the best thermal paste

TX-3 is supposed to be really awesome, just hard to spread... I wonder why it's not on that graph.

When compared to AS5 after cure time, it beat it by like 6 degrees or something on load...
Lemme find the video:

Here it is:[YT]<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/12ce9FpKO3I&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/12ce9FpKO3I&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>[/YT]
 
ScottALot said:
TX-3 is supposed to be really awesome, just hard to spread... I wonder why it's not on that graph.

When compared to AS5 after cure time, it beat it by like 6 degrees or something on load...
Lemme find the video:

Here it is:[YT]<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/12ce9FpKO3I&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/12ce9FpKO3I&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>[/YT]
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X23-7783D still beats it from what ive seen, and also your not supposed to spread thermal paste, it creates air pockets. That test was done a few weeks before TX-3 came out, but even then the shin etsu still performs better(although it does carry a cost premium, the cheapest place actual retail other than my website that ive seen is around $12 shipped at frozencpu, while i personally sell it on my website and here at the forums for $7 shipped)
 
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bomberboysk said:
Well remember that 2-3c difference is quite alot on that graph, as if i remember right they were running a water loop which keeps the temperatures lower to begin with. Thermal paste will affect your delta t on air moreso than water.
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No, the temperature difference due to thermal paste should stay the same regardless of the cooling device performance.
 
Yeti said:
No, the temperature difference due to thermal paste should stay the same regardless of the cooling device performance.
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Incorrect, As higher end cooling devices are able to transfer more heat away than lower end ones. Ive seen this first hand from my tests as well as others.
 
bomberboysk said:
Incorrect, As higher end cooling devices are able to transfer more heat away than lower end ones. Ive seen this first hand from my tests as well as others.
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I don't know how many times I've said this, but better cooling devices do not transfer more heat. They have a lower thermal resistance, so you could say they transfer heat more efficiently, but the amount of heat coming from the CPU remains constant. Since conduction is linear, resistance and temperature deltas are additive (as is proven in any basic level heat transfer book). So again, the temperature difference obtained by a better thermal paste will be the same regardless of cooling device.
 
Yeti said:
I don't know how many times I've said this, but better cooling devices do not transfer more heat. They have a lower thermal resistance, so you could say they transfer heat more efficiently, but the amount of heat coming from the CPU remains constant. Since conduction is linear, resistance and temperature deltas are additive (as is proven in any basic level heat transfer book). So again, the temperature difference obtained by a better thermal paste will be the same regardless of cooling device.
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Do i also need to refer to the fact that higher end cooling units such as waterblocks usually have far better surface finishes than pretty much every heatsink? I dont need the basics of thermal conductivity explained to me, i know how this stuff works. Nobody said the amount of heat coming from the cpu changed, i said more of it is transferred into the air therefore producing lower temperatures and therefore a lower high/low delta.

Like i said before, ive seen larger drops in temperature with lower end heatsinks than higher end heatsinks, and im relatively sure this may be due to the base finish and other factors. The thermal energy can transfer more easily to the heatsink, therefore reducing the overall resistance that much more. I actually did a test once, took a lapped intel hsf and then a lapped arctic cooling 64 heatsink on a lapped cpu. tried each without thermal paste, each with thermal paste. Guess which one had the highest change between thermal paste and no thermal paste. The stock intel hsf ended up having 3-4 higher delta at idle compared to using TIM.
 
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bomberboysk said:
Do i also need to refer to the fact that higher end cooling units such as waterblocks usually have far better surface finishes than pretty much every heatsink? I dont need the basics of thermal conductivity explained to me, i know how this stuff works. Nobody said the amount of heat coming from the cpu changed, i said more of it is transferred into the air therefore producing lower temperatures and therefore a lower high/low delta.

Like i said before, ive seen larger drops in temperature with lower end heatsinks than higher end heatsinks, and im relatively sure this may be due to the base finish and other factors. The thermal energy can transfer more easily to the heatsink, therefore reducing the overall resistance that much more. I actually did a test once, took a lapped intel hsf and then a lapped arctic cooling 64 heatsink on a lapped cpu. tried each without thermal paste, each with thermal paste. Guess which one had the highest change between thermal paste and no thermal paste. The stock intel hsf ended up having 3-4 higher delta at idle compared to using TIM.
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Yes, I will concede that the surface finish will play a part; rougher finishes will obviously benefit more from interface material. However, you're claims of how heat transfer works are off - with identical surface finishes good thermal paste will provide the same temperature difference over poor thermal paste regardless of the performance of the cooler. All the heat from the CPU is always transferred to the air.
 
Yeti said:
Yes, I will concede that the surface finish will play a part; rougher finishes will obviously benefit more from interface material. However, you're claims of how heat transfer works are off - with identical surface finishes good thermal paste will provide the same temperature difference over poor thermal paste regardless of the performance of the cooler. All the heat from the CPU is always transferred to the air.
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Thats why i was saying, the test used a high end waterblock (and the cpu was lapped iirc) which means that other configurations(Such as a rougher finished heatsink and non lapped cpu) would provide a larger temperature change with multiple thermal pastes.

And yes, you are correct the heat is transferred to the air, the higher end units will just do so faster/more effeciently(unless the heatsink is woefully inadequate, in which case it will get hot enough to cause a thermal shutdown).

Again, theoretically this is the case, in actuality this was not true in my tests.(However, i believe it was also due to the higher end unit having a larger rectangular contact area where the intel cooler was just a round slug of copper "pulling" the heat from the cpu.
 
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rory129 said:
but do these couple of degrees matter if i only plan on doing slight overclocking
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Well, every degree matters. Although, thermal paste may not be the first place to get those lower temperatures from. Spend the extra money towards a better cooler or fan, then go for thermal paste.
 
rory129 said:
yeah people were telling me that shin etsu is a great paste
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Yeah, that is marketed by masscool but is shin etsu G-751. I personally sell and use X23-7783D which is the best thermal paste made by shin etsu, and then G751 which is a cheaper and slightly less performing compound, yet still beats all the offerings by other companies.
 
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