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Thermal Paste suggestions please.

RetrogamerX said:
Disagree. It's better then most. Also you shouldn't IMHO spread tim. One grain size in middle, then run prime for 30mins to let heat spread.
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I've never heard this one before? Anyone else do this? How does it compare to spreading it?
 
Helios1234 said:
Marketing, people see MX-4 and immediately think it's better than MX-3 and MX-2 just because of the higher number. In reality, the MX-3 is actually better and the MX-4 was meant to be cheaper with similar performance. Unfortunately it wasn't as good but because people know the reputation of Arctic's thermal paste and this is their latest iteration, they immediately think it's better.

Thermalright ChillFacter II/III is better and cheaper. Prolimatech's thermal paste is also very good.

I also don't rate Gelid GC-Extreme that highly and I don't understand why people are suddenly recommending it. It came out a long time ago and was very good at the time, only for the MX-3 to come out and outdo it. Given there are even better alternatives these days as above, the GC-Extreme lags behind.
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Yes l would agree MX3 is slighly better but a pig to spread, where as MX-4 easy 2 spread and gives good temps.

Yes there is better but my how much 1'c to 2'c.

But its a combination of a good heatsink, case airflow and thermal paste how its applied thay all play a part in your over all temps when air cooling.

As for marketing not uncommon to name probucts by just renaming it MX2/3/4 plenty companys do it and l read reviews before l make up my mind them maybe try the product can't fault MX4 AT ALL.

I'v tried all 3.
 
Vlad Drac said:
May try the Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme. It seems to come out quite well in the OcUK test.
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This is the best solution in my eyes for IHS or GPU. Really great ambient and sub zero. For delid Liquid metal is the one.

I also use MX4 for core only GPU blocks and binning its not a bad paste.
 
Helios1234 said:
True but as mentioned above, you don't need to spread it yourself, let the cooler spread the paste.
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I use to let the Heatsink spread it, but found l could get a better spread doing it my self and thinner as well, stopping about a 16th from all side's of the CPU edge.

Atm room ambient is 21'c and hottest core is 23'c while idling.

Been playing Titanfall tonight from about 8.00 till 1.15 core temps 36'c to 43'c, 4820K:4.6GHz 1.344Vc + SLI 670 at stock speed.

Titanfall does not support SLI atm so Single 670 while gaming 37'c.

MX4 on the CPU and GPU blocks, don't think l could complain about these temps.
 
8 Pack said:
This is the best solution in my eyes for IHS or GPU. Really great ambient and sub zero. For delid Liquid metal is the one.
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How do you recommend applying this stuff to a 6 core 4930K? Should I just spread the stuff like I’ve been doing for years or the pea sized blob?
 
Vlad Drac said:
How do you recommend applying this stuff to a 6 core 4930K? Should I just spread the stuff like I’ve been doing for years or the pea sized blob?
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You can for sure yes but I am paranoid about coverage.

So I heat the IHS with a hairdryer so when you apply the paste it spreads very easy. Then I use a spreader to get as thin a possible coating across the IHS. Then apply heat sink as usual.
 
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8 Pack said:
This is the best solution in my eyes for IHS or GPU. Really great ambient and sub zero. For delid Liquid metal is the one.

I also use MX4 for core only GPU blocks and binning its not a bad paste.
Click to expand...

I was about to say the same, I think GC-Extreme performs the best on bare crystals on all the reviews that I've seen. Maybe it has the highest thermal conductivity or a combination of thermal conductivity and nice spread/viscosity. The other one that performs amazingly is Tt TG-1 but I have not used it.
Vlad Drac said:
How do you recommend applying this stuff to a 6 core 4930K? Should I just spread the stuff like I’ve been doing for years or the pea sized blob?
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On my opinion pressure really does matter the most when you choose how you want to spread/not spread your TIM. I personally always spread on bare dies. Depending on how much time I have when I'm mounting CPU cooling, I spread with a finger with cling film on as thin as possible on all IHS area or a generous pea size drop in the centre letting the pressure do the spreading. In the second type you really have to be ready for cleaning around the socket though if you want full coverage and you have very high pressure.

The way of spreading the paste is usually related to the particular paste as well so you really have to test the options and see what quantities and ways of spreading work the best.

With the CFIII I'm using I do not see a temperature difference between the pea in middle, line over the die or thin spread across the whole area of the IHS. This is with the limited options in regulating the mounting pressure of the TRUE Spirit 140. I do have a retention kit for Intel left from my TR Venomous X so I might go and try it to see how changing the pressure amount will vary the temperatures.

8 Pack said:
You can for sure yes but I am paranoid about coverage.

So I heat the IHS with a hairdryer so when you apply the paste it spreads very easy. Then I use a spreader to get as thin a possible coating across the IHS. Then apply heat sink as usual.
Click to expand...
Have you found the air bubbles that form when you spread the paste to negatively impact the temperatures? I personally also prefer spreading but a lot of people thing it is inferior.
 
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