Arctic Silver 3 or Arctic Alumina

[bbarnes]

Which is better?

If you don't think either of these is the best out, what is?

 

[lordbob99]

i'm kinda curious about this too... i have both arctic silver 2 and arctic alumina at my disposal rite now. i used the arctic alumina because somebody posted that it doesn't dry up, and is easier to clean up.

lordbob99

 

[bbarnes]

After reading the Arctic Silver website, I found these things:

1. Arctic Silver 3 will probably cause lower temps.
(It is only electrically conductive in a thin layer under extreme compression.)
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 3 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. The compound is slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridged two close-proximity electrical paths.)

2. Arctic Alumina is easier to clean up and is neither electrically conductive nor capacitive.

After reading this, I would personally choose Arctic Silver 3.

 

[Shaorinor]

If you want better cooling, and you're careful - Arctic Silver 3 is the way to go.

If you don't want to worry about potential problems if the thermal compound hits an electrical lead, go with Arctic Alumina. Arctic Alumina is around Arctic Silver 2 range.

 

[bbarnes]

How much temp difference would I see between either one or the other?

 

[SnowPunk98]

I have some Alumina and have tested AS2 and 3 along with some others lemme test the alumnina and ill let you know it should be up in a few days at OCModShop