# Best thermal paste?



## 1033ruben (Apr 6, 2013)

As per title i wanted to know what the best thermal paste is you see I recently bought  Cooler Master High Performance Thermal Paste - (HTK-002-U) which was okay but I ran out. So i was wandering which kind to buy again, price can be any where from $5-$15.
THANKS IN ADVANCE
RUBEN
https://www.amazon.com/gp/r.html?C=...Y559NQLALLIAOA&H=VXYJD1F6VUUAFOB7GSMOTIIUPJAA


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## BowHunter41 (Apr 19, 2015)

Hi. I use and recommend Arctic Silver 5 :smile:

Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound AS5-3.5G - OEM - Newegg.com


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## 1033ruben (Apr 6, 2013)

okay thanks i just bought some. You see the thing is I recently changed out my cpu from a xeon x5460 to a xeon x5470 and they are both 120 watt TDP. And my x5460 was staying nice and cool with my antec 950 cooler idk.Im thinking the hottest it ever got was 45-50 degrees celsius. And my x5470is getting up to to its limit when OC'ed which is 64 degrees Celsius. and im thinking it can be one of 2 things, one is because i mixed the cooler master stuff with some cheap artic silver knock off stuff( I barely had enough of the cooler master stuff) or 2 because instead of using my regular application technique which is the drop a pea size of TP in the middle of the cpu and then lay your HS on top i went ahead with the spread technique and tried spreading it all over the cpu but im still thinking it wasnt enough. Now just to wait for the new TP to arrive. and see if that cures my problem. i really hope so because the last thing that i want to do is go about taking off the HS plate of the cpu That is really going to tick me off. Do u even know if the hapertown cpus are capable of doing this; taking of the metal plate from the cpu.
THANKS IN ADVANCE
RUBEN


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## BowHunter41 (Apr 19, 2015)

Do you mean de-lidding?


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

There is not as much difference in the performance of the various brands of thermal interface material (TIM) as many think. Any popular brand of TIM will do about as well as any other. That said, some do have longer curing times and will only show their best performance after a matter of days to weeks or months.

80-way Thermal Interface Material Performance Test | Thermal Interface Material,Thermal Paste,Heatsink Compound,80-Way Thermal Interface Material Best Thermal Paste Heatsink Compound Cooling Performance Comparison Benchmark Tests

The application method you use is important though. Too much TIM is as bad or worse as too little. Generally speaking, you should go by the manufacturer's instructions. Application methods will vary depending on the type of TIM, processor and heatsink used.

Best Thermal Paste Application Methods | best application methods,thermal paste,TIM,thermal compound,thermal interface material,best practices,Best Practices for Thermal Interface Material Paste Application Methods and Thermal Grease Patterns

Removing the heat spreader of a CPU package will instantly void the warranty. A few specific CPUs may possibly benefit from replacing the internal TIM but most "CPU surgeons" will probably just destroy their multi-hundred dollar CPUs. The same goes for lapping the CPU's heat spreader.


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## 1033ruben (Apr 6, 2013)

BowHunter41 said:


> Do you mean de-lidding?


yes I think so.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Here is what delidding means:





 
Are you still sure that is what you're looking to do?


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## BowHunter41 (Apr 19, 2015)

As MPR suggests I do not recommend de-lidding. I did it once just to do it and because I did some very extreme overclocks with an I7 (last gen). It does void your warranty as well obviously. I would not do it again the gains were not really worth it vs. the time spent doing it, and doing it is only worth it if you have top notch equipment to get the gains and you plan on running at 5 GHZ daily and that is only for overclocking bragging rights

Thermal Interface Material (TIM) - yes a lot of it is similar and have similar results give or take, but I do find Artic Silver 5 to be consistently good. MX2 and Xigmatek I have also found are up there with AS5. I'm sure there are others, though I have not tried many of them. :smile:


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## 1033ruben (Apr 6, 2013)

okay thanks guys also i was looking into antec formula 6 or 7 I have read nothing but good reviews about these TIM


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

It's worth stating that not all chips OC, OC well, or OC the same. With that being said, the same applies to the temps you will see, especially when OCing. OCing stability and temps also vary with age.

So it's likely not an issue with the paste or the cooler. You simply have a chip that runs hot and/or is being pushed too hard for it's age.

As for TDM in general, as noted, the quality brands are very similar. You aren't likely to notice any difference between any of them. Especially not the kind of difference that you appear to be hoping to get.


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## Trollenator (Nov 29, 2013)

12 years or so ago I need some TIM but couldn't find any locally. (Very small town in northern Alberta)

I ended up using some Permatex Dielectric Tune-up Grease I got at the local auto parts store. Worked great and I've used it ever since with no problems. It's under the heat sink on this Core 2 Quad now.

L8r


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