Recommend a thermal paste

[Stryfe]

Hey All! It's been a while since I last built myself a new rig. The old 2600k has had impressive longevity!

I'm looking to finally replace it with one of the 9000 series CPUs once they release. I figure I probably shouldn't use the 10 year old half tube of Arctic Silver I have in a drawer. What are people recommending for thermal paste these days?

 

[knoober]

This thread from OCF might give a good starting point. I guess I have read that thermal paste will degrade over time, but AS5 is still a pretty valid paste to use aside from the age of your tube. Test it and see I guess ... tell us if the performance is up to snuff or not

 

[Alaric]

A 10 year old tube of AS5 has separated. I got this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ULZITS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and it's at a good price right now, provided you need that much. I swap CPUs around a lot so it's great for me. Good stuff, too. It seems to be the "go to" paste around here now.

 

[risk_reversal]

A 10 year old tube of AS5 has separated. I got this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ULZITS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and it's at a good price right now, provided you need that much. I swap CPUs around a lot so it's great for me. Good stuff, too. It seems to be the "go to" paste around here now.

Thanks for that Alaric. I always used Arctic Ceramique due to the fact that it is 'non conductive' but will start buying this one from now on.

Cheers

 

[Alaric]

Ceramique is good, too. I got the MX4 (in that quantity) for my benching rig's needs. I swap out a lot of chips around here. LOL

 

[Blaylock]

I also use MX-4, mainly because I got it for a good price for a large tube. I've also used CoolerMaster, Gelid Extreme, Gelid Supreme, Noctua NT-H1, Arctic Silver 5...They all worked well for my needs. Unless you're benchmarking competitively just grab one of the name brands and apply it properly. It'll work for 24/7 use.

 

[freeagent]

Im just using the tube of chill factor 3 that came with my thermalright coolers. I was using as5 before, and I don't really miss it.

 

[Nebulous]

MX-4, AS Ceramique & Noctua's NT-H1 are really good. They might be 1-2c between the 3 if that.

 

[Lochekey]

I also use MX-4, mainly because I got it for a good price for a large tube. I've also used CoolerMaster, Gelid Extreme, Gelid Supreme, Noctua NT-H1, Arctic Silver 5...They all worked well for my needs. Unless you're benchmarking competitively just grab one of the name brands and apply it properly. It'll work for 24/7 use.

This ^^^, if you want better temps invest in a better cooler and just use the paste that comes on it.

 

[Stryfe]

In the thread knoober linked someone else linked this. Lots of info in here
https://overclocking.guide/thermal-...ted-with-air-cooling-and-liquid-nitrogen-ln2/

That old tube I have in a drawer isn't even AS5, it's AS3! In the garbage it will go, haha

Noctua NT-H1 is readily available at my local shop for a reasonable price. So is AS5. From what I've read AS5 has a curing procedure (several heat cycles over about 200 hours of use) while the Noctua does not. Given they're the same price and pretty much the same performance I think I'll go with the Noctua.

As for a cooler, I'm planning on reusing what's on my 2600k right now. A Venomous X with two Scythe Slipstream High PWM fans in push/pull. I was looking into whether I should upgrade it but it seems like as far as air cooling goes there hasn't been a ton of advancement since then? Would that cut it on an overclocked 8700k? I'm actually planning on the as yet unannounced 9700k/9900k but we can only speculate on those for now.

Thanks everyone for your input so far!

 

[Lochekey]

The biggest difference you might find now is the dual tower heatsinks, like the Noctua NHD15 or Scythe Fuma, which allow for quieter operation at similar temperatures or slightly better temps at comparable noise levels. Or some of the new AIOs are comparable to or slightly better than the top air coolers. Really though if you are happy with the performance of your current rig, at current noise levels, a new cooler will not gain you a whole lot over your current model.

 

[freeagent]

In the thread knoober linked someone else linked this. Lots of info in here
https://overclocking.guide/thermal-...ted-with-air-cooling-and-liquid-nitrogen-ln2/

That old tube I have in a drawer isn't even AS5, it's AS3! In the garbage it will go, haha

Noctua NT-H1 is readily available at my local shop for a reasonable price. So is AS5. From what I've read AS5 has a curing procedure (several heat cycles over about 200 hours of use) while the Noctua does not. Given they're the same price and pretty much the same performance I think I'll go with the Noctua.

As for a cooler, I'm planning on reusing what's on my 2600k right now. A Venomous X with two Scythe Slipstream High PWM fans in push/pull. I was looking into whether I should upgrade it but it seems like as far as air cooling goes there hasn't been a ton of advancement since then? Would that cut it on an overclocked 8700k? I'm actually planning on the as yet unannounced 9700k/9900k but we can only speculate on those for now.

Thanks everyone for your input so far!

AS3 wow haha. That Venomous is pretty much a Thermalright cooler right? Same mount etc? I have an old Ultra 120 Extreme from 2006 or 2007 heheh. I bought two new Thermalright coolers, the Le Grand Macho RT and True Spirit 140 Power.. and they both came with a shim to use between the CPU and retention bracket so you don't crush the IHS on those new baby Intel CPU's. Just throwing that out there just in case you decide to use your old cooler

 

[Stryfe]

AS3 wow haha. That Venomous is pretty much a Thermalright cooler right? Same mount etc? I have an old Ultra 120 Extreme from 2006 or 2007 heheh. I bought two new Thermalright coolers, the Le Grand Macho RT and True Spirit 140 Power.. and they both came with a shim to use between the CPU and retention bracket so you don't crush the IHS on those new baby Intel CPU's. Just throwing that out there just in case you decide to use your old cooler

Yep the Venomous X is a Thermalright cooler. Was sold as a step up from the Ultra Extreme though if you lap the Ultra Extreme's base it will perform very similarly. One neat feature it has though is a bolt to adjust the mounting pressure once it's on. So it should be good in that respect