TIM that's easy to work with?

[Phynaz]

Hey folks,
What's the word on pastes that are easy to work with? I'll gladly give up a few degrees for something that is easy to apply.

Any suggestions?

 

[Aikouka]

I'm not really sure if I've ever worked with one that was difficult at all. The only one that's ever been different from the pack was my Zalman STG-1, which had a brush applicator compared to the usual syringe style.

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

Arctic Cooling MX4. It is amazing!!!! Used it for my latest build, will never use anything else again! Great temps, very happy, and lasts 8 years w/o performance degradation unlike most tims.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186038

 

[fralexandr]

easier than using a syringe? no
requires no experience on how much thermal paste you actually need? yes

thermal pad

just peel and stick...

fyi: many heatsink fans already come with this kind of stuff pre-applied

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

If the thermal compound is difficult to apply, you're doing it wrong.

 

[VirtualLarry]

AS5 is simple to apply and easy to work with IMHO. I stick with the old standard, it does fine by me.

 

[dma0991]

I don't think I've ever encountered a paste that is hard to work with as I do not spread the paste evenly. I would usually put a dab or a lineof TIM no bigger than a grain of rice and let the mounting pressure do its job.

 

[Phynaz]

Arctic Cooling MX4. It is amazing!!!! Used it for my latest build, will never use anything else again! Great temps, very happy, and lasts 8 years w/o performance degradation unlike most tims.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186038

Thanks, you're the second person to recommend this. I was torn between this and the NH-1 Pro, which has better cooling but is very thick.

MX-4 ordered 🙂

 

[LagunaX]

MX-2 or MX-4 are by far the easiest, non-conductive, and forgiving as far as filling in uneven surfaces. Not the absolute best but does pretty well on thermals too.

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

Thanks, you're the second person to recommend this. I was torn between this and the NH-1 Pro, which has better cooling but is very thick.

MX-4 ordered 🙂

No problem. Just make sure to use the "line method" if you are building using lga 2011 due to the greater surface area. For any other socket, use the traditional "pea/dot" application. The tube is good for at least 5 builds lol. And as mentioned above by LagunaX, non conductive, unlike AC5, so I don't think you can go wrong with it. 🙂

 

[_Rick_]

Just make sure to use the "line method" if you are building using lga 2011 due to the greater surface area. For any other socket, use the traditional "pea/dot" application.

Why not just use a bigger dot instead? The die is still mostly square after all.
And if the material is pliable enough, it will only require slightly more pressure for the last bit of squeezing. Should be negligible compared to the mounting pressure of the heat sink.
The only possible complication that I see, is that more care has to be taken when mounting the cooler so that it won't squeeze all the material to one side.
But with an offset dot, that could even be used methodically to reduce total pressure require, as there is less circumference being squished outwards, compared to a center dot.

A line will always remain a line though - which does not represent die geometry. Plus there's a bigger risk of using too much material.

 

[God Mode]

Ceramique never failed me even with hot running portables where the silver based stuff would dry and crack/fissure.

 

[dma0991]

Why not just use a bigger dot instead? The die is still mostly square after all.

Not all dies are square. If you're referring to Bulldozer, it is a square. If it is Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge we're talking about, it is a rectangle. For mine, I used a line method parallel to the length of my die. Doesn't really matter much as I've tried pea method and line, it varies very little.

 

[crazymonkeyzero]

A line will always remain a line though - which does not represent die geometry. Plus there's a bigger risk of using too much material.

The line will actually become a nice oblique oval which is perfect for 2011, multi core systems. The large dot may be problematic because it builds up vertically which runs the risk of not spreading well enough under heat sink pressure. My hex core xeon e5 is running at 29-30idle, 46c max full load on prime 95, large fft with a closed loop liquid cooler after using ACMX4 and the line method.

 

[nyker96]

AS5

 

[Phynaz]

AS5

Thanks, but AS5 has been surpassed in performance. Also, I'm not going to use a compound that's electrically conductive.

 

[PottedMeat]

Thanks, but AS5 has been surpassed in performance. Also, I'm not going to use a compound that's electrically conductive.

you'd have to be pretty sloppy to be concerned about electrical conductivity.

and -

Not Electrically Conductive:
Arctic Silver 5 was formulated to conduct heat, not electricity.
(While much safer than electrically conductive silver and copper greases, Arctic Silver 5 should be kept away from electrical traces, pins, and leads. While it is not electrically conductive, the compound is very slightly capacitive and could potentially cause problems if it bridges two close-proximity electrical paths.)

AS5 goes on simple and lets me take off the heatsink easily. I used to use white thermal paste but got tired of ripping the cpu out of the socket when i couldn't twist it off.

 

[Zardnok]

MX-2 or MX-4 are by far the easiest, non-conductive, and forgiving as far as filling in uneven surfaces. Not the absolute best but does pretty well on thermals too.

Not the absolute best, but close enough! Another recommendation for MX-4 here. No burn-in time required and they claim an 8-year lifetime, not that anyone keeps their same CPU/Cooler set-up for 8-years!

 

[buggers]

If the thermal compound is difficult to apply, you're doing it wrong.

 

[Zap]

My "go to" TIM is Arctic Alumina. Cheap, easy to apply and very easy to clean up.

Thanks, but AS5 has been surpassed in performance. Also, I'm not going to use a compound that's electrically conductive.

You've already noted that you'd give up some performance.

It is capacitive, not conductive (minor difference).

Ceramique never failed me even with hot running portables where the silver based stuff would dry and crack/fissure.

It is also tougher to apply than some other TIMs.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

If the thermal compound is difficult to apply, you're doing it wrong.

I didn't want to come across as rude, but I was wondering what the issue with working with thermal paste really was myself. The only way to really mess it up is to put on far too much.

 

[neilsabo]

i have never built a computer before and the thought of applying thermal paste and messing it up scares me to death

 

[Charles Kozierok]

i have never built a computer before and the thought of applying thermal paste and messing it up scares me to death

Simplified version: Just squeeze a dab of it into the center of the chip, an amount say about the size of a pea, and then put on the heat sink. 🙂

Or if even that worries you, get a heatsink that has a solid paste already applied. Even easier.

 

[LagunaX]

The problem with AS5 is that it is a little thin whereas MX is thicker like putty.
With perfectly flat surfaces AS5 is very good.

However, with concave/convex CPU lids and/or rough heatsink surfaces, MX fills in the contact gaps.

 

[EarthwormJim]

Thanks, but AS5 has been surpassed in performance. Also, I'm not going to use a compound that's electrically conductive.

Not really, it's still up there in terms of top TIMs.

This isn't some revolutionary industry, most of the materials used for TIMs have existed for decades and were used in other heat related applications. I.E. not much has changed in a decade (besides Indigo).

Arctic Cooling MX-2 and MX-4 are very easy to apply. They spread very nicely, and it's easy to get exactly a rice grain sized piece onto a heat spreader. AS5 tends to be very stringy when you want to get small amounts of it on.