Thermal paste

[Merlin5]

Hey guys, I'm going to buy some new TIM to replace my MX-2 which is 7 years old now. I presume it should be binned. On my laptop CPU and GPU, I've used the grain of rice method and let the heatsink spread it but temps are not very good, always in the 50s and 60s celcius range at pretty much idle, which makes me think the MX-2 isn't very effective any more. I also tried spreading a rice grain size with my finger but it's hard to spread and clumps a bit, again making me think that the MX-2 has perhaps lost its consistency and well past its best.

So I'll probably buy MX-4 and hoping OCuK get some back in stock. Also considering Chillfactor 3.

But I'm also interested in thoughts on an old product called Zalman super thermal grease (ZM STG1) which is applied from a nail varnish bottle with a brush. Anyone had experience of it and does anyone here still spread their TIM? I like the idea of using a brush to spread and also wondered how temps might be.

 

[8 Pack]

I spread often yeah.

I would use Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut for really top class performance paste or even better Kryonaut. These pastes you can spread and are the best quality ones available which are non- conductive.

 

[Merlin5]

I spread often yeah.

I would use Thermal Grizzly Hydronaut for really top class performance paste or even better Kryonaut. These pastes you can spread and are the best quality ones available which are non- conductive.

Hi 8 Pack, thanks for the reply. Good to hear that an expert spreads. I keep reading that spreading causes air bubbles and isn't as good as letting the heatsink do it, but if you're doing it, I guess it's fine then.

Those Grizzly pastes are only 1g for the same price as a 4g tube of MX-2 and 4. Am I really going to see a significant difference? What I mean is, I want my temps to be in the 40s rather than the 50s and 60s. Are the Grizzly pastes going to make more than 1 or 2C difference from most other brands?

 

[Merlin5]

Also guys, do you think I should replace these manky looking thermal pads that go over the vram chips and would it make much difference to the temps I'm getting? If so, which ones on OCuK shop would you recommend I buy?

 

[Randall8686]

I messed about with the spread and pea method, I found a unmeasurable difference between the two (maybe i got lucky i dont know) however continue to use the pea/rice grain method due to it being easier and less messy plus its a little quicker.

Replacing the thermal pads wont bring your measurable temp down unless your measuring the vram temps. However those thermal pads look past it so i would change them.

 

[lamboman]

Low viscosity thermal paste, don't spread. Thick stuff, spread.

That said, most of the time you're not going to find a night and day difference between various thermal pastes, and spreading methods typically don't make a huge difference. The only exception to this were the Broadwell processors with eDRAM, as everything was off-centre.

 

[Threepwood]

Low viscosity thermal paste, don't spread. Thick stuff, spread.

Hmm. The other way around makes more sense to me. The thicker it is, the harder it is to spread thin and smooth.

Better to just use a slightly larger 'pea' with thicker thermal paste (after warming it up too, ofc).

 

[lamboman]

The good old thermal paste spreading video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyXLu1Ms-q4

Spreading thinner pastes may result in air bubbles, whilst not spreading the thicker stuff may end up providing too little coverage.

Warming up the paste is a decent solution if it's thick. Quite honestly though, most people would just go for a thinner (and cheaper) paste in the first place. CF3 and MX-4 are fairly cheap and good, MX-2 is even cheaper and again, good enough.

 

[Telecaster]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2MEAnZ3swQ

Seems a reasonable test.

Personally I've always preferred the X method, just because whenever I've removed a cooler it seems to give an even covering and spread pattern, quite happy to admit that it's purely all in my head though and that there's no difference than any other method.#

Safe to say the key is not too much rather than how you apply it, and I wouldn't be expecting 15-20 degrees better temps from just a paste swap either, unless there was something seriously wrong with the original application/cooler installation.

 

[Merlin5]

Thanks guys, almost bought some CF3 as I believe it's pretty much the best, short of liquid metal solutions. But ended up buying some MX-4 using the remainder of a rainforest gift voucher, so cost me all of £2.24. Would have bought from here but out of stock.

Replacing the thermal pads wont bring your measurable temp down unless your measuring the vram temps. However those thermal pads look past it so i would change them.

Which ones here do you recommend?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/air-cooling/cooler-accessories/thermal-pads

I guess I don't need a lot and I reckon the pads are 1 or 2mm thick.