In your opinion, what is the BEST thermal grease (paste or T.I.M ) for air cooling?

[diablosinc]

i like zalman zm-stg1, myself.
just flows nicer, and i like the "nail polish" application approach.
its gosh darn cool, too! i can even run my old P4 in the summertime!

 

[Zap]

The best thermal grease is the one applied properly.

Personally I just use stuff that is cheap, easy to apply and cleans up easily. I've been using Arctic Alumina in the big syringes for a few years. I don't think the extra 2ºC lower temps would make up for the extra cost and hassle - but that's just me.

 

[ShockwaveVT]

I was going to start a parody thread asking what the best TIM was for water cooling, but since that may be frowned upon even more here that in OT, I'll just ask..
Is there any difference between water cooling and air cooling when it comes to selecting a TIM? That bit about air cooling in the topic just made me go

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: ShockwaveVT
I was going to start a parody thread asking what the best TIM was for water cooling, but since that may be frowned upon even more here that in OT, I'll just ask..
Is there any difference between water cooling and air cooling when it comes to selecting a TIM? That bit about air cooling in the topic just made me go

no difference.

The whole point of TIM is to get rid of bubbles. If you compare the best with whats average, the difference as zap says is 2C or less.

The most important thing is application. You'll get better temps on a good application off toothpaste, vs bad application on ICD7.

And im being serious about toothpaste. However i dont recomend you using it. It drys out super fast.