Best CPU Thermal Paste?

[guerney]

I need to swap out a motherboard and have run out of Arctic MX-5, considering ordering MX-6. MX-5 did work well to lower temperatures, easy to apply, non-conductive, easy to remove, longevity seems good, but is there something much better?

https://www.tomshardware.com/best-picks/best-thermal-paste

 

[guerney]

Test results are at 3 minutes and 6 seconds:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/noctua-NT-H1-10g-Pro-Grade-Compound/dp/B07MZ4JJWX/ref=

 

[guerney]

 

[Nealh]

When my 6fet kt controller becames too hot to handle and I needed to stick a heat sink to it, I simly bought some cheapish White thermal paste off ebay. Stuck like s**t to a blanket and worked very well.

 

[guerney]

Stuck like s**t to a blanket

In the old days, I recall having to chip that stuff off CPUs to replace heatsinks and fans. Thankfully, these days the stuff usually used, stays gungy for years and the heatsinks are held in place using compression via clips, nuts, bolts and plates.

 

[PC2017]

cheapish White thermal paste off ebay

Yep 2 quid a tube works wonders on heatsinks on controllers.

Arctic MX-5

For my I7 I am still MX-4 works alright for mine - idle temps as I am typing this 24-33 across 4 cores, after a quick hour on Borderlands 3 - I put way too much on but with one plastic push pin on my intel stock cooler bust I daren't re-paste it.

 

[soundwave]

liquid metal is the best but it is conductive so dont get any on the mobo you can also delid the ihs if there is the tool for it but then the heat sink will sit direct on the die so to much force and you will crack it.

 

[guerney]

I put way too much on but with one plastic push pin on my intel stock cooler bust I daren't re-paste it.

That could cause major problems in future - stock Intel coolers will not bend the motherboard, because they clip in and retain with exactly the same pressure exerted onto the CPU by the heatsink. Misjudging the pressure when installing alternative coolers which bolt through the motherboard into plates or nuts on the other side, can bend it, but with a bolt-through cooler, one corner of the heatsink is far less likely to be left loose or work itself loose with use/heat/cooling, leading to a corner of the CPU to overheat, leading to damage to some of the CPU and reduction of it's lifespan. Depending on where the heat sensor is located, it may not be apparent that your CPU is being overheated in a small region. Avoid crushing your CPU with bolt-through coolers - tighten extremely carefully following the instructions in the manual.

When a corner kept on popping out no matter what I did (plastic parts wear out), I replaced the stock Intel cooler with a bolt-through inexpensive Coolermaster similar to this one - I found it easier to end up bending the motherboard with Arctic's coolers:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-Heatpipes-Installation-RR-H412-20PK-R2/dp/B076MQBZ2L/ref=

 

[guerney]

liquid metal is the best but it is conductive so dont get any on the mobo you can also delid the ihs if there is the tool for it but then the heat sink will sit direct on the die so to much force and you will crack it.

I've still got some left over from my epic (for then) and ultra stable dual PIII866 on Supermicro motherboard setup. Very hard to apply properly - even a tiny bit too much silver thermal paste applied can lead to terrifying conductive hot fluid dripping over the damned motherboard. They may have improved since:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Silver-Thermal-Compound-3-5g/dp/B0087X728K

Silver thermal paste did keep my PIII866 CPUs cooler, but I'll have to think about it... was a right bugger to apply - might not be worth the effort or risk, for a couple of degrees difference. The newer versions may cure to become more viscous after 200 hours CPU use? But could cause mayhem well before. Mine is not a "K" model CPU - I won't be overclocking, so I don't think delidding is necessary for my uses. Kills resale value, does delidding, but small periods of time does too.

 

[Nealh]

For the tsdz I used thermal silicone to stick the heat sensor to the inner motor.

 

[guerney]

For the tsdz I used thermal silicone to stick the heat sensor to the inner motor.

Is there some sort of thermally conductive silicone which sets, which you could use instead of the copper wire you stuffed into the air space gaps in your TSDZ2? Might not be thermally conductive enough - probably not as thermally conductive as your copper wire?