New CPU cooler. Thermal paste.

[xXx orange]

Should I use the thermal paste that comes with Cooler Master Hyper Evo 212 or should I use 20 NZD on Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste?

I don't want to be wasting money if it only brings temps by 1c but if it brings it down by around 6+ then I will get it. Also which do you guys think is the best method for using thermal paste Line or dot? I am leaning more towards the dot.

Thanks for reading.

 

[crashtech]

Noctua NT-H1 is a better paste than Arctic Silver 5. I used AS5 for years, but NT-H1 transfers heat better and is way less nasty to deal with. AS5 gets stuck to everything!

All that said, the plain paste supplied with the cooler will work fine in many applications, it depends on what you are doing. You might want to give it a try and see if your temps are acceptable before spending more money.

Oh, yeah, I'd use a "dot" on a square IHS, about the volume of a 4mm sphere.

 

[chadashcroft22]

I used the paste that came with my coolermaster 212+ which I would guess is the same or very similar paste. Personally I wouldn't waste the money because the stuff that comes with it is pretty good already. On cool days my processor won't get above 45c and on warm days it's in the low 50's c playing tf2.

It's a cheap cooler no point to waste money on maybe getting 1-3 degrees cooler.

 

[xXx orange]

Thanks for the help guys. I didn't want to get it anyway but I wanted to make sure the CM stuff wasn't useless compared. Crashtech I wouldn't buy it after testing as shipping from where I get it is 12 NZD. It would make buying the AS5 separate 30 NZD. It's either I buy it now or never. I am 99% sure I wont get it. Thanks for all the help!

 

[Deders]

What about MX4? it's usually cheaper and cooled my CPU 10c better than AS5

 

[ShintaiDK]

AS5 is actually terrible today. So stay away from it. I recommend NT-H1 as well.

 

[Leyawiin]

Use what's on it the first round unless you're really anal about squeezing every last Mhz out of an OC. CM isn't going to sticking pure crud on an enthusiast product.

 

[jkauff]

One more vote for NT-H1. Summer heat wave drove up my temps and I reapplied AS5. After four attempts to get it just right (trying both line and dot), I bought a tube of NT-HI. First application I got it too thick, but it was spread perfectly. Cleaned off the paste on the cooler and reattached, and my core temps went down 10c. There's nothing wrong with AS5, I used it successfully for a year, but it's trickier to get a perfect application and you've got that break-in period to deal with, too.

 

[Rvenger]

AC MX2, MX4, Noctua NT-H1, Phanteks PH-NDC, even the cheap AS Ceramique 2 works very well for me.