IC-Diamond 7 rocks!!

Since I am not too happy with my system temp, especially the 9800M GS(peaked at 86-87C). I have heard many good things about IC-Diamond 7 and bought a tube a few days ago and decided to give it a go. I have repasted both my CPU and GPU not long after I got my laptop with some generic thermal compound I got from a friend(don't remember what brand) after I received my machine, the temp had a lil drop compared to the factory applied paste.

I followed the method the ICD-7 site recommended, clean the core and heatsink, apply a small blob on the center of the core and put the heatsink right back on(yes, it's right, don't spread the paste to a flat and thin layer like what you do with paste like AS5). The initial result wasn't very impressive, GPU dropped to 83 C from 87 C, CPU had a minor 2 C drop. I wasn't happy with the outcome and figured if I put too much paste on the GPU and CPU, so I reopened the case, clean the mess, blah,blah.....only this time I applied a very small drop(about half the size of a pea, or perhaps even smaller) of the paste on the CPU/GPU core, tested again, the GPU maxed at 80 C!! CPU had a drop of 5 C.

I consider a 7 C drop is quite a big improvement especially when you are getting close to 90 C, never tried AS5 and any other paste like OCZ-freeze, but IC-Diamond indeed rocks!! So if you are planning repaste your CPU/GPU, give ICD-7 a go!!

 

While not the best anymore, ICD7 is definitely one of the better ones and much better than stock thermal compounds.

 

What's the best one since IC-Diamond 7 is not the best anymore?

 

I'm also interested to learn what's the best!
I'm currently using
GELID Solutions GC Extreme
and it performs better then
Arctic MX-3

 

The differences in the top thermal pastes are miniscule. Though in most reviews, it seems like the top group would be Enerdyne Indigo Xtreme, Shin-Etsu X23, Tuniq TX-4, and Gelid GC Extreme if you must have the top performance w/o price considerations.

 

lol all are good but more expensive... ICD-7 rocks... i've got it too and its cheap and easy to get.

 

lolz you will know how it rocks when you clean that stuff.BTW i dont consider 7c drop worth provided how much idc 7 costs over tuniq tx2.

 

What makes IC Diamond 24 and Indigo Extreme worth paying 2-3 times the price of the others? Of the top group of compounds, the difference can't be more than a few degrees, if that.

 

Show me ONE thermal paste that performs better when spread!
Yeah the test is old but I have yet to see the opposite result with any product.

 

Spreading was somewhat important factor when the die itself was exposed to the heatsink (roughly 6-8 years ago). The drop method of application couldn't ensure that the paste would go to all sides of the die back then, so heat would transfer through a small portion of the already tiny die.

These days we have heatspreaders (on desktops at least) that remove most of the doubt. If you don't hit the entire heat spreader, so be it. The thermal transfer area is still at least as large as the die. I'd still go with "wetting" the surfaces just in case, although the mating surfaces are getting smoother these days.

 

I think everyone should do like reviewers do: put some paste on, mount the heatsink, and then remove it again just to see how much is needed and if the pressure is enough.
CPU's without lids doesn't really need much paste IMO, it's always surprising to see how little you need, at least on CPU's with smaller dies like C2D.

My theory on why applying the paste in the center gets better temps is that the heatsink effectively squeezes the paste towards the edges (like a rolling pin), leaving little or no room for small air pockets,
while spreading the paste will cause some air to get trapped.
(A bit like putting a flat glass on a flattened dough, you will get some air trapped in the dough that you won't get rid of, no matter how hard you push.)

 

As I stated, the differences aren't that much. I would agree with you - I wouldn't pay much for thermal paste (I've been using AS5 for ages since I have a big tube and honestly the results have been great). A more important factor as people have been discussing is application method. That can make or break the results even with the best pastes.

 

Applying the paste to the center removes air bubbles and uneven application as a source of human error. It is not an inherently superior method. I've used both methods on the same exact hardware with a week or so burn-in back to back with no discernible difference. I'm also a little anal and tend towards wet-lapping the mating surface, pre-"wetting" both surfaces, and using very straight edges to smooth out the goop.

