Thermal Paste Shootout!
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/articl...50aHVzaWFzdA==Conclusion
We feel gathered some highly valuable data in the course of this article which has been ongoing for quite a while now. Looking forward people will continue to debate the best method for applying thermal paste as well as what the best paste is. The important thing to remember is to always do your homework. Of all the pastes tested today the largest difference was 3.9º Celsius from best to worst. This tells me that I can be sure that as long as I am using an aftermarket paste in good condition my CPU will be safe. We do suggest that it is good practice to re-apply your thermal paste about every twelve months for best performance.
We tested these pastes using an air cooler since the majority of people use this type of cooling at home. For those of you who use more extreme cooling like vapor change you will want to look into other details like which pastes hold up under the extreme condition of long term sub-zero temperatures.
When it comes to applying thermal paste we saw that different pastes respond differently to the various methods. A good rule of thumb when using a paste is if the paste is thick spread it out and if it’s thin in consistency let the heat sink do it for you.
The Bottom Line
When determining what thermal paste affords you the best value, there are many factors that can influence your buying decision. How often do you change your thermal paste? Do you require the best performance? Are you air cooling or cooling with extreme methods?
If you change your paste often due to new components or paranoia then the Thermalright Chillfactor is the paste for you. At its current price and performance it affords you dozens of applications while performing better than half of its competitors.
If you’re looking for the best performance, price be damned, then look no further than the Shin-Etsu X-23 7783D. As long as you don’t reapply your thermal paste every three months this paste is the way to go. And honestly, you are more likely to get hosed on shipping when buying paste than anything else, so make sure and pick it up when you order something "big" and then you are likely to not care too much about the price. So don't screw up and have to order thermal paste by itself; it is an add-on item.
While thermal interface materials used to be a "big deal" and varied greatly in performance, over the years the overall quality of retail thermal pastes has simply gotten to be a very competitive market in terms of performance. If you do a LOT of applications or are building retail boxes, make sure you give the MG a look. We do however suggest you stay away from cheese if you are overclocking.
Also, we wanted to share our data with the community. You can grap the Excel file from here in a zip. Feel free to use this data for your own graphs or articles, all we ask in return is that you give us a link in your article and please send it to us. We always like to see how others represent the data and what can be mined from it. Thanks!
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Originally Posted by pezz
33-Way TIM Comparison
