thermal paste...

what are the best contenders today? i just ordered a sager np5160. i'm sure if i look at the cpu it'll be the best damn glob of thermal stuff. oh, btw. i copyrighted thermal stuff. i'm still working on my ingredients and magic, but you'll get the best damn stuff on the market. thermal stuff. don't forget you heard that name.

 

I like the Tuniq TX-4 in terms of performance... applying it takes skill and patience though.

 

If I'm applying myself I like to use Arctic Silver 5. My desktop (i5-750 @ 3.2GHz) temps hover around 30ºC at idle. I think they go up to around 50ºC at gaming but would need to confirm that. This is with a Xigmatek Dark Knight cooler in an ambient temp of around 22ºC. I'm unable to give any laptop comparisons unfortunately since I just bought my first one a couple weeks ago. Can't wait for it to get here!

 

80-way Thermal Interface Material Performance Test | Thermal Interface Material,Thermal Paste,Heatsink Compound,80-Way Thermal Interface Material Best Thermal Paste Heatsink Compound Cooling Performance Comparison Benchmark Tests

We don't know the stock TIM yet. I read somewhere that it is actually not bad.

In case you still want some TIM, the above page can give you some ideas.

But the most important thing is cleaning the old paste.

 

thanks guys. i've seen that and another article similar to it. i still have plenty arctic silver 5 left. was seeing if it was the good stuff still. thermal take grease i believe is available locally too, but it seems to be about the same as as5. now i'm just wondering if i'll be able to do my gpu or if i'll be stuck with thermal pads.

 

信越G-751

I use this for 920xm & 470m

idel temp :

cpu 42c
gpu 36c

 

I second the Tuniq TX-4, very easy to apply, using it on all laptops currently in the office.
OCZ Freeze isn't bad and is very user friendly (apply/clean)
AS-5 is also good.

 

TX-4 is easy to apply? Isn't it very sticky?

Something to clarify, the correct/better method to apply TX-4.
1) is it spreading it out before attaching the heatsink
or
2) have one drop in the centre and attached to heatsink straightaway?

 

i don't know the viscosity of tx-4 but with as-5, i use something to swirl around a dab and then lightly press my heatsink on to see if i put on enough, spread it properly, then set it squarely so i can screw it down.

 

I used both methods but preferred the second. Still, the TX-4 is somewhere between the AS-5 and OCZ Freeze in terms of application ease.

 

I honestly used to think the 2nd method was the best. When I got my laptop tho I tested out a few different configurations. I used HWmonitor to check temps during idle and while gaming.

Arctic Silver 5

I applied AS5 first and used the single drop in the center method. I tested the temps and then I let it cure for one week and I tested the temps again. Even after the one week curing temps for the cpu were all around 38-41 while idle and high 50's while gaming. Removed the heatsink and noted I got full coverage. I then repasted using the spread method and got close to the same results.

Arctic Cooling MX-4

Did the same as I did with the AS5. Single drop in the center of the cpu. Idle temps were 35-38 degrees. Gaming in WoW hovered high 50's and maybe low 60's. Although this thermal compound seemed like it was going to be amazing, it was nothing spectacular. It was even higher at times than the AS5 and I'm not sure why. I removed the heatsink and noted adequate coverage of the CPU.

IC7 Diamond

I have to say this has been my favorite so far. First method I used was the single dot in the center of the cpu. I found this method doesnt work as great as other pastes because this stuff is so think the pressdown method might not have enough force. Initial temps were not impressive. I got high 30's to low 40's while at idle. Let it cure for a bit and noted the same results. I took the heatsink off and respasted with the spread method using a credit card. I know it makes sense to do the single dot pushdown method because you dont get any trapped air bubbles but my temps using the spread method with IC7 Diamond were 34-36 degrees at idle. While running Wow I get low to mid 50's.

Also of note, I didnt repaste my gpu from the stock paste that came with my computer. I only did this with the CPU.

 

^^ Yes, it's best to use the spreading method with the IC7 Diamond. It's too thick for the "grain" application.
Awesome temps, BTW. What is your room temp?

 

It was early February right after I got it, I think house temp was set to 70 or so? I found IC7 was the easiest to spread because it was so thick. I could control it a lot better than the other pastes.

 

sigh. still haven't repasted my 5160. i did a little research last night and it seems there might be a different variable because some intel cpu's seem to come with a metal cap over the cores now. i am under the impression from what i read that my 2630m will have this cap. anybody pasted a mobile sandy bridge recently and want to share a little of their experience so i and others might know what to expect? and the same for the 540m? no thermal pad right?