ICD7 removes some of the human margin for error in the same way - you can over-apply ICD7 (some people on this forum have apparently used ICD7 instead of a shim) without any real detrimental effect. Many popular pastes on the market have much tighter tolerance for over-application.

 

I personally find spreading the paste out paper thin over the die using a razor blade works best with my arctic silver ceramique. It is without a doubt better than the smoosh method. I've used about 19 grams of it since 2005. The important factor is that with spreading it correctly, there is less TIM between the die and heatsink than if it is smooshed, which is very obvious on removal of the heatsink. Of course what works for me might not work for you.

The reason just blobbing it on heatspreaders works is that the surface is very uneven. I don't mean rough, I mean not flat. If you lap any heatspreader, you will see just how uneven it is. Most often I have found the area in the center to be sunken in compared to the rest, so the TIM will be much thicker in the middle than the outer edges. I've removed every one I've had that wasn't soldered on, but starting with the 45nm C2D, they all were, so lapping is where its at. Processor dies, on the other hand, are a lot more flat.

 

Well, madshrimps spread vs no-spread test had me convinced back then, it works well with AS5 for me.

 

I've used both AS5 and IC7 and find that most temp changes are with in the % of error for a person manually applying it by hand and not a 100% measured out amount. I've never had more than a 1-2* difference between them. I just get which ever is cheapest at the store.

 

I just got some mx-3 because i HATE AS5.

I'm done with that conductive/capacitive crap... i got literally 1/16 of a normal amount on my hard drive board.
Now its crap. Its got like a 35ms seek time...

 

FWIW I can attest to that having used IC7D in place of a thermal pad for the GPU. At first I was worried that because of the fairly large gap it might just flow out but over a year later it's still providing better cooling with a 30% overclock than the thermal pad did on stock. ICD7 seems to be a lot more viscous than most other pastes.

 

Secret to applying TIM like a champ: a blow-dryer. Working with any cold TIM is a real pain.

 

icd7 is overpriced and not worth it.Its good but not user friendly.Its so hard to remove completly and i bet your gpu/cpu surface will still leave marks of this paste.Just buy tuniq tx2 7$ shipped and icd 7 may be what 1-1.5c cooler and 3 times the cost!
And tuniz tx2 is damn easy to remove!

 

It only very slightly capacitive. And that doesn't make any sense.

 

ICD7 rocks and it isn't overpriced... i get 45C on idle clocks and 80C in heavy game load like BC2.... that in such a powerful PC as a G73 is pure awesomeness.... and not to mention , the stock paste gives way higher temps.

 

Unfortunately, pricing depends mainly on where you live.

 

On a price comparison purely between two TIMs, ICD7 may seem fairly expensive. However, you really need to put it in the context of the cost of the computer, not the cost of the tube alone. You will achieve measurably lower temperatures for under $20. Now, if you already have a tube of [something else] and ICD7 would cost you more for a tiny benefit between the two, that's where most folks have issue.

 

well i have a 1600$ laptop and for 7$ i can get tuniq tx2,24$ gets me a icd 7.I will happily go for tuniq tx2 or spend 20$ for tuniq tx3/4 which will blow icd 7 out of water!
Either way,icd 7 is not worth even if you use 10000$ mac pro
lmao!
i dont understand what you trying to prove!

 

I'm not sure where you're getting your prices from, but 1.5 grams of ICD7 also costs $7 (like from here ). You may be thinking of the much larger ICD24 package, which is a whopping 4.8 grams. It's worth noting that 1 ml of Tuniq TX4 from that same site ( here ) is $10.

 

Sean,

I can’t help but laugh at your post. I know from one of your previous posts that you paid $75.00 to have your laptop repasted. That’s about $25 per drop.

 

worth every cent.. IDK.. i can't do it myself... as long as it works , no problem for me..

 

Forgot about that. But was it $75 or 75 pounds ?

Yes you can.

