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- Date:
- Tuesday , April 07, 2009
- Author:
- Marc Adams
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
Thermal Paste Shootout - Q209
We take 10 high profile thermal pastes used for mating heatsink surfaces to CPUs and other components and subject those to over 1200 hours of testing to find out which one reigns supreme. Drop or spread? And we tried American cheese too, just in case you find yourself in a pinch.
Thermal Pastes
Rather than bore you with talk of specific gravity or other meaningless specifications, I will give a quick description of each of the contenders in today’s roundup and mention more practical items like ease of installation and volume per unit. Anyone looking for more detailed stats can click the provided link to go to the individual homepage.
Arctic Silver 5
Arctic Silver 5 is the grand daddy of all thermal pastes. It has been around the longest of all the competitors in today’s shootout. It is also one of the first pastes that got people to start considering just what thermal paste they were applying to their new and expensive CPU. The fact that it makes it into today’s roundup is a testament to the engineers at Arctic Silver.
A.S. 5’s claim to fame is the use of silver pieces within the paste. Since silver has a very strong ability to conduct heat, second to only diamonds, it makes sense to use it as a thermal paste. Additionally, A.S. 5 is not electrically conductive which means you won’t short out your motherboard if it drips off the CPU. Be warned though A.S. 5 is slightly capacitive and may bridge electrical paths if they are in very close proximity. You’ve been warned.
Tube Size: 3.5 grams
Cost: $7.99
Arctic Silver Ceramique
Ceramique is the younger sibling to A.S.5 and, as its name implies, uses particles of high-density ceramic to create a heat transferring compound. Unlike its older sibling, A.S. Ceramique is neither conductive or capacitive which relieves any worries about damage to your equipment should some of this paste fall errant.
Tube Size: 2.5 grams or 22 grams
Cost: $3.99 or $8.99
Arctic Cooling MX-2
MX-2 is the only thermal paste produced by the Swiss company Arctic Cooling. It comes in two different sizes, a four gram tube or a 30 gram tube. It offers the usual specs of high thermal conductivity without being electrically conductive or capacitive. Arctic cooling claims that since MX-2 contains no particles or metal it is safe to apply anywhere. Additionally, they state that MX-2 does not bleed and requires no curing time. In essence, it should perform at its optimal level right out of the tube and, according to their graph, a half degree Celsius better than A.S. 5.
Tube Size: 4.0 grams
Cost: $9.99
Thermalright Chillfactor
Chillfactor is produced by the same company that gives us one of the best performing heat sinks on the market, the Ultra-120 Extreme. The company is pretty light on the details of this paste but does note that no hazardous chemicals are utilized and it is not electrically capacitive or conductive. Thermalright does give clear step by step instructions on applying its thermal paste complete with color photos.
Tube Size: 4.8 mL
Cost: $3.99
Cooler Master NanoFusion
NanoFusion is produced by Cooler Master, a company renowned for their heat sinks and cases. NanoFusion is designed to be electrically non-conductive but CM still cautions you to be careful in its application. Speaking of application, CM utilizes the most ingenious method for applying its paste. It includes a thin reusable sticker with a square cut out of its center. By placing the sicker over the base of your heat sink you can apply a bit of paste and spread it by using the included plastic card. In this way you get a perfect square of thin paste spread across the base of your heat sink. Think of how some heat sinks come with paste already applied and you get the basic idea. Very simple, very effective.
Tube Size: 1.0 mL
Cost: $9.99
Noctua NT-H1
NT-H1 is produced by the Austrian company Noctua. Known for silence and top performing heat sinks, Noctua offers their NT-H1 thermal paste to complete their lineup of cooling products. Noctua makes some bold claims when it comes to the NT-H1. Some of these include the lack of curing time, ability of the paste to last for several years and the ability of the paste to perform when used with compressor cooling. It also states that because of the way the paste is designed all you need to do when applying the paste is to place a small drop at the center of your CPU and let the pressure from the heat sink do the rest. Clearly, we have to test this.
Tube Size: 1.4 ml
Cost: $7.99
Shin-Etsu X-23 7762
X-23 7762 is one of three pastes we’ll be testing today from the company Shin-Etsu. Their thermal pastes are renowned for their ability to conduct heat. This fame is also reflected in the price of the paste. A one gram tube costs $9.99 without shipping. They say you get what you pay for and we certainly intend to see if this holds true.
Tube Size: 1.0 gram
Cost: $9.99
Shin-Etsu G751
G751 is the second paste from Shin-Etsu we will be looking today. Shin-Etsu produces a wide variety of pastes offering different levels of performance not unlike GPU manufacturers. The G751 would be considered their mainstream offering as it is listed with the lowest thermal conductivity of the three pastes here today. (G751=4.5W/m•K, 7762=6.0W/m•K, 7783=5.5W/m•K). Of course this doesn’t mean it comes at a reduced cost. Still costing much more than its rivals, we will see if it warrants such a premium.
Tube Size: 1.0 gram
Cost: $8.99
Shin-Etsu X-23 7783D
X-23 7783D is the third and final paste from Shin-Etsu. Placed in the middle of the three pastes, performance wise, it carries the biggest cost premium. All three pastes come in their own syringe and each syringe offers about three applications. As long as you are careful and don’t waste any of the paste, the high cost should be reduced by the longevity of the paste and the performance they bring.
Tube Size: 1.0 gram
Cost: $10.99
MG Chemicals Non-Silicone Compound
Non-silicone Compound is the generic name given to the product by the company MG Chemicals. As a producer of chemicals products for the electronics industry, MG Chemicals knows a thing or two when it comes to manufacturing thermal pastes. The company has existed in one form or another since the early fifties. This is the thermal interface material we use at HardOCP for testing on a daily basis. It comes in a 60g tub, is easily applied, and even more importantly it is easy to clean up, which is especially important when you are mounting heatsinks repeatedly. But can it produce a product that can keep up with big boys?
Tube Size: 2.0 Oz
Cost: $8.85
Thin-cut yellow American cheese
American cheese is the name given to cheese that goes through a specific type of pasteurization process. Often yellow or orange in color, this cheese has also been known to take on a white color. A versatile type of cheese, tracing its origins back to the very start of this great nation, American cheese has found uses in barbeques and kitchens all over the country. Finding detailed specs has been no easy feat so without measurements in specific gravity or thermal conductivity we will be testing purely on its performance.