot so even a small tube will get you several repastes. the downside is that curing is ~200 hours but all i've ever noticed is another -1* drop after curing.

 

I have AS5 on my dinodesktop and it's been fine since 2006. Should I get it again for my R3?

 

I still think AS5 is a good buy... I use it for everything largely because the tube I bought in 2006 still hasn't run out. If there's anything I've noticed, it's that the quality of application affects the performance of the TIM way more than the quality of the TIM itself.

 

Exactly. Get a decent brand, but don't go out of your way for any particular one. Get whatever's the most convenient/inexpensive. There's no reason to spend more.

 

Great. Will be picking up some AS5 when I hit up Frys. Unless you folks know of something better that might be sold there? IIRC they don't have MX4, TX4, or ICD7

 

Dookie man. Just get the mx-4 from svc.com. Shipping is free and it just takes 3 days.

 

Last time I was at Fry's (Fremont, California, around February) the best they had was OCZ Freeze and AS5.

 

I would recommend IC Diamond 7, if you can get that Fry's, last time I was there was the one in Concord, I got suckered into buying this USB Beverage Cooler by this company that later went out of business for making a crappy usb beverage cooler...lol

 

i've been using MX-3 and no complaints. AS5 is great but the conductiveness is a worry. i like to stray on the safe side.

like many have already said, the application is more important than the actual paste.

 

as5 has been around for 5-6+ years now, show me 1 person the bricked a computer because they "think" AS5 is conductive...



EDIT: just out of curiosity I tested an 1/8in of as5 with my multimeter... there was NO conductivity with the probes at any distance apart...

 

i think you only need to worry about conductivity if you do a slob job like the manufacturers do. if you do it properly, or hell even if it's not the best job in the world i wouldn't worry about it. and as mentioned before in a couple posts, get the best stuff you can locally or order something reasonably priced online. there's no reason really to search far and wide for X brand just to TRY and shave a degree off or two. the gas is not worth it, and the money spent/saved in gas could buy you decent laptop cooler.

 

not all of us have time to bust out a multimeter. i looked at review sites before making my decision,and thats their claim.

anyway who cares, its not like its the end of the world when something says its non conductive and many reviews say its got equal or better performance, AND its cheaper....whats the problem with going with it?

 

i looked online and small tube of as5 and the arcticlean 1 and 2 solution was about $19 at frys.com. i don't remember what i paid, but i think it was $7 in store for the as5 and $5 for the arcticlean. i still have about a half tube left and pasted my sager np2092 4 times i believe and my np5160 in the last week. the tube is 3 years olds. it had separated a little bit so i had to squeeze a little "juice" out.

 

fair enough, but all things being equal, there is nothing wrong about going with the non conductive option is there? plus like i mentioned in my previous post, its the application that matters most, not the TIM

 

Hey guys,

I might be going to Frys this weekend, so will definitely keep an eye out for all of your good suggestions. So the conclusion is to keep an eye out for the phrase "non-conductive," right? If AS5 is the "best" thing that's offered there, I'll be fine, right? Considering how novice I am, I think that my job will probably NOT be a mickeymouse job simply cuz I'll be too (aka extra) careful during the application.

Also, what does "TIM" stand for?

 

Thermal interface material. I really suggest rookie to go for the better one, Mx-4.

 

Where's it cheapest to purchase? Is it svc?

 

Check this out. Thermal Compounds at SVC.com ICD7 is around $7.

 

But do I want ICD7? I've read numerous posts about how it's abrasive cuz it's got chunks of stuff (diamond) in it. Should I go for something more smooth (e.g. AS5 or [insert TIM here])?

 

MX-4! Get it man. That's one of the best out there. For $12 = 4g. The Icd 7 is $7 =1.5g. So Mx-4 is still cheaper in a way.

 

Does svc charge tax? It won't let me see total price unless I enter all the Cc info.

 

They do. So probably it will total up to around $13.

 

Haven't used MX-4, but Gelid GC-Extreme is incredibly easy to spread.

 

I went from being a firm AS5 user and converted to ICD7 I found ICD to perform better but even if I was to not think of performance.

ICD is totally non conductive, easier to install, and according to testing it last much longer before it degrades.

If it was super expensive or something I would stick with AS5 probably but its like the same price as well so that is what I use now.