 

I sent my TT to someone recently and had the thermal pads changed to ICD7 and it cost me £80 for this incl postage (£55 without). I couldn't get to the cpu/gpu myself and i was not willing to take a risk with it. I wish i did this when i had a prior upgrade carried out as it would have saved me paying for double postage.
I don't regret having it done and it's worth every penny to me still regardless of the saving i could have made. It will stand my laptop to the test of time better.

 

80 pounds to change the thermal paste?? That is expensive! Unless you have to dissasemble your laptop to get at the the CPU/GPU there isn't a lot of sense to pay so much to get it done for you.

Even someone with little technical knowledge should be able to change the paste. I also use ICD 7 btw and get between 38-43C idle and about 60-65C load. While my GPU hits about 54C at OC 675/990 of course taking the core up to 800 brings temp up to 60C. Still shows that this paste is pretty awesome considering I am cooling these components in a 15.4" laptop

 

I changed the thermal paste on my SZ to ICD7 myself.
I've also opened my TT several times but you need to completely dismantle this laptop to get to the cpu/gpu. I did try but decided to quit while i was ahead.
The cpu/gpu is located basically on the underside of the motherboard.

 

I'll let you off then

 

No disrespect Rachel, but that is obscene. That is a half-hour job tops for someone who knows what they are doing, including finding and downloading the service manual and boxing it back up again. That is paying someone at a rate of $172 an hour to use a screwdriver and follow directions. I'm not saying you should do it yourself if you don't feel comfortable, but I'm sure you could find someone else to do it far cheaper.

 

Most of the time it is more about how you apply the thermal paste rather than what type of paste you applied that makes the difference. You may also find that after you remove ICD7, it could leave lots of minor scratches on the die.

I simply apply a line of MX3 across the CPU and GPU, then close the heatsink. My idle temps are 40-43C for the CPU/GPU, CPU never goes beyond 71C mostly staying at 65C and my GPU rarely goes beyond 78C.

 

I use IC7 compound, and if I remove it carefully, there's no scratch at all on the die. And "carefully" isn't a lot of work either, just use tissue paper to wipe of the big chunks, and use isopropanol for the rests.

 

If you end up not selling your laptop you should use it to learn how to open up and replace your paste. Buy some of the cheap white stuff to start out with then work your way up to some of the nicer stuff. It will help you to get more comfortable with working on electronics. It really is not that hard.

You could even work on fixing the cable. Having that cable fixed would help it to sell.

 

ICD7 is the best easily and readily available paste that is also inexpensive. I've seen improvements over AS5 I've been using for years on the order of 5-8C at load. If you tinker a lot like I do, I'd rather buy a tube of ICD7 for $8 than some of the more expensive (and effective) stuff unless you plan on overclocking significantly and/or using water cooling.

 

I planned on getting the 1.5g tube of ICD7 for quite some time, but I ended up getting 4g of Tuniq TX-2 for $6 instead. I have no idea what temperatures I was running before the CPU upgrade, but I have a T9900 at 35°C idle and 72° under full load.

I look at these TIMs in tiers, and AS5 is basically the line between the top tier and second tier. There's also a third tier of crap that needs no further discussion. I used AS Ceramique for many years, and while it clearly wasn't as good as AS5, it was the best there was in non-conductive TIMs for many years. Truthfully, I don't care about thermal performance much beyond the AS5 threshold. Past that point, cost and ease of cleanup matter more to me.

 

Although you get the 1.5 grams of ICD7 for the same price as a .5 gram tube of, for example, Shin-Etsu X-23, for the regular user the .5 vs 1.5 gram quantity doesn't make a difference. .5 grams of thermal past is already enough for a handful of applications.

On the other hand, getting a top tier paste vs a second tier paste really doesn't make much difference in all but the most extreme circumstances. Arctic Silver Ceramique was always behind AS3 and then AS5 when that came out, yet it still proves to be very useful today. There isn't a huge difference between that and the best pastes today, and it was super cheap when I bought my 22 gram tube for way less than $20 shipped in 2005.

Here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100012

22 grams for less than $9 shipped!