best non conductive thermal paste

elkido122

Senior member
Jan 10, 2015
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Whats the best performing non conductive thermal compound. Also one that spreads well. Thanks guys
 

Yuriman

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2004
5,530
141
106
There are plenty of good ones. IC7 Diamond is probably the best performer but it'll leave scratches on whatever you put it on. Phobya HeGrease was for a while regarded as the best by some, others Noctua's NT-H1, and Arctic MX4. I've owned all of these and performance isn't much different. I currently have Noctua paste so that's what I'm using on my heatspreaders, and I use CL Liquid Ultra between IHS and die.
 

richaron

Golden Member
Mar 27, 2012
1,357
329
136
A question often asked and I doubt ever answered with a consensus. There are a bunch of products up the top as far as performance goes. You'll find them in any recent TIM round up.

What matters more than the couple of degrees theoretical difference is the user's application technique. Too much or too little will throw off results more than what brand.

Most people will spout their favorite, which works well for them; so I'll say Noctua nd:h1 (?). But that's a bit gooey so maybe find a less viscous one if that's your thing...
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,226
9,990
126
I've been using MX-4 lately. Got a few tubes of it. Seems to work fine, spreads / applies easy, I don't think it's conductive (although, it might be, it uses carbon particles). Works for me. Cheap, mostly, too.
 

pantsaregood

Senior member
Feb 13, 2011
993
37
91
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut usually beats out everything other than liquid metal interface materials from what I've seen. Application method isn't terribly important as long as too little paste hasn't been applied - too little is far worse than too much.

As far as convenience, Kryonaut is annoying to work with. It's very viscous - more so than ICDiamond, if memory serves me correctly. Noctua's NT-H1 probably wins out when you factor in price and convenience with performance.
 

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
3,979
839
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I liked Tuniq TX-2 but TX-3 was awfully runny. I think I have been using MX-4 as well, for some time, though I have had decent results with other non-conductive TIM.

If you use the correct amount on the heat spreader, most pastes will work fine.
 

DrMrLordX

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
21,582
10,785
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Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut usually beats out everything other than liquid metal interface materials from what I've seen. Application method isn't terribly important as long as too little paste hasn't been applied - too little is far worse than too much.

As far as convenience, Kryonaut is annoying to work with. It's very viscous - more so than ICDiamond, if memory serves me correctly. Noctua's NT-H1 probably wins out when you factor in price and convenience with performance.

Another vote for Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut. It'll beat ICD7, MX4, and NH-T1. Haven't seen it vs. HeGrease.
 

Yuriman

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2004
5,530
141
106
I bought He Grease a few years back after seeing it come out on top. My personal experience with it has been that temperatures are within margin of error of Noctua's NT-H1.
 

MongGrel

Lifer
Dec 3, 2013
38,751
3,068
121
I just use NT-H1 on anything myself, but I do not rebuild a lot these days.

I used to experiment with many TIM's, MX4 etc.

But I have a fair bit left around and do not feel the need to buy anything else, HT-H1 has been my go to for many years now, it's easy to use, works well, and holds up a long time.
 
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