 

Seems a bit pricey though, for something that I'd most likely use only once.

 

I used IC7 on my MacBook Pro. It's good stuff.

 

So, by extention, are you suggesting that the stock TIM that comes on, say, an Intel stock CPU cooler is just as good as AS5 or IC7? In any event, I would like to direct those interested in TIM to the following article:

The HardwareLogic Thermal Compound Round-Up

Now granted, the article is a bit dated (back in 2008) but it was one of the very first sites to pit over 20 different types of TIM against each other. The 1-2C difference that you claim exists in all TIM regardless of type or manufacture is a bit hard to swallow given the results of the testing.

 

The main problem with stock TIMs is that they're typically applied very poorly. Most are pretty decent and while there will definitely be a slight difference in temperature between the stock TIM and a brand name one when applying them the same method, between the stock TIMs in the store, the difference is pretty minimal. Yes, there are bad TIMs, but among the "best" ones, the difference is very little and within the margin of error of testing. You can get a good TIM for <$5, so IMO it's not worth it to get an allegedly better TIM of the same volume for say double the cost.

 

If I had the resources I would perform a real TIM test that would be much more reliable than any other I have seen done.

To do it right you need a controled varible setting, a element that heats up in X amount of time to X tempature

Then gets cooled by the same heatsink by the same fan & fan speed with the same room temp.

The biggest issue that I never see anybody acknowledge is that computer cooling is done on a variable level. As temps get higher fan speeds get higher and thus a lower performing TIM may show it has equal performance to that of another just because the fans are running at a higher rpm.

So a real TIM test would be done with equipment and not with a computer at all.

 

Man, tough debate we got going here.

The last time I went to Fry's, the best they had was AS5, and I think maybe something called "Ceramique" or something. Waddya think?

 

Well, how much is the AS5 at frys?

 

According to online, it says $12. But I think it was cheaper than that (6 or 7$ maybe?)

Their website also has these: http://www.frys.com/product/5801263?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG, and http://www.frys.com/product/6463192?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG. Are either of those good? AS5 is overpriced on their site, but it's cheaper at the store.

 

the ceramic AS crap is the biggest PIA to use and has a sillypuddy/clay consistency...

 

Thanks! That's very good to know

 

It's strange how ppl keep recommending AS5, IC7 or MX-3/4 are a little bit better and +- the same price so why would one buy AS5.

 

I don't know why you're complaining about a couple bucks buying the MX4 from svc. After you factor in the cost of gasoline used driving to Frys, it's damn near a wash.
Extra helps too, in case you did a poor application job and need to reapply. Anyhow, whichever TIM you go with, you can go to the manufacturer's website and probably find a proper method of applying the TIM, as some TIM optimal applications vary from one to another, i.e X, dot, parallel lines, etc.

 

I agree with jalaj, and im sure you wont regret it if you get one of the best pastes out there.

 

That's true. So which to get: ICD7 or MX-4? (Those seem to be the most popular). If I find my thingy of AS5 (I searched yesterday but came up with nuttin), I will use it.

EDIT: How about this one? http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php...f9fab19cdea94edf9f173dcb0481dba0d29dcdad559b0 Anyone know if this site is legit? Resellerratings says it's good.

 

MX-4 is the best thermal paste........

 

Can someone let me know if ARCTIC MX-4 ARCTIC COOLING MX-4 Thermal Compound - Thermal Paste - SuperBiiz.com is a good deal, and if that site is legit?

 

don't know if superbiiz is a good website, but it seems like reasonable price. you don't need to pay over $10 for anything. just get the best stuff available at fry's next time you go. research what they had and go from there everything was reasonable price, not all were top contenders though. that shin etsu is good stuff. 7783d.

 

Thx as always, mang!

 

Take a look at this dooks, SuperBiiz / ewiz.com / newbiiz.com - superbiiz.com/ - Reviews, Ratings and Prices at ResellerRatings They are have good ratings, nice find! I think that price is good for the MX-4. Because I bought mine at $13.

 

EXCELLENT. Thanks bud!

I want to repaste soon, cuz summer's coming very soon, and it gets damn hot in SoCal, and there's hardly any wind where I live (San Gabriel Valley gets like zero wind).

 

Your welcome. Aah. Me too. I'm going back to the Philippines this June so goodbye cool weather.