Just how awful is this compound?

Hey fellas!

I put myself in to a conundrum when I ordered in my new build but forgot one thing which will bring it to a halt: the thermal compound.

Unfortunately, the issue is compounded by the fact that I live in the middle of nowhere and 99% of all Hardware stores are branded. So while they're busy selling triple-gold plated diamond encrusted HDMI cables for the price of a small kingdom, they don't have any thermal compound.

Well, except that 1% store I came across.

Anyway, it was $3 and immediately suspicious but had no other options so I thought 'whatever, I'll buy it and see how awful it is when I get home and look for reviews'. There are no reviews and the brand itself is from the deep reaches of China which sets off flag number two and three.

The brand/model in question? Stars
The specifications?
Thermal conductivity: >1.896W/m-k
Thermal resistance: <0.123*C-in2/W
Color: grey
Net weight: 1g
Working temperature range: - 30-180°C

Nothing about that says 'use me, master' and the greater than symbol in the thermal conductivity/less than for thermal resistance is confusing. In comparison, iirc the older MX-2 has something like 5.5 W/mK and the best part is is that this stuff is conductive and likely capacitive.

So, wait a week for new Thermal Compound to come in or is this stuff better than Mayonnaise? It's sitting on top of a FX6300 which I am planning to push to 4.5ghz with a Noctua U12P.

Thanks

radio shack is as5 if you have a radio shack around, otherwise use that stuff till your order arrives.

I ended up ordering some MX-2 that was 44% off at Newegg which will serve its purpose for me. I never thought about Radio Shack though although it's not really Radio Shack since it turned in to The Source overnight some time back. Worth checking though as I think I'm just going to toss that Star stuff and wait patiently.

To answer you OP ... It depends on how desperate you are to get the computer up and running. I think the chances of it breaking something is very low.

If it were me and I was really antsy to get the computer running to make sure everything works or I knew the computer would never be overclocked I would use it without thinking twice. I would not overclock with it!

To answer you question about the < > symbols, my guess is all manufacturers list the worst case scenario and omit the "tolerancing" notation. Star just opted to keep it to make themselves look better to impulse type buyers. I.E. "well brand A is 10 and Star is <10 so Star must be better."

Just watch your temperatures.