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Opinions On Diamond Thermal Paste?

thm1223

thm1223

Senior member
Anyone have any experience with this stuff? I decided to use it on my first build ever (which I did last month), and so far it seems to be working pretty well. My 3770k idles around 37-40C and only jumps 5-8 degrees or so under load.

What do you guys think? Any advantages over good ol' Arctic Silver?
 
<--- dont like it...

yes its good, dont get me wrong.
But when you try to clean your IHS off, it abrases the crap out of it, and you get a gray stain on the IHS which is very difficult to take off.

Also, the curing time on ICDiamond is way too long, the application on ICDiamond is way too complicated.

My favorate choice of TIM is either MX-2 due to how simple it is to apply, or my absolute favorate, which is Prolimatech PK-1
 
It leaves fine scratches on whatever you use it on, so I wouldn't recommend it for bare core cards. Other than that, its decent.
 
Yea, it's not like there's some magic paste that cures cancer, makes the Cubs win games, and provide amazing performance. I use AS5 on GPU, IC7 on CPU. They both work well.
 
IC Diamond is great at what it does, but it's a PITA to work with. Too thick at room temp. It has to be warmed up to apply or remove relatively easily.

I use MX-4 personally.
 
aigomorla said:
<--- dont like it...

yes its good, dont get me wrong.
But when you try to clean your IHS off, it abrases the crap out of it, and you get a gray stain on the IHS which is very difficult to take off.

Also, the curing time on ICDiamond is way too long, the application on ICDiamond is way too complicated.

My favorate choice of TIM is either MX-2 due to how simple it is to apply, or my absolute favorate, which is Prolimatech PK-1
Click to expand...

This.

Gelid GC Extreme is also very good (in some cases edging out PK-1), but I'm pretty happy with my PK-1 which is one of the best choices regardless of mounting pressure.

http://skinneelabs.com/2011-thermal-paste-review-comparison/

The Indigo liquid metal stuff is a little better but vastly more expensive. Not worth it for me. Maybe it'd be worth it if it were a 10C difference.

People who are still using AS5 may want to switch once their AS5 tube runs out. Even MX-2 beats it, and it's cheap when on sale at mwave, like $5 for 5 grams w/ free shipping.
 
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I switched from the Zalman paste that came with my 9900 heatsink to IC Diamond, and saw no significant difference. I only oc to 4ghz on a 2500k, so basically any paste would be just fine.

I don't think it offers any benefits that justify scratching up your surfaces.
 
stuup1dmofo said:
Not enough Shin-Etsu X23-7783d love here. Great stuff that is used by OEMs everywhere.
Click to expand...

For typical mounting pressures it looks to be a little worse than MX-2. MX-2 is dirt cheap. Not sure what the S-E X23-7783d costs. PK-1 and Gelid GC Extreme are still chart-toppers unless you count liquid metal Indigo.

http://skinneelabs.com/shin-etsu-g751-x23-7762-and-x23-7783d-review/4/

Also, I don't know if OEMs use SE or whatever but just because OEMs use brand X does not necessarily mean brand X is good, just "good enough." It could be just that it is cheap or they got a good deal on it. That said, the S-E X23-7783d looks to be a fine thermal paste in the ballpark of MX-2.
 
I have used most thermal pastes like AS5, Shin Etsu and recently Tuniq TX-4 and IC Diamond. Waaay back in the day, Radio Shack had the go to thermal grease. 😉

There were no temp differences between the more expensive TX-4 than the cheaper IC Diamond when used on my Macho HR-02. But the IC Diamond did make the CPU gray.
 
I like IC Diamond. Simple to apply - I just follow their recommended procedure (put a bead in the middle, clamp down the HSF) and get a uniform layer of TIM.

For my cheaper builds, I switch to MX-2 (hard to beat - dirt cheap when it goes on sale).
 
IC Diamond just doesn't offer anything over some of the better pastes out there now (MX4, etc.) and it has the cons of being tough to spread, abrading surfaces, and a lonngggg cure time. Compared to AS5 it was something, but now there are many more, and better, options available. The only thermal compound I've used that I'd say is above the rest is Liquid Metal, but it honestly isn't worth the cost unless you're into absolutely maximizing performance.
 
I think the most important thing about TIM is to make sure you apply it correctly. There just isn't all that much difference in their performance. So, if one has a significant chance of damaging a component, there is zero reason to use it.
 